Blum Center for Developing Economies
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Blum Center News: Visual Notetaking, A New Way To Learn

Blum Center
December 4, 2012
1 min

A black and white hand-drawn infographic titled "How is Wealth Formed?" It illustrates the economic disparity between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population, represented by phrases such as "The Other 99%," "We have become the 1% Nation," and "15% or 46.2 million Americans live below the poverty line."

The #GlobalPOV Project’s story artist, Abby VanMuijen, and her live-action sketch skillz were covered in the Fall 2012 edition of the Blum Center newsletter. As a student, VanMuijen doodled her way to producing The Global Poverty Coloring Book, which students now use as a learning aid in Prof. Roy’s Global Poverty class. In addition to now working as our story artist extraordinaire, VanMuijen is teaching a DeCal class, titled “Visual Notetaking 101,” which attracts 150 students from departments all over campus. According to VanMuijen:

I wasn’t magically bestowed with the ability to take notes the way I do. It was something I practiced every day, and taught myself how to do. I started “Visual Notetaking 101″ because I realized this is a skill that people can learn. Visual notetaking can revolutionize your entire outlook on your education, as it did for me. Seeing your thoughts and ideas and opinions come to life, even if just on paper, is empowering.”

To read the full article, click here.

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