Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment

University students are increasingly taking a digital approach to notetaking in lectures, influenced by technological developments, environmental sustainability, and the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aims to understand the ways in which students currently make digital notes and identify barriers...

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Main Authors: Beckie Arden, Jennifer Norris, Steve Cole, Simon C. Gamble
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Cogent Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2373552
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author Beckie Arden
Jennifer Norris
Steve Cole
Simon C. Gamble
author_facet Beckie Arden
Jennifer Norris
Steve Cole
Simon C. Gamble
author_sort Beckie Arden
collection DOAJ
description University students are increasingly taking a digital approach to notetaking in lectures, influenced by technological developments, environmental sustainability, and the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aims to understand the ways in which students currently make digital notes and identify barriers to digital notetaking from a student perspective. Data were collected between January and May 2022 through a questionnaire (n = 123) and four focus groups (n = 17), including both undergraduate and postgraduate students representing a wide range of degree subjects. We find that students’ decisions about when and how to take digital notes are multi-faceted and change over time, responding to three interrelated aspects of the university learning environment: (1) perceived social pressure, (2) lecture content, delivery, and future assessment, and (3) affordances of digital technologies. We argue that this has implications for supporting students’ notetaking skills development, especially at the transition to university, as well as for lecturers’ pedagogical decisions around uses of technology in both live and recorded lectures. A nuanced approach to the ‘digital divide’ must consider equality of access to digital technologies that meet students’ multiple academic needs, as well as supporting students’ agency in finding their own solutions.
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spelling doaj-art-1b0cba0436a14b21a87b07b153ceea9a2025-08-20T01:47:57ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2024-12-0111110.1080/2331186X.2024.2373552Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environmentBeckie Arden0Jennifer Norris1Steve Cole2Simon C. Gamble3Library Services, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKLibrary Services, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKDigital Education Office, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKLibrary Services, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKUniversity students are increasingly taking a digital approach to notetaking in lectures, influenced by technological developments, environmental sustainability, and the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aims to understand the ways in which students currently make digital notes and identify barriers to digital notetaking from a student perspective. Data were collected between January and May 2022 through a questionnaire (n = 123) and four focus groups (n = 17), including both undergraduate and postgraduate students representing a wide range of degree subjects. We find that students’ decisions about when and how to take digital notes are multi-faceted and change over time, responding to three interrelated aspects of the university learning environment: (1) perceived social pressure, (2) lecture content, delivery, and future assessment, and (3) affordances of digital technologies. We argue that this has implications for supporting students’ notetaking skills development, especially at the transition to university, as well as for lecturers’ pedagogical decisions around uses of technology in both live and recorded lectures. A nuanced approach to the ‘digital divide’ must consider equality of access to digital technologies that meet students’ multiple academic needs, as well as supporting students’ agency in finding their own solutions.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2373552Asynchronous lecturedigital notesdigital technologyhigher educationlecture notesnotetaking
spellingShingle Beckie Arden
Jennifer Norris
Steve Cole
Simon C. Gamble
Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
Cogent Education
Asynchronous lecture
digital notes
digital technology
higher education
lecture notes
notetaking
title Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
title_full Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
title_fullStr Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
title_full_unstemmed Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
title_short Digital notetaking in lectures: how students adapt to a multi-faceted university learning environment
title_sort digital notetaking in lectures how students adapt to a multi faceted university learning environment
topic Asynchronous lecture
digital notes
digital technology
higher education
lecture notes
notetaking
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2373552
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