From "Info-Glut" to Connected Notes: Obsidian and Digital Note-Taking in Academia
Researchers have long grappled with effective ways to approach note-taking. Students and researchers have an even harder time today, a period that some consider the "golden age" of information, but others frame as a time of "info-glut." We have more things to read and evaluate than ever before, but we also have a growing number of digital tools to navigate this material.
In this talk, Professor Andy Roddick (Anthropology, McMaster University) will discuss some ways to approach note-taking in this context, and the value of one particularly useful digital tool. Obsidian (https://obsidian.md) is a free multi-platform program that allows plain-text notes sitting in folders on your computer to become far more powerful. Dr. Roddick will explore the value of Obsidian for connecting notes in the classroom, in a literature review, and in long-term research.
Participants are encouraged to download and play with Obsidian a bit before joining the session.
*Presented by Andy Roddick (Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, McMaster University). Dr. Roddick is an anthropological archaeologist who focuses on the deep past in the South American Andes. This virtual workshop will be recorded and shared on the Sherman Centre's website.