I’ve just returned from the NTFS Symposium, held in the University of Westminster. As always, it was a wonderful opportunity for networking, as well as finding out what other NTFs are doing and hearing from some of the movers and shakers of the T&L world.
One technique which captured my imagination was the use of Sketch Notes by Clive Holtham from City University. Clive gave each of us a sketchbook at the start of the 2 day event and asked us to use it to record our reflections, both visually as well as in words. I found this a very liberating experience, with echoes of my own Wandering Minds approach (which I’ve blogged about before). Maybe it was because there were no lines in the book or maybe because I had a whole booklet to devote to just 1 conference. I found myself drawing boxes around quotes, sticking in post-it notes (and even a photo of me and my poster), writing sideways, using lots of arrows and smiley faces. As a consequence, my notes look much less neat than usual, but much more interesting! I wonder how this technique could be used more generally in teaching? I’ll certainly try to buy myself a stack of blank sketchbooks for future conferences…