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(Module 7) Keys to Motivation for Online Learning

The most useful thing from this module is the tools to eliminate online distractions. The apps such as freedom, self control, and cold turkey. These manage your online distractions sorta like how if you were to turn your phone on airplane mode. According to their website “it takes 23 minutes” to get your mind to readjust after opening up an email or checking Twitter. So preventing online distraction is very relevant in enhancing studying and comprehensive strategies.

Something from this module that I already put in use is making sure that my surrounding is clean in order to keep myself motivated. I do this because it allows myself to get completely focused on what I need to do at the time. I am one of those individuals who cannot concentrate without complete silence. I believe this rolls over into shutting out all of distractions. This is one of those distractions that you can control yourself. It is smart to try and avoid all of the distraction present that you can control yourself.

Something from this module that I could put into practice is getting enough sleep. Sleep should be valued deeply because it essential part of life. It is essential to a healthy mind according to slide 25 from the lecture. Which means better memory, learning capacity, and ability to deal with outer stresses.

Advice that I would give to future student is to simply just set your phone away from you once you are starting a assignment. I know sometimes that is impossible that is why entrepreneurs have created apps such as freedom that manage online strategies. Something else I advise also is to take breaks while you are working. Specifically intentional breaks, this is different than other breaks because you personally set aside time for yourself. According to the lecture individuals should take a 3-5 minutes break every 45 minutes.

Module 6: Searching and Researching: The Foundation of Academic Writing

The most useful thing I’ve learned from this module is research method of google scholar. I’ve learned that this research database searches from thousands of scholar research articles that an individual can use for anything. These articles are 100 percent reliable and trusted for universities and professional work. It also is a great way of searching for relatively new literary research questions. Google scholar lets you search across all platforms and databases and makes it easy for everyone to use. This platform is also 100 percent free of charge as well.

 

Something from this module that I already put into practice is pre searching. Pre searching helps me determine the main concepts that I am about to write about. According to slide 13 from the lecture, it also helps me determine what keywords or phrases to search to help me better understand “facet” of my topic. This then allows me to search those keywords and research on more information surrounding my topic.  I use pre searching also to help me determine if my research question is relevant and if I need to make any adjustments or not. Or if I need to create a whole new research question altogether.

 

I learned a lot of writing tips after watching nancywhooo’s YouTube channel. I learned some strategies that help with lengthy papers which often times are hard to keep organized. One was to get in the right mind set. I could put this into practice in the future to enhance my writing because it makes you more passionate about what you are writing about. She argues that it is very important for an individual to like what they are writing about. Even if you have to fake it till you are actually interested. She also argued that creating an outline could improve your overall paper. This proves to be another tip that I could practice to improve my writing. Nancywhooo argues that it will reduce stress when you are ready to type up your paper. It does this by keeping your notes organized and easily available.

 

Searching for information online has an import role in learning. Students should effectively be able to use online search engines if they want to be successful in college. To future students I would advise to get comfortable using google, yahoo, bing, etc because they will be one of your best friends in college. These search engines have tons of online learning tools for individuals to use. For example google has google scholar. I suggest future students use google scholar to research and research questions that they have throughout college. It is a 100 percent free search engine that searches over thousand of databases for information containing your topic.

 

Module 5: Web-Enhanced Listening and Viewing Strategies

The most useful thing I’ve learned from this module is that I should take notes by hand rather than typing them out. I am always the first person to pull out my laptop whenever their is note taking going on. I’m going to be honest when I get my laptop out I do roam around on the internet a lot. Check espn, my work schedule, other class work, etc. This results in me to not be fully focused on what I should be taking notes on. This is just one of many examples that I learned that argued that taking notes by hand rather than typing them out is more productive. Another example is typing your notes can lead to mindless transcription according to slide 8  for lecture on module 5. Because you are typing so much information you are not giving yourself enough time to distinguish or filter information.

Something from this module that I already put in use is the method of finding outside resources. I have had to do this for all of my math classes. It always seems like they never teach the right amount and I always find myself looking up additional information. I always look up YouTube videos on how to do certain equations. I also use quizlet and other online sources to help me understand coursework. This has helped me pass multiple classes throughout college. With using additional online resources you have unlimited explanations. Also seeing information in a new way helps individuals process information at their own pace.

Something from this module that I could put into practice in the future is active listening. I can start doing this by simply paying attention to the professor or speaker when they are speaking. Part of paying attention is active note taking. Which means that I write important pieces  of information that will remind me of the lecture later.

Based on what I have learned from this module I would like to give a couple pieces of advice for future students. First, when you are trying to complete course work especially in math, you may find yourself not having all the answers. To answer your questions I would suggest looking up additional information online. For math I use YouTube videos by Khan Academy. This has step by step instructions, so it goes over a lot of information my professor missed. For future student when it come to taking notes I would suggest still taking notes by writing them down by hand. Individuals argue that the experience is more productive. All the features and gadgets that the iPad Pro and other stuff seems cool but they do not compete with the effectiveness of hand writing notes.

Module 4: Web-Enhanced Reading and Study Strategies

The most useful thing I learned in this module was easily the SQ3R. I have severe ADHD so I have always had a hard time comprehending what I have just read. I find myself rereading sentences at least two or three times. Especially when I have to read textbook chapters for weekly modules. I am used to reading each sentence more than once so really breaking down the material seems like a lot of sense. I learned to first skim what I am reading, which means to look at headings, bold writings, as well as pictures and diagrams. Then the next step I learned was to ask questions. It stated in the SQ3R video that “if you asked questions then you give yourself a mission for your reading.” Then finally I learned to read the text, now that I know some background about what I am going to read and I have some questions I am ready to start reading.

