I was wondering if anyone has experience using mind mapping or visual note taking for programming. I’ve found in the past that typing it on the computer doesn’t make it memorable and writing it on paper means a lot of rewriting small snippets. I’ve recently been researching mind mapping and visual note taking and they seem very interesting and probably very helpful but I’m not sure it extends to learning programming. Anyone have experience with this? Or, what do/did you use for note taking on programming?
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I just went through the watch and code class and I used Notability on my iPad Pro and would take screen shots on my Mac that I could paste into notability and write all over.
What kind of notes are we talking about? Snippets? Bear has a code section with descent syntax highlight, it should be sufficient. Quiver was a good idea but seems to be abandoned. Mind mapping for coding does not make a log sense since there UML tools for that.
I’m referring to note taking on videos/lectures on programming languages/paradigms.
Quiver had an update in April, so I don’t think it’s abandoned. I like that it’s not gaining features just for the sake of adding features.
I use MindNode for database schemas all the time. It allows me to have visual representations of the relationships between database tables. I can experiment with the structure until I feel comfortable with how its all connected.
In terms of programming. I think it might be helpful to use to capture visual representations of certain programming concepts or patterns (MVP, MVC, etc) when you’re learning those concepts.
The other part of your question was about analog vs. digital note taking. There has been research that seems to conclude that analog is better. And here’s why. The additional complexity and “work” involved in taking notes benefits how your mind prioritizes information. It seems counterintuitive, but the more details, and effort you include in your learning the better recall you’ll have.
My advice is to use both. I take a Moleskine notebook and my iPad into my meetings. I sketch throughout the meeting, and capture details digitally as needed.
I hope this helps!
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