Brittany asked us today what our experience was with research papers. Who taught us? Did we teach ourselves?
Well, some of both. I remember several research papers that I completed in school. In seventh grade, we were asked to choose a topic. I chose the Brooklyn Bridge (an early interest in architecture). Not only were we initiated into the ways and hows of navigating the card catalogue in the library, I was required to complete and turn-in a stack of 3×5 notecards.
Thinking back, perhaps there’s some reason why, in this digital age, when I have googledocs documents, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets of sources, electronic filing systems, and Refworks accounts at the university library, even now, I sometimes think my academic research would be more effective if I just went back to 3×5 cards again.
There’s something so tactile and versatile about 3×5 cards. Like the dissertation advice I received to cut my draft up on paper in order to rearrange it, 3×5 cards can be stacked and lined up in infinite orders. This small reflection nudges me to research 3×5 card-making apps on my computer. I had one a decade ago, but I never printed out my entries. I rarely looked at them, and soon reverted back to taking notes in Word. Would a different application enable me to print and cut up, or rearrange ideas on my screen in a visually stimulating way?
Integration 
July 7, 2011 at 10:07 pm
hey Lindsey:
your comment about 3 by 5’s got me thinking about what happened in my ninth grade. During our research unit on “Disenfranchised Children Across the World” (they could chose any social problem that affected children) some students actually CHOSE to use the little index cards! But others chose to use Keynote, because they said their slides looked just like cards, and they could still manipulate them, but keep everything online. Still others chose Inspiration, which they said did the same thing but included more options. This year, when I wasn’t teaching freshmen English anymore, freshmen also used Digo (?) while our tech coach recommended Zotero, which offers notecard type options. The librarian, however, recommended Easy BIb with its notetaking options. Oh my, oh my.
You can see where this leads me to another blog of yours.
I truly believe we sometimes have far too much choice, and that our children and students do as well. We are paralyzed, at times, by endless options, and often feel miserable and unsure; we also tend to secondguess ourselves (research shows) when we finally do choose. The Time magazine article and the Atlantic Monthly essay surely bear that out.
Oh my….
Loved reading your blog. thanks!!!
arda
(ha ha i know i’m not supposed to sign off. an old habit from letter writing days)
July 7, 2011 at 10:08 pm
PS. I mean “post,” not “blog.” Get it straight, Arda!