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Web-Enhanced Listening and Viewing Strategies: Module 5

The note taking tips and tricks in this module were probably the most useful thing that I learned this week. I have been trying to use the map method of taking notes and I feel like I am getting into a groove that works. I am looking forward to going back to review them to ensure that I am both capturing the information that is important as well as writing it down in a format that I can use to study moving forward. So far so good. I received a rocket book a few months back and have not set it up yet. Now that I saw this video:

https://youtu.be/LoRl9uL1J0w

I believe that I will set it up to scan to specific folders for my classes or work projects. I believe that this book may actually be the perfect blend between hand written notes and digital storage for my style of learning and information management.

The advice that I would have for anyone after going through this week’s module is fairly consistent with advice from previous weeks. Learn what works best for you. Understand how you learn and how you best take notes in classes or meetings. Do not neglect the possibility that there may be a new way of taking notes, such as with a stylus on your tablet, or a new way of storing that information like with the Rocket Book. Just because you have found something that works for you does not mean that there won’t be a way to improve your accuracy, retention, or management of that information available to you as early as tomorrow!

Memorization and Study Tools: Module 4

This weeks module was packed full of suggestions, links, and recommendations that make it difficult to identify what was most useful of the bunch. If I had to choose I would go with the SQ3R reading technique. More information on this technique can be found here:

I was not previously familiar with this particular technique and have already found it a useful way to review anything from research papers, to contracts and business proposals. My retention of what I am reading has gone up substantially since implementing this strategy well beyond just rereading the document over and over until the highlights happen to sink in.

I am looking forward to using the Pomodoro Method of working. The general idea is to buckle down and focus for a specific period of time, typically 25 minutes, before taking a brief break, 5 minutes is recommended. I am looking forward to finding what time intervals work best for me, but the concept seems right up my ally as far as being able to focus on a given task, then unwinding briefly before getting back to the task at hand.

As far as recommendations to working professionals that I have coming out of this module, I would focus on the higher level concepts more than one single tip or suggestion. I would suggest that one constantly looks to improve their memory and continue to learn how to study. It is a skill that many believe they will no longer need after graduating from college and that is just not true. Memory and preparation are just as important if not more so in the work place than they are in the classroom.

Efficiency in the Digital Age: Module 3

Module 3 has been an interesting one for me as it focused on efficiency. I am always looking for ways to be more efficient for several reasons. First, being more productive with your time is just smart and second I find that if you can be more efficient in your communication, the message you are trying to communicate is often better received by your intended audience.

I would have to say that the most useful thing I found in the article was in one of the TED talks in which the speaker said that if you identify a project as something you do not have time for, what you are really saying is that you do not consider that project a priority. It is one of those statements that reframes how you think about a give topic and I found it particularly enlightening. If that project I have been putting of was worth $10,000 to me personally, I would certainly find time to get it done!

The thing that I am looking forward to including in my future plans has to be the google task list. I was not aware that it even existed and I have been using other lists to track my projects and scheduled tasks. Once I saw how google tasks was integrated into google calendars and that you can set due dates on tasks that show up on the calendar, I was very excited to see how I can integrate that into the enterprise calendar I use at work as well as my personal family google calendar.

I would have to say that the advice I would give coming out of this module would be to keep an open mind and open eyes and ears to new opportunities for how you manage your tasks, projects, etc. There are new applications and cloud based technologies being launched every day, many of which could make your life easier, and your communication with your team, co-workers, and even family so much better!

Digital Communication: Module 2

This week’s class discussion around communication and collaboration was exceptionally beneficial in many ways. Personally the most useful thing I learned this week was the description of cloud based document sharing via google. For those looking for more information on the topic, I have included the link to the YouTube file below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA&feature=youtu.be

For those looking for the cliff notes version, I have the following quote from the video that sums it up:

“Instead of attaching a file to a group of emails, this process lets you attach email addresses to a document.”

If you send a copy of a file to a group of email contacts there are now several versions of the document in existence. If you send a link to a cloud based version of the document to the same group, there is only one version of the document that your group can collaborate on.

I have already started a google spreadsheet with my co-workers, based on this module, and it has been extremely successful so far, even in its infancy of departmental use. We haven’t had any send out an email asking that someone close a file on the network drive so they can work on it in over a week! I am sure we will be using this system for department memos and general communication moving forward.

I would recommend to anyone in the workplace to consider how they communicate with file attachments as well as how they collaborate on these types of projects that include spreadsheets or word type documents. The live updates and version control properties of cloud management can streamline and improve the overall communication and final products of almost any organization.