Module 7 Keys to Motivation for Online Learning

One of the most useful tips in this module was to use apps that’ll help you study, relax, or whatever else you may need. I tried the Cold Turkey app because I always find myself getting lost in my plone for hours. I have a tendency to want to run through all my social medias, YouTube, and look at sports news as soon as it’s time to do work. Cold Turkey gives the the chance to lock your phone down of all distractions for one hour. I did not do the full hour because I like to take breaks, but the app really helped me keep on task. In the future, I would like to use an app like Calm to help with stress. There was also an app in the slides that tried to wake you up when you were in a certain stage of sleep based off your body movements. I fojnd that highly interesting, but I cost too much. Hopefully si will be able get it or something like  it in the future. My advice to other students would be to put down the phones. We all know how distracting our cell phones are to us, so I would recommend Cold Turkey.

Module 6 – Searching and Researching: The Foundations of Academic Writing lesson, assignments, etc

The biggest thing I took away from this module was Boolean Logic. I was familiar with it before, but I never really utilized it when doing research. I then used it to complete the discussion, only as good as your sources. I like Boolean Logic because it helps narrow down your search results. This prevents individuals from having to waste their time scamming through hundreds of unusable sources. Research is very time consuming and you want to make sure you can focus on sources that provide information on every aspect of your research question. Boolean logic uses and, not, or, and parenthesis to help you include or exclude certain words and phrases. Similar to the example used in the module video, say you want to do research on specific types of allergies. You may search “peanut AND allergies” to pull up articles that include the two terms

My advice to other students would be to use Boolean Logic when doing all research. If looking for articles for a research question, you want to make sure you are looking up articles that include both your independent and dependent variables. This is also a great technique for time management. During finals week, you may have four different papers due and you want your research to be as efficient as possible to leave time for other assignments.

Module 5: Web-Enhanced Listening and Viewing Strategies

The most useful thing I learned in this module was active listening. I struggle to take notes when professors lecture without notes. The material seems random and I always miss important information. If I had focused on cues that identified important information, note taking may have been easier up to this point.

To put this into practice, I decided to take my notes for the other assignment by listening and not watching as he wrote his notes. I then wanted to see how much info I missed. I also turned off the tv to avoid further distractions. I believe my notes turned out good. I thought I included all relevant information. 

In the future, active listening and the styling of my notes is something I really want to pay attention to. Too often I also find myself transcribing, when lecture notes are available. This then leads to me trashing my notes and studying off the slides. 

My advice to future students would be to ignore that urge to have to include everything. Sometimes you just have to go back through your notes and add or elaborate. Your notes should be more annotated than lecture notes for better understanding. The most important advice would be to keep your notes organized. I lose too many notes off bad handwriting.

Module 4

The most useful thing I learned was the cognitive switching penalty. I’ve always been a multitasker which leads to me taking constant breaks during assignments and studying. Anytime my phone would light up while reading I would look over disrupting my reading process. I use to get headaches a lot while growing up doing homework and now I wonder if this was why. I figured it was just because I hated schoolwork, so now I can say this was the reason.

This module got me to do some of my homework without the distraction of the TV or any other technology. I did have to break that rule to watch LSU vs Alabama and Minn vs PSU. Very good games.

I think I’ll put into practice some of the memory learning techniques. I almost forgot my girlfriend’s birthday and almost ended up single. Specifically, I thinking balancing my workload in the future is something that’ll help with memorizing material for my classes. I think I get too caught up in cram studying.

My advice to other students would be to put your work first as I think I’ve stated before. You really have to focus on taking care of your body. With a good mind and energy, take the time to isolate yourself to focus on your studies with minimal interruptions.

 

Reflection blog module 2

There was nothing new I learned going over this module. One think I’ve always struggled with was procrastination. This module got me to start my work ahead of time. This weekend i haven’t felt any stress from too many deadlines piling up and it is such a relief. I know this is a process I have take each week until finally school is over. I would then like to apply that lesson to my life. I don’t procrastination to one day be my downfall. My advice to other students would be to remember what we came to school to do and get it done. Staying on top of everything and scheduling your life will help. Most of school is getting your worked turned in. Get work done in advance and you’ll see the quality of your work increase and you’ll take in the information more efficiently. Life becomes so stressful, especially with outside factors, so limiting stress at every step of the way can help prevent so much wear and tear to any student physically and mentally.

I wish I had taken a class like this coming into school. This class pushes good habits important for any student or anyone.

Module 2: Communicating and Collaborating

Dear Students,

I am now in my senior year and like so many others, I will be leaving with many regrets and knowledge of how I should have spent my time in school. First tip, apply yourself. All classes may not be important, but many are building blocks for other classes and will make your time a whole lot easier if you pay attention from the beginning. Secondly, challenge yourself. You don’t have to focus solely on your major. There are many different subjects that are useful. For example, taking a public speaking class to become more comfortable talking in front of others. Third tip, network. Probably the most important tip I could give to anyone. It is the reason we come to school. Take advantage of the job fairs taking place on campus.

I think students should use school as an opportunity to improve skills. If you aren’t a great writer, take multiple English classes and watch the improvement. It’s important to take advantage of resources on campus including professors.

Lastly, just have fun. School won’t be around always and you wont always be young. Make memorable moments while forming relationships you can cherish for the rest of your life.