Lecture Notes and Catch-Up Tracker

Who this is for

Every lecture and seminar, week by week. Each session has a tick for attending, watching the recording, saving the slides and finishing the notes, so the gaps show up in week four rather than the week before the exam.

University students keeping on top of one module at a time, especially anyone who has missed sessions through illness, work or placement.

What this helps you track

• Which sessions were attended and which were missed
• Recordings still to watch
• Slides and handouts saved for each session
• Notes written up, and the ones still outstanding
• Questions to take to the lecturer or seminar

How to use it

1. Write the module, term, lecturer and the platform where recordings are posted at the top.
2. Add each lecture and seminar as it happens, with the week, date and topic.
3. Tick each column once it is done; a row with blank ticks is catching up still to do.
4. Write anything you did not follow in the questions column and take it to the next seminar or office hour.
5. Use one sheet per module, on paper or in the browser version, and check the summary at the end of each week.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why track recordings and notes separately from attendance?

Because being in the room is not the same as having usable notes. A session can be attended but not written up, or missed but fully caught up from the recording. Separate ticks show exactly what is left.

How are sessions missed and notes outstanding counted?

In the browser version, sessions missed is the number of rows without an Attended tick, and notes outstanding is the number without a Notes done tick. On paper, count the blank boxes in each column.

What if my module has no recordings?

Leave the recording column blank or use it for a catch-up from a classmate's notes instead, and write that in the header so the tick means the same thing all term.

Can I use it for seminars and labs too?

Yes. Give each session its own row and put its type in the topic column, for example Seminar: week 3 reading.