# 06. Make your notes useful again. Build a small linked note library and answer with source names. ## Facilitator preflight Bring laptops, internet, a projector and these local course files. Check tool access before the meetup. Keep samples free of personal information. Quick win: Create one note with a question, an answer and a source. Prerequisites: Module 02. Three fictional notes ready. ### Tools and cost notes - **Plain-text editor; Obsidian optional; an existing AI chat tool.**: Prepared before the meetup.. Plain Markdown needs no sync subscription or AI API. ## Run of show | Slide | Minutes | Activity | |---|---:|---| | 1 | 3 | Make your notes useful again. | | 2 | 3 | Before you start. | | 3 | 5 | Your first small win. | | 4 | 3 | What happens between input and output? | | 5 | 3 | Step 01. Create a notes folder. | | 6 | 3 | Step 02. Capture three small notes. | | 7 | 3 | Step 03. Link useful connections. | | 8 | 3 | Step 04. Ask from supplied notes. | | 9 | 3 | Step 05. Test what it does not know. | | 10 | 3 | Step 06. Keep it maintained. | | 11 | 4 | Make the working version. | | 12 | 4 | Ask for a review. Then check it. | | 13 | 6 | Prove your result works. | | 14 | 4 | When it does not work yet. | | 15 | 5 | Choose your next challenge. | | 16 | 3 | Keep the result. Keep the evidence. | | 17 | 2 | Sources you can check. | Total: 60 minutes. ## 1. Make your notes useful again. Outcome: Build a small linked note library and answer with source names. This is a 60-minute in-person laptop session after preflight. No setup-duration guarantee. Core first, extensions second. ## 2. Before you start. Plain Markdown needs no sync subscription or AI API. The facilitator verifies accounts, installed tools and model/host connections before the session. Pair up if setup is incomplete. Do not create accounts or incur costs without understanding the provider terms. ## 3. Your first small win. Quick win: Create one note with a question, an answer and a source. Aim for a visible result in the first 15 minutes after preflight. Explain that generated code/output is untested until the learner checks it. If tools are unavailable, inspect the prepared example with a partner. Copyable prompt: [Open prompt](index.html#06-quick-win) ```text Turn this fictional note into Markdown with Title, Key facts, Open questions and Related notes: Book club meets Saturday at 10:00 in the community room. Entry is free. The organiser has not confirmed refreshments. ``` ## 4. What happens between input and output? Ask a learner to explain each stage in their own words. This is a teaching model, not a promise that all tools behave identically. ## 5. Step 01. Create a notes folder. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 6. Step 02. Capture three small notes. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 7. Step 03. Link useful connections. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 8. Step 04. Ask from supplied notes. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 9. Step 05. Test what it does not know. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 10. Step 06. Keep it maintained. Perform these numbered actions on the laptop. Pause after the step and inspect the result. Use fictional or approved material. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## 11. Make the working version. Use fictional practice inputs. Ask learners to show their work, not just the final answer. Copyable prompt: [Open prompt](index.html#06-build) ```text Answer only from the labelled notes below. Cite note filenames for each factual answer. If the notes do not establish a fact, say Not in my notes. Do not use outside knowledge. Question: [question]. Notes: [paste labelled notes]. ``` ## 12. Ask for a review. Then check it. Use fictional practice inputs. Ask learners to show their work, not just the final answer. Copyable prompt: [Open prompt](index.html#06-review) ```text Check this answer against the supplied notes. List unsupported claims, incorrect filename citations and missing caveats. Suggest a facts-only revision. Notes: [paste]. Answer: [paste]. ``` ## 13. Prove your result works. These are manual acceptance tests for the learner to perform. No test is claimed to have run merely because it appears here. Ask pairs to demonstrate one pass and one corrected failure. ## 14. When it does not work yet. Choose the observed symptom. Change one thing and rerun the smallest test. Avoid restarting the whole project or adding tools before diagnosing the current step. ## 15. Choose your next challenge. Experienced learners use the extensions while beginners complete the same core outcome. An extension is optional, not a prerequisite for participating. ## 16. Keep the result. Keep the evidence. Save the working version before leaving. Add a short note: what worked, what needed correction and what you would try next. The next module builds on the saved output. ## 17. Sources you can check. Primary sources checked during course creation on 2026-10-08. Provider interfaces and availability can change. The examples, prompts and activities are original community teaching designs. Source links explain capabilities; they do not prove these fictional exercises were executed. Source: [Obsidian: Manage vaults](https://help.obsidian.md/manage-vaults) Source: [NIST: Generative AI Profile](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) ## Extensions - Add tags and a project dashboard. - Explore retrieval search only after the small library works. ## Delivery notes Arrow keys, Space, Home and End navigate slides. N opens notes. Read all slides creates a scrolling lesson. Every prompt has a real Copy prompt button with an honest manual fallback if the browser blocks clipboard access. Keep the whole curriculum folder together: PPTX prompt links open the companion index.html at the same prompt anchor. PowerPoint does not copy directly. For sharing online, rebuild with --companion-base-url set to the published curriculum URL. Motion illustrates input, agent, tool, human review and output. Pause flow stops it; system reduced-motion is respected. PDF contains a static diagram. PPTX uses an animated GIF where available; playback varies by viewer. Original teaching content, synthesized from learning objectives. Public source decks remain separate in library/. No one-to-one rebranding or permission to republish is implied.