This module taught me a lot of strategies when it comes to active reading. One thing that I have used throughout my academic career is highlighting while I am reading. If I have a book or article I will simply highlight throughout what is important to me. This helps me keep track of important information as well as help me memorize it. However this is somewhat difficult for online material but I usually open up a google docs and just type out the information that I would normally highlight.

Some things that I would like to put into practice in the future is not multitasking while doing schoolwork. Watkins and Corey stated that if you want to be serious about your learning you need to manage your multitasking. I always find myself watching TV or listening to music while I am doing school work. According to studies I would perform a lot better if I solely focus on the task at hand. To be successful in my college career I need I prevent multitasking.

For future students I would recommend visiting some of the top colleges websites for studying techniques. Dartmouth, Berkeley, and Purdue are all great universities to check out. Their you can find tutoring resources, academic coaching, and much more. From me experiences I would advise students to identify the purpose of their reading. It makes reading easy when you are doing it for a a reason.

 

Module 3 (time management and productivity).

The most useful thing I have learned from this module is the main reasons people procrastinate. This was useful towards me because it made me aware of why I procrastinate and how to go about it. These reasons are interesting because they look further into an individuals behavior instead of the traditional reasoning. One of the reasons people procrastinate is because they feel like they could do a very good job if they actually tried, but if they tried their hardest and did not get the grade that they thought that they deserved that it would hurt them deeply. Another way to sum it up is that these individuals procrastinate because they fear failure. Those who fear failure are those who do not want to do their best. This was useful towards myself because right before I started college I believe I was guilty of this. I remember we had a Marine Biology assignment and the winner got to speak at this organizational meeting that weekend. I did not want to put myself out their and I actually just did the bare minimum so that I could get a passing grade, but bad enough that I would not get selected to speak that weekend. Another example was in my recreation sports class last semester, we were supposed to interview an individual and write a report about them. The best paper got to interview their potential career candidate. I did not really want to interview someone at this time so I did enough to get myself an A on the paper but I did not put 100 percent into it.

Another reason people procrastinate is from module 3 is from the Why Students Procrastinate video and it says people procrastinate because they have the assignment but don’t want to do it because they feel like they will do a great job and be criticized by other students. These students would prefer to blend in with the crowd instead of sticking out because they did great on an assignment. Overall this individual fear success. The final reason people procrastinate is that the individuals procrastinate their assignment because they resents authority. They just simply do not like people telling them what to do. They will do the bare minimal as a screw you because they are in charge of what they do. There are three powerful techniques that I personally believe will be beneficial in helping me decrease my level of procrastination.  The ten minute rule seemed to became successful you will have to do the work. This break the process down into small piece that you can complete gradually. Another technique that I would like to put in use to help with my procrastination is the ultimate goal vs immediate desire technique from the Three Powerful Techniques video. Primarily I need to choice my ultimate goal over my immediate desire. A lot of the times I will choice my immediate desire and it affects my productivity. Primarily I need to make my ultimate goal my priority.

After module three I would recommend to other students to think about if they are holding themselves back because they are scared of their own productivity. Slide 11 says, “we all have the same 24 hours and 168 hours to accomplish all that needs done.” I would personally treat getting things accomplish as a competition. Everyone has the same amount of time so I would try my hardest to do the best. Another thing I would recommend to student to help with procrastination is to first get started with whatever you have to get done. One easy way to do this is to disconnect yourself from everything. Turn off phone, tv, music, and put all of your focus on what you need to get done. Lastly I would recommend to student to demonstrated discipline, once you have maintain discipline you can keep a routine and keeping a routine helps an individual meet timelines efficiently.

Module 2 Collaboration and Communicating on the Web

One of the things that stood out to me from this module is proper “netiquette”.   According to slide two of this module this is the technique on how to formally communicate with people online. Now and days a lot of people are meeting each other for the first time online, whether these are personal or business relationships.  One of the most important things that I learned was how to properly email professors. Learning about proper netiquette improves professionalism and increases the chances of feedback. Being able to properly communicate via online prevents any communication that could have been recognized a different way. This includes proper technique in writing, punctuation, and individuals should try and avoid using sarcasm and slang at all cost. During the lecture I learned that it is very important to treat online communication just like they were stereotypical face to face communication. You should email your professor using the same tone as you would use if you were talking to your professor in person. Another important thing that I learned from this module is that group work exist way beyond our college education. I learned that this group work is very important because it allows individuals to hear addition communication styles and believes.

 

From this module I noticed that something I already use is making sure that I proofread emails and posts before sending them. During my first year of college I was sent back multiple emails that indicated that I should not do certain things throughout the email. This moment was embarrassing and from that first impression my professor did not like me and did not want to help me throughout the semester. I already use this method but I would like to continue improving on this method because I feel like it is one of the most important aspects in finding a career now and days.

 

After this module I would tell students to definitely double check their emails before sending them through. Nothing is more embarrassing then reading an email that you sent out that is poorly written. It is a given that you will most likely not receive a professional response from an employee if it is not proof read correctly, or if it is not written in complete sentences. Another thing that I would tell students is to get comfortable working within groups because it goes far beyond just their college education. In many workplaces individuals are constantly collaborating with colleagues to try and create and practice different ideas.