The Note Card System and Writing Assistive Technology
Do you remember when teachers assigned research projects that led students step-by-step through the research process, requiring note cards, a bibliography, and outlines? In modern classrooms, many educators forego teaching the detailed note card system of report writing. Much of that has gone by the wayside due to the wonders of the “interweb”. Technological advancements have not necessarily led to better research reports. Instead, many students have improved their skill in camouflaging the words that they copy and paste into uniform fonts and styles. Gone are the days of plagiarized reports turned in with three colors and four different fonts from the multiple web pages from which the “report” was gathered.
Google Keep capabilities can support actual research with a modern-day twist. This year, I am resurrecting the note card system to ensure that I offer a systematic way for students to transition from media consumers to media creators. Many educators, myself included, have relied solely on online search engines as the new method for providing support with research. After a quick lesson on inputting the best phrases into the search bar and the repetition of the refrain to “Google it!” has led to less exploration and the proliferation of plagiarism. Now with the preponderance of fake news and amateur bloggers and vloggers who claim authority on various topics, students need even more direct instruction in researching and evaluating source credibility.
Research skill building will be at the heart of my culturally and historically responsive units because lessons about the past triumphs and affirming practices of ancestors will allow students to build confidence while strengthening their reading, writing, and thinking skills. I am planning literary units that elevate the excellence of marginalized people in order to promote self-identity and equip learners to excel. These units will simultaneously build research skills that teach students to research, evaluate, and cite sources. Teaching research report skills explicitly allows students the freedom of self-selecting their own topic, following their own interests to clear up misconceptions, confirm their prior knowledge, and gain a deeper understanding of their subject matter.
Google Keep will serve as the vehicle to scaffold research skills. The tool creates color-coded note cards on which students can type specific information that will be listed on their Works Cited pages — in one way a direct substitute for the paper index cards and highlighting markers. I initially used this tool to digitize my daily to-do lists, shifting from paper lists stored in notebooks. For the most basic use, Google Keep can create task lists with checkboxes. Through collaboration with colleagues, I have found Google Keep’s versatility can serve as just the right fit to bring researching, citing, and writing reports into the 21st Century.
Google Keep’s usefulness for research fully activates when adding a Chrome Browser Extension, which can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. The traditional practice of finding and citing credible and relevant sources can be duplicated through Google Keep.
Both online videos and articles can be documented. Since this process will need to be repeated multiple times, I am linking two different Youtube tutorials — one for article citations and one for video citations. The Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education provides a video tutorial titled “How to Use Google Keep for Research Notes” that focuses on documenting video sources. Mark Carl’s Youtube channel provides direction for documenting web articles. Both videos demonstrate how the research notes stored in Google Keep are seamlessly accessed by Google Docs by providing a side panel to display information found.
Research, when conducted correctly, empowers students by supporting their viewpoints and expanding their scope of knowledge. It is important that I backwards plan to create a space for students to explore their interests. They will infuse their own ideas and expand their knowledge while discovering new paths to research. By following their interests, they are led toward self-discovery and learn how to articulate the reasons for their intrigue. These factors intrinsically add motivation as students increase their vocabulary and reading skills. Their logical thinking comes into play as they make decisions about the aspects of their topic that they want to further explore. They evaluate and compare sources that allow them to logically debunk myths and reveal novel facts about their topic that are not widely known. True inquiry projects empower instead of silence students. These type of skills are more rewarding than a regurgitation of an author’s facts. They are gaining the tools to become media makers. Self chosen research can even awaken a child’s life purpose, leading them toward their future careers.
