RESTORE YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH a NOTEBOOK&PEN

​At the beginning of every course I always ask my students to have a notebook.
Since I teach online never before did I feel it was necessary  to check whether my students actually take notes or not and I left it completely to their discretion. 
Of course, I would mentioned now and then that it's a good idea to have a notebook but I didn't really want to boss adults around telling them what to write down.
But something has changed. After the semester test I discovered that the ones who had used handwriting and had their notebooks remembered things better and as a result - scored better.
​So this year many of my student may find me a bit overwhelming because I've made it my top priority to retrieve the habit of taking notes in the lesson (and well, yes -after it too). I strongly believe that handwriting plays an important role in creating connections between ideas and remembering them  longer and better. 
I have already written a post on that - CHECK HERE

What I encourage my students to do this year is not only to take notes but also to create mind maps. I am sure that mind mapping is not only a highly effective way to structure information but also taps into our creativity. The beauty of this method lies in its simplicity and everybody, I mean EVERYBODY, can do it.

​Mind mapping can be used for:

• note taking
• planning your writing
• brainstorming
• organizing your thoughts
• revising 
• visualizing concepts 

​My absolutely favourite pic from one of my student's mind maps. Made my day.