Re: Adding "notes" pages to a reference manual?

[hls_ut -at- comcast -dot- net]

Brigitte

If time permits, I suggest that you find out what the students prefer.  
Personally, a reference manual with several blank, unnumbered
pages between chapters would seem a bit odd to me.  If you are 
forced to include them, I recommend a heading and page numbers
so that they seem thoughtful and for the purpose to be clear.

If the students in class already have and write in a workbook, I'd guess
that they would prefer for the notes pages to be in the workbook.   It's
likely that the students will keep their own workbooks, whereas it may
be possible that they won't always have access to The Reference Manual.

For a Very Large Corporation, I've created Very Large Reference Manuals
for different products/systems/processes over many years.  We never 
included any notes pages as you describe.  I never had visibility to 
whether they were used in formal, facilitated training, though I did get 
a few clues that they were referred to.  Yay!  The page designs typically 
incorporated ample white space, and when new chapters had to start 
on odd pages, we "intentionally left blank" even pages if a chapter 
ended on an odd page.

More recently, I have created workbooks for classroom use.  Students 
used them for exercises and in facilitated note taking.  Depending on 
the lesson and on what other information was available to students in 
class and on the job, I designed specific areas for students to write 
specific information, and on other occasions we simply provided blank 
pages.  However, these blank pages had topic headings (task names
whenever possible) and page numbers, which made this "student 
created" documentation accessible from the TOC.  These workbooks 
did refer to other resources when appropriate.

Good luck!

-- Heidi Liebl-Slabinski
hls_ut -at- comcast -dot- net

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Brigitte Johnston <johnstonbrigitte -at- yahoo -dot- com>
> Hi everyone -
> 
> I have a small dilemma at work. The consulting group in my organization does 
> lots of on-site, in-person training for large companies. During that training, 
> consultants use a variety of materials; one item is a reference manual (not a 
> real "training manual," it contains more concept-type information, and doesn't 
> necessarily follow along in the same order as the training class). This manual 
> is accompanied by a workbook, which students use to do all the exercises during 
> the class (they write in it). The consultants have suggested that we begin to 
> include one or two "notes" pages at the end of each of the 15 chapters in the 
> reference manual (which, by the way, we also sell on its own, without any 
> training).  They want to provide these notes pages so training participants have 
> a place to write notes during the training (since we no longer provide them with 
> a notepad). They suggest making these pages blank with the word "Notes" at the 
> top, and to not include
>  them in the page numbering.
> 
> My department (Design) has suggested we leave the manual alone and instead add 
> these notes pages to the back of the workbook, because students are already 
> using that to write in and do everything else during the class. We haven't 
> convinced the consulting group that this is the way to go -- what "real" reason 
> can we give them (besides "just because -- take our word for it")?
> 
> Any suggestions? Has anyone ever seen a reference manual with blank notes pages? 
> If so, were they numbered or not numbered?  Would you think it odd to have those 
> notes pages in your reference manuals?
> 
> Many thanks for any suggestions! (FYI I'm on 'digest' so please do copy my 
> e-mail address if you can reply tomorrow -- they're knocking on my door!)
> 
> B. Johnston
> 
> 
>       
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