Navigating blended learning: how to succeed with both online and physical course materials

The delivery of material through an e-learning platform makes it convenient to produce and store notes on a digital device such as a laptop. Typing is an efficient method to avoid the scramble of catching everything during fast-paced lectures. As many textbooks have online copies, a split screen with a notes document makes it easy to reinforce the lecture content. Despite the efficiency of typing, educational research has shown that written notes lead to increased brain stimulation and complex connectivity. Those who write tend to copy less information verbatim, making their own connections and conclusions about the content instead. Although it takes more time than typing, I recommend writing lecture notes such that most of the learning occurs inside the lecture theatre rather than in the revision period. For those who would prefer to annotate paper copies of lecture slides, these can be printed out with university printing services. Most universities provide students with free printer credits, which can be topped up at affordable prices.

Alternatively, opting for a tablet has allowed many students to continue physical notetaking with the added benefits of cloud backups and reduced backpack weight. Tablets are compatible with a wide selection of notetaking applications, such as Notability, which offer lots of tools and templates. However, some of these apps may require subscription fees or paid upgrades to unlock their full range of capabilities. Tablet notetaking also has a reduced environmental impact compared to traditional notes due to eliminated paper use. The most sustainable option, however, is to make use of resources you already have in your possession, rather than purchasing new sheets of paper or a tablet.

At the beginning of university, I tried to learn everything from physical notes and books, even computational modules. I insisted on taking R and Python notes with pen and paper, as this had worked for previous courses. I realised well into the assessment that this had hurt my progress; I had prioritised learning the theory and fundamentals, which left much less time for the practical component – in other words, how to use the programming languages and apply them to various situations. This year, I started taking these notes on a Word or Google document, which not only helped me learn more content in a time crunch but also made it easy to copy-and-paste segments of code. I could then annotate this on the document and retain it for open-book assessments.

After lectures, I tried to convert all content, including slides and annotations, into written notes. Not only was this method extremely time-consuming, but it also meant that I completed the corresponding textbook chapters to fill in my notes during revision time rather than during the term. Standardising the mode of the material – all physical or all online – may be very time-consuming, taking up valuable time during the tight revision period. For instance, drawing every chemical structure on a tablet may take time away from learning the mechanism itself. In the interest of time, it may be worth accepting the mess. It is completely fine to study with a wide distribution of materials if they are organised and appropriately covered in the revision period. All online content should be kept in one place, and all paper content should be readily accessible. Microsoft OneNote is a great option for organising digital files – I use it for lecture slides, tutorial sheets, and screenshots of online assessments to annotate or correct my answers. For physical resources, I follow a system like what I did in school: I have one notebook per module with supplementary materials kept within or in a separate folder. If you prefer printed copies of papers, these can also be stored in the folder.

However, if time allows, transferring content from one platform to another can be an effective study strategy. In creating crib sheets or flashcards, I have often used the “blurt” method, which involves reading parts of my lecture notes or online textbooks and immediately writing down the content from memory. This is an example of an active recall strategy, which has been shown to be much more effective than passive re-reading. I have found this particularly useful for memorising enzyme-catalysed reactions, signalling pathways, and molecular mechanisms of disease.

When I began university, I made the transition from paper to Anki flashcards, and I have not looked back. Anki is a flashcard creation software that uses spaced repetition to maximise learning. During the study, you categorise each answered flashcard into “Again”, “Hard”, “Good”, and “Easy”, which determines how long it will take before the card re-appears. This strategy makes weaker concepts appear more frequently to focus on gaps, improving revision efficiency and long-term retention.

Another benefit of Anki is the diverse and customisable flashcard types, including cloze deletions. Cloze deletions are cards with missing information, but unlike fill-in-the-blanks, the answers do not need to be typed. These cards are quite versatile: they can be used to hide small or large amounts of information as well as multiple words or lines. I have found these especially useful for learning multi-step experimental protocols and cell signalling pathways. Using a bullet point list and hiding each line with cloze deletion, I have memorised the steps of receptor tyrosine kinase activation (Figure 1), principles of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and the generation of a neuronal action potential. It is also an effective way to learn small details, such as protein molecular masses and domain architectures, which may count as extra reading. For many cards, I hide the information but not the bullets themselves, allowing me to check how many points I needed to cover before turning the card.

Anki can also be used to revise visual information, including catalytic mechanisms and experimental set-ups. The card can be as simple as “Draw the Phillips mechanism of lysozyme”, with the full drawing on the other side. It can also ask you to label a diagram, with one side an unlabelled figure and the other a labelled version. Anki has helped me enhance my exam essay answers with colourful diagrams, which are greatly valued by examiners. If I am not taking a figure directly from lecture slides, I create it with my Wacom Intuos drawing tablet on Microsoft OneNote, take a screenshot, and drag it to my card. Self-generating the figure in this manner serves as another revision opportunity, particularly if I attempt to produce it from memory.

Many lecturers make their slides interactive with pictures and animations, which are ideal for screenshotting and pasting on Anki cards. For example, in our drug metabolism lectures, we learned how to recognise functional groups modified by phase I and II reactions. These slides included structures of compounds, both unmarked and with circled chemical groups, which I used on both sides of cards labelled “Identify the modified functional group”. Due to the benefits of active recall, it may be worth cutting time on flashcard creation with online tools in exchange for more revision time, even if you prefer to make paper cards. Anki also helps store all lecture content, whether verbal or visual, and whether taken from written notes or directly from the slides, on one platform. This ensures that flashcard revision covers all module content, alleviating the stress of keeping track of several platforms.

I have found that Anki revision is particularly useful when followed by the blurt method. While Anki cards test knowledge with guidance from the words and images on the card, blurting the content onto a blank sheet of paper tests if explanations and diagrams can be produced completely from scratch. Blurting is more time-consuming than flashcard revision, but it has best allowed me to test retention and simulate exam conditions, second only to actual practice questions. Although this combination relies on both digital and physical methods, it provides the best of both worlds: the comprehensive storage of Anki and the benefits of longhand writing.

I find that one of the most challenging parts of staying engaged with online modules or resources is fighting the desire to open unrelated tabs. A Chrome extension called Blacklist allows you to block selected websites, such as Instagram and other social media, until you wish to view them again. This add-on has reduced my tendency to procrastinate, so I get started on tasks sooner, and it has helped me draw clearer boundaries between study and break periods. If I am tempted to surf the web, I download the necessary files and turn off the Wi-Fi. For example, for lab prep, I read the protocol on Preview or Acrobat so that I do not have to view it on a browser tab. This strategy also helps better define study breaks, especially if they are timed: switching Airplane Mode on and off becomes a transition between working and resting time.

It is important to remember that not all strategies work for everyone. Some students may find multiple platforms more overwhelming than others, preferring to move everything online or offline. As new software like Anki takes some time to get used to, some may prefer sticking to their tried-and-true methods. Whether you prefer a pen, stylus, or keyboard, there is a vast and ever-growing collection of study methods and resources, and university, particularly first year, offers an ideal time to experiment with new strategies.

Ecem Arpaci is a final-year Biochemistry student at Imperial College London. She is a student ambassador of the Biochemical Society and an intern at Radboud University Medical Centre where she researches anthelmintic resistance in soil-transmitted helminths. She is passionate about biochemistry, epigenetics, neuroscience, astrobiology, and science communication. Email: [email protected].