PEOPLE LEARN at different paces and in different ways. In the classroom, lectures, videos and computers are developed media for delivering instruction. Some learners need to add the additional step of taking notes. 

Education has gone through a lot of changes through the years; from the textbook lecture format to the lecture, ebook and multimedia format. 

The teacher is instructing the students to press the "submit" button.

Although the medium of instructional presentation changes, the ultimate purpose of it all is to deliver instruction. The method of delivery has not changed the learner's need to take notes.

Instructors are still facing the same types of students they have always taught, the "abstract" and the "concrete" learner. The abstract learners learn by analyzing and the concrete learners learn by direct hands-on experience (Ibaugh).

Information has changed, and the presentation medium has also changed. It is questioned whether or not the student is benefiting from the change; however, there are several questions that have come to the fore because of multimedia instruction.

Is the student absorbing what is being presented to them in the outlined multimedia presentation? Are they analyzing the material being presented by the instructor? Is the technology medium helping or hurting the student (Maudlin, 1997)?

This article will focus on the concrete learner's need to take notes. 

Notes interpret what the learner sees and hears.

Research has shown that multimedia presentation has not negated the need for notes

The physical writing of the notes helps reinforce the new material. Note writing helps analysis take place thus allowing the student to paraphrase what he has just heard and seen. In fact, the paraphrasing style of note taking strengthens when used with multimedia. (Maudlin, 1997). This is one of the stages of "processing." Processing is what the student does with what is learned. Students return to their notes not just for details and major points, but for the paraphrased concept.

The learner can now take the knowledge and put it to immediate use. They can now test the new material by direct hands-on experience. This experience is continuing to help the student with further material analysis .

Instructors need to be comfortable with their delivery of information. However, with the onslaught of multimedia, they can deliver more information in a shorter period of time.

Because of the increased amount of information, the student's notes are a necessity. Their notes not only reflect major points and details, they also help the student to analyze and interpret through paraphrasing.

Information is changing and so is the presentation medium. It is questioned whether or not the student is benefiting from technology's multimedia presentation. It is the notes the students will study when it comes to testing and the writing of papers.

Note taking aids the student to perform the required task. Note taking interprets so the student can perform. 

Learner follows notes and performs the task correctly.

Patricia King, Student
SDSU Department of Educational Technology

Ibaugh, V. Learning styles: perceiving and processing. [On-line]: http://coe.sdsu.edu/articles/learningstyles/start.htm.

Maudlin, S. (1997). Note taking tendencies: multimedia assisted instruction [On-line]. Available: http://www.mwsc.edu/psychology/research/psy302/spring97/suzie_maudlin.html.