Course Details for Note-Making for Knowledge Management

Swick Learning
Apr 1
4 min read

Updated: Aug 1

Basics:

Available modes:

In-person or online (synchronous only).

Recommended delivery:

Two 60-minute sessions, about 2-6 weeks apart. (Why? Read more)

It is possible to run a single session, or two shorter ones.

Recommended audience:

Any learners beyond high school.

Maximum group size:

No limit — however large groups become less interactive.

Set up Requirements:

See below.

Overview

Whole Program:

Formal education privileges the need to prepare students for assessments. This is not the exclusive focus, but it’s a high enough priority that it overrides the others in a conflict, and over time, engenders most people with ‘bad’ habits around capturing, organising and using knowledge assets (like notes) that match cycles of assessment instead of how adults use knowledge.

This training teaches students to reconceptualise notes simply as knowledge assets whose value can be maximised by managing them better.

It introduces them to a powerful but lightweight framework for personal knowledge management and, depending on time and learner progress, imparts up to ten interlocking note-making techniques that serve learners better in the long-run.

Part 1:

The first session begins with some mythbusting about note-making and establishes that this probably the most under-rated skill in the 21st century. It shows people how their own note-taking habits have probably been shaped by the incentives of the artificial and high-structure environments of school and university, before providing them with an organising framework for personal knowledge management called the SUYU Methods.

Then, depending on time and learner progress, we explore up to ten interlocking note-making techniques that will improve the long-term value of their notes and fit into most approaches to Personal Knowledge Management.

Part 2:

The second session begins with a recap and reflection on the previous session, before moving on to the more advanced techniques from the top ten techniques, with an aim of completing all of them.

Promotional Material

Blurb for Newsletters

This can also serve as an underlying script for videos.

Want to learn the most underrated skill for professionals in the 21st century? Look no further than Personal Knowledge Management (ways of organising what you know).

In this workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of creating, keeping, and using good notes – as well as other knowledge assets like how-to guides and handouts – using the extremely lightweight and practical S.U.Y.U. Notes system.

We will explore the principles and practicalities of the most efficient ways to convert your notes into valuable knowledge assets that can serve you for decades to come.

This is a hands-on experience, so remember to bring your preferred note-taking tools!

Note to the promoter: For this course only, we have always offered a cash prize (currently $350, at the time of writing) to the participant who can backsolve what SUYU stands for (it is an acronym that describes the single, most fundamental message of the course). We will need to remove this when it is awarded, as the answer may then be findable on Reddit, etc. Because we honestly expected to award this prize in the first 1-3 sessions we ever delivered, but still haven't, we add to the prize every time it goes unawarded — make sure you check with us to see if it is still unclaimed so you can promote this to your participants!

Presenter Bio:

Cam is a seasoned leader, trainer and consultant in the realm of adult education, with a career that spans management and executive roles in some of Australia's most prominent universities and, more recently, in one of Australia's most admired specialist independent schools. He has also shared his expertise as a consultant to education-related institutions and companies (both independently and through the professional services firm EY) in addition to serving on the boards of various education-related organisations. Cam's self-directed learning techniques played a pivotal role in his own remarkable journey from a university dropout, to university valedictorian, and then as university executive, all within less than a decade. Today, he teaches these methods through his own organisation, Swick Learning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you recommend doing this training over two sessions?

Our training is typically arranged into a two-part workshop on each topic. In addition to managing cognitive load (probably the greatest reason), this has a number of other benefits:

The intention-setting at the end of the first workshop has an additional element of accountability, because learners know they will be returning to a second workshop.

The time between workshops (normally 2-6 weeks) gives learners a fair opportunity to begin practicing the techniques learned in the first session, and this often builds their appreciation for the learning so far, as well as their and resolve to continue.

A recap and reflective exercise at the beginning of the second workshop adds an element of spaced repetition which helps students retain the content.

Finally, it gives them an opportunity to troubleshoot their implementation of the techniques.

What are your set up requirements?

In-person:

A room with large projector screen (so examples of note-taking are legible).
Ability to connect to projector with HDMI as well as wireless connections and adaptors using USB-C (HDMI is always a good backup!).
Seating for learners with clear visibility to projector.
Ability to present and type on screen simultaneously.
Some free floor space for icebreakers (ideal)

Online:

If you host: Presenter links for Zoom or Teams; the same with instructions or a test run for other platforms; ability to share screen and collect questions.
If we host: our chosen format is a Microsoft Teams event. To report to you on attendance or prevent 'zoom bombing' (intruders), your learners will need to register beforehand via a registration page we will distribute.