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The aim of this project was to integrate the use of the program TakeNote! into my senior seminar as well as to create a guide and serve as a mentor for faculty wishing to use this program.
This involved creating an exercise to teach TakeNote!, doing the exercise with my senior seminar, offering a faculty workshop on TakeNote!, and making the exercise available to anyone via the Wheaton Server.
General
Report:
TakeNote! is a computer program for the rest of us--those who
do research but do not run statistical analyses, employ sampling
techniques, or need to plot out our findings on spreadsheets.
Instead, TakeNote! applies a computer's advantages to the traditional
method of library research in a manner similar to what word processing
did for typing.
TakeNote! handles and integrates three essential tasks for the
researcher and writer--outlining, note taking, and keeping track
of sources for a bibliography. I have begun to use it in my own
research and felt that both students and faculty would benefit
enormously from understanding its potential and having it available.
I began by creating an exercise in which the basic concepts of
the program would be learned as one proceeds through the various
steps. [A copy of the exercise will be sent through campus mail.
In addition, it is available in my drop box.] This 32-step exercise
moves through the various functions of the program, demonstrates
how to integrate them, and, once completed, leaves the student
or faculty member well acquainted with the basic components of
the program and able to move to its more sophisticated aspects.
My senior seminar is required to write their seminar paper based
on primary source research. Traditionally this has involved taking
notes on 3x5 cards. TakeNote! replaces those cards as well as
keeping track of sources. Keeping track of sources and keeping
notes in a flexible form are two things I have always emphasized
in seminar.
During the second class meeting of this semester, the seminar
I led them through the TakeNote! exercise as a group. They all
seemed to grasp the methodology quite easily and several have
already told me they are going to employ the program in their
research this fall.
I also agreed to mentor faculty interested in TakeNote!. Gordy
Weil wanted to have his First Year Seminar create a shared, annotated
bibliography. We discussed how TakeNote! would be the ideal program
for creating this. I gave him a copy of my learning exercise,
he easily changed the examples from history ones to those more
suited to international economics, and introduced TakeNote! to
his FYS.
Finally, I have been in discussion with Kathy Ebert--Zawasky about
offering a short faculty workshop on TakeNote!, during which interested
faculty would go through the exercise (although I fear they will
not be as speedy as our students). I would then be willing to
advise any faculty member about the use of TakeNote!.
Assessing
the Program:
1. At the end of this semester, I will ask my seminar how many
used TakeNote!, who did not, what problems each group encountered,
should I require it, etc.
2. I will also ask Gordy and any other faculty who use it in their
classes how they felt its introduction went and should we aim
to promote its use elsewhere (in the Jr. Colloquium for History
majors, for example).
3. Finally, I will ask individual faculty who either came to my
workshop or inquired about the program, about its use, ways of
making its application easier, and offer aide to departments that
might also like to introduce it into research seminars or colloquia.
Last updated
on 11/26/00;
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