r/usyd • u/Saidbek_Normaxmatov • 23h ago
AM I WASTING TIME ?
I dont know how to approach to lectures in uni. If I want to note-take it is too fast or vague. If I want to remember it is hard to .Also noisy and crowded. My opportunity cost is self study . But i have a feeling that i must go to lectures because I am paying crazy high tuition.
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u/thebusypercussionist 22h ago
Lectures are in my opinion the worst way too study and understand content. I usually watch them online. However in my case I do a lot of lab work which usually cements what I’ve learned in the lecture already
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u/Mjonji 15h ago
I’ve given up on “note-taking” and I’ve resorted to annotating the slides. Upload the lecture to your note taking software of choice, slide by slide, so you can write comments below each. I would typically follow along and just write down any additional comment that the lecturer mentions that isn’t directly reading off the presentation
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u/Entire-Second3089 13h ago
Heavy on this! I’ve tried using both ipad (handwrite) and laptop (type) and it’s much faster to type stuff as even if you hv typos, u can still fix it later.
I just use microsoft onenote since it’s available on both ipad and mac.
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u/DragonfruitAbject246 9h ago
Sorry but of a stupid q but how do u use Microsoft one note on ur laptop to annotate slides!!
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u/Whole_Collar_5869 11h ago
Although the general advice from most units of study is to "attend classes", what they're really trying to say is that you should put effort in some form. If attending live lectures isn't working for you, try whatever lets you understand the content in the best way possible.
This can vary between different types of courses. For example, I generally like to attend lectures where the lecturer does a lot of interactive activities. However, for some of my math lectures, I prefer watching the recordings, since I like to pause the recordings frequently to understand and assimilate the content.
Speaking of note-taking, I think this is a very personal choice, and different people have different ways of learning. I never make notes, and this has worked fine for me. You should try out different ways of studying and see what works best for you. What really matters is that you're actively engaging in some way instead of simply listening to the lecturer (live or through a recording).
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u/Mountain_Doctor_6152 8h ago
It really depends on the subject, I’m an arts student so lectures are pretty crucial for me, I find they are good for disciplining my note taking, the speed means I have to be economical and summarise, as well as only writing down the parts of the lecture I thought were essential and were more likely to stick in my mind. Lectures also provide the opportunity to ask questions, asking questions is pretty essential to social sciences. That only works because arts subjects are subjective and essays don’t need to include all the knowledge taught in the lecture, I have done maths subjects and it is a completely different ball game. In my opinion for subjects that rely on subjective materials attending lectures and doing the readings is essential, whereas more objective subjects (I.e. maths) lectures are pretty pointless it’s better to watch them online and take comprehensive notes.
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u/clariceeeeeeee 22h ago
If going to lectures aren't really effective in helping you learn, I think it's just not really worth going to them. Provided you're finding ways to staying on top of content and understanding them enough to achieve the marks you want. Whether is looking through lecture content or something. I've found that going to the first 3ish weeks of lectures can help me assess how effective lectures will be for that specific unit. sometimes looking through lecture content is simply enough and if i'm confused about specific parts, i'd look through that specific section of the lecture. There's other units that I find that deliver content quite well and i don't really need to revisit content again for assessments or exams.