If you are a college student who does not like carrying heavy books around, who feels bored or lacks enthusiasm for reading only text, or who wants to get creative with study, this is exactly the article that you are looking for, which provides tips on web-enhanced reading and study strategies.
Reading has changed since the appearance of e-books. Not like traditional reading, online reading provides students more convenience and enthusiasm. Students can read individually and non-sequentially, and enrich their reading experience by hyperlinks, images, audio, and video. Also, it is extremely important to be an efficient reader. The first step to read efficiently is to think what you want to know; then, students should know how deeply to study the materials and read actively; next, learn to study different types of materials; last but not least, make you own table of contents and use glossaries.
Studying creatively can lead to generation effect which means that students will remember something better if they are involved in its creation or can create it after study. Therefore, to be a creative learner is an efficient way to process and organize knowledge. Recently, there are a great amount of study tools on the web that help students become a creative learner, such as timelines, animations, mind maps, info-graphics, and narrated or annotated presentations. Moreover, flashcard in Google spreadsheet is also an useful tool for students’ studying. These study tools can save students a lot of time and make study full of fun through demonstrating relations with concepts, minimal use of text, organizing and structuring ideas with utilizing creative thinking.
You are correct in that the world of academic textbooks has changed tremendously since the appearance of e-books. They have the potential to be more engaging than plain paper and ink, and still, some people prefer the traditional textbook. You’ve provided some helpful hints for really getting engaged with online texts.
In your last paragraph, you refer to “creative learning,” something educators often label “active learning.” Your suggestions for learning actively or creatively are excellent. Thank you for sharing your perspective. I look forward to your next post.