When I began my M.Div classes in the early ’90s, laptops were a luxury most of us could not afford, and powerful Bible software like Accordance was non-existent (Accordance 1.0 was released in 1994). In class, I took my notes by hand with pencil and paper. Then, I went home and transcribed them onto my computer in Microsoft Word. Although this repetitive method was actually a good way to reinforce what we had covered in class, it was also very time consuming.
If I were a student taking classes today, I would simply create a User Tool in Accordance and take my notes in the application itself.
What are the advantages of taking class notes in Accordance?
- Accordance User Tools are fully editable on the fly. With each new session, open the class notes User Tool and pick up where you left off in the previous class.
- Since you’re already in Accordance, take advantage of quick access for copying content from the Bible, whether in Greek, Hebrew or in a translation.
- All Scripture references can be hyperlinked, and you can also create links to other content in Accordance, including textbooks in your Accordance Library.
- A class notes User Tool is fully searchable according to the kind of content it contains: Scripture references, Greek, Hebrew, English, etc.
- Your class notes are integrated into Accordance and can be used to Amplify to or from other content in Accordance.
- You can create a searchable Group of all your class notes or combine them with other titles in your personal Accordance Library for comprehensive searches in Accordance’s Research feature.
- If your professor creates a chart or diagram on the whiteboard, take a photo of it with your smartphone and drop it into your class notes in Accordance.
- Create a Table of Contents around the structure of your notes for a running outline.
- Share your Accordance class notes with your classmates who also use Accordance.
Really, the sky’s the limit for the many different ways your class notes can be used in Accordance. I still have all my class notes in ancient MS Word formats, but they’re all isolated as separate files. Maybe one day I’ll take the time to convert all my class notes into Accordance User Tools, but if you’re a student now, consider using Accordance as your ultimate note-taking tool for classes revolving around biblical studies, theology, and church history.