How to Take Notes From the Computer


 

Use the Back Function of Your Browser to Return to Where You Left Off

 


 
When you are working within a program on the computer such as the internet, or a CD ROM disk, you can easily take notes using the program SimpleText. SimpleText is a simple wordprocessor that is installed on all the computers at Twin Groves and is accessed through the Apple Menu.
 
We will use working on the internet as an example of how to use SimpleText to take notes.
 
1) First open the program you are going to work with, in this case Netscape.
 
2) Pull down the the Apple Menu and select SimpleText.
 
3) Drag the lower right corner of the SimpleText screen so that it is shorter and wider than the Netscape screen. This allows you to view sections of both program screens at the same time. You can now easily go between the programs by simply clicking on an exposed section of the program screen you want to be in.
 
4) While in SimpleText, pull down the File Menu and select Save to save your notes file to your disk. Title the file with the date and subject you are working on.
 
5) As you are exploring sites on the web and come to a site that you want information from, you can use SimpleText to save important reference information for you "Works Cited" section and notes for your project. First highlight the location bar of Netscape which contains the URL. Copy the URL. Then click on the exposed section of SimpleText. Pull down the Edit Menu and select Paste. Hit the Return key to get the cursor to the next line, ready for the next information you want to include.
 
6) Click on the exposed section of the Netscape screen to go back to the internet. Highlight and copy the title of the site you are on.
 
7) Click on the exposed section of SimpleText to go back to your notes and paste the title of the site there. Remember to hit the Return key to get your cursor on the next line. Type the date and hit return. You now have the reference information you will need for your Works Cited section - The URL, the Title of the Site, and the Date you accessed the site. Now would be a good time to save your notes file - you never know when your computer will freeze up!
 
8) Now click back and forth between your SimpleText notes and Netscape to copy sections, take notes, etc. of the information you need for your project.
 
9) Then you are ready to continue searching on the net for further information to include in your project and take notes from. When you are finished you have your notes saved to disk and you can print them out.


Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office, Friends of Fermilab, United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, and North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).
 
Authors: Bonnie Panagakis, Chris Marszalek, Linda Mazanek
School: Twin Groves Junior High School, Buffalo Grove, Illinois 60089
Created: December 8, 1997