What do you call "normal" handwritten Japanese? I mean this as opposed to
calligraphic style or handwriting in block letters?

What would be a cursive Japanese writing? Something that you would find on
blackboards in lectures, class notes, posters, notes and so on.

Are there good sources for learners for getting exposed to real texts written
in it?
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handwriting
"Normal" handwritten Japanese
"Handwritten" is usually translated 手書き _tegaki_ , for example

> 手書きの手紙 _tegaki no tegami_  
>  a handwritten letter

(see [ALC](https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%e6%89%8b%e6%9b%b8%e3%81%8d&ref=sa)
for many more examples).

Of course in handwriting, some characters are written less neat than the
handwriting standard, but there is no standard "cursive" handwriting as taught
in schools with the Latin alphabet with rules how to connect one letter to the
next. (There is a [cursive
script](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursive_script_\(East_Asia\)), 草書
_sōsho_ , but this belongs more to calligraphy than daily life handwriting.)

Some letters are written different in handwriting than in print — think `a`
vs. `ɑ` — notes on this are also contained in the [official list of _jōyō
kanji_](http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/sisaku/joho/joho/kijun/naikaku/pdf/joyokanjihyo_20101130.pdf)
(see pp. 7–10). (There are fonts which show this called [教科書体
_ky­ōkashotai_](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18782/1628).)

However, to describe "normal" handwriting, I think 手書き is the most apt
description. Finally, there are some [common shorthand
forms](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11743/1628) for _kanji_ , which
are referred to as 略字 _ryakuji_.
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There is a "textbook handwriting style" called 行書【ぎょうしょ】, which is taught at
middle school. This is a rough equivalent of [English cursive
style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursive#English). Not many people
actively use beautiful 行書 these days, and it's difficult to write on
blackboards. Still, understanding [how certain radicals are written in
行書](http://daigotorena.moo.jp/lesson/bushu-hen2.htm) will help you read
handwritten Japanese.

Related: [Are there ways to write Japanese fast (like shortening the
words)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/19824/5010)
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