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One thing that I have already put to use in this module is finding a quiet place where I can concentrate. That place for me is my room. When I first entered college I hated studying in my room but covid changed that. Last summer my internship with KPMG was converted to a virtual internship due to the pandemic. I had no other quiet place in my house except for my room. So, before my internship started I went out and brought a desk for Target. After building the desk I viewed my room completely different. Having a secluded space where I can block out all distractions has helped me a lot through my internships and class work. Since buying my desk I have completed two internships and 2 semesters of school. Before covid, I would usually go to Thompson Library or the Fisher computer lab to study. This took up a lot time traveling there and there were many distractions. Now that I had a desk in my room, I was able to increase the amount of study time I had. I no longer had to travel anywhere and there was no time limit to how long I could study. I recommend that everyone set up an area in there home that is similar to an office space.

Reference: Slide 7

The most useful thing I learned in this week’s module was how to check the credibility of a source when researching. There are three components to source credibility: reliability, quality, and utility. To check a sources reliability, a reader must be able to identify who provided the information. Once the researcher has identified who is responsible for the source, you have to verify that they are credible. The second component is quality. To check quality you have to make sure that the source has specific details, information is up to date, it’s free of bias, and the article cites its sources. . The last component to source credibility is utility. To check for utility, a researcher must ask themselves if the source they found related to their topic and if it fits their audience. Once all three components are met, you have completed successful research of your topic.

Now that I know how to to find good, credible sources I will have a much easier time writing papers in the future. In college you are required to do at least a few research papers no matter what your major is. With this new information I feel confident in finding good sources and completing my papers.

Reference: Slides 14-16

The most useful thing I learned in this module is skills to improve my note taking. Usually for my note taking I print out the lecture slides and either underline key concepts I think are important or write it in the margins. This way saves me a good amount of time so I can focus more on the lecture but when I go back to review it’s not that helpful. I’m left with a lot of information that I need to decipher through to find what is important.

The specific skills I learned in the module were to listen to keywords and speaking style of the lecturer to know when important information was coming. Sometimes professors will use signal words or phrases to get your attention. I also learned that lectures usually have a structure. That structure is: announcement/recap, thesis, analysis, and then a synthesis. Knowing the structure of lectures will help in my note taking because I’ll now know when to focus my attention, during the analysis stage.

This module also informed me how to deal with a lecturer’s speed. By not writing down every single word, you are able to keep up with the lecture. Keeping your notes concise and to the point will help you during class and when you go back to review. Also, in the event you do miss something, you should leave it blank and ask a classmate or the professor after class for the missing information.

The most useful thing I learned in the week’s module is the “Science of Studying” (Slide 15). In order to get the best results from studying, you have to make sure you are exercising, have short study sessions, test yourself on material, and get an adequate amount of sleep. I already knew that getting the right amount of sleep and testing yourself on material were important in studying habits. What I didn’t know was that exercise was so important.

The benefits of exercise on your brain are increased performance, longer attention spans, and smoother information processing. Working out also helps deliver vital nutrients to your brain and assists in more fluid problem solving. I always thought that exercising before studying would just make you tired and it would decrease your ability to stay focused.

Now that I know the opposite is true I will try to get more exercising into my current schedule. I will also do my study sessions in shorter intervals. Usually I take a full day to sit down and review all the material before an exam. But this turns out to be the wrong strategy. Having shorter sessions and more exposure to the material will allow me to commit the information to my long term memory. Cramming the day before only puts the information in my short term memory, which I will forget much easier.

Citation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJbKXmujI00

The most useful thing I learned from the module is how I use my time. This was the first time I have tracked my entire week in 3o minute increments. Using Google Sheets was really beneficial and I learned about how I actually use my time. I get a pretty decent amount of sleep which was kind of shocking because I usually go to sleep pretty late. I also realized that I have more time than I thought but I have been wasting a good amount of it. Doing things like checking social media or watching YouTube are really big time wasters.

I have been pretty busy with this semester. I am currently taking 6 classes which is 17 credit hours and working a part time job. At times I have felt overwhelmed but seeing how much time I have been wasting as kind of been encouraging. If I cut out some of the unproductive things I do I would have more time to complete school work and study for exams. Also two of my classes are ending after this upcoming week so that will also free up more of my time. Moving forward I’ll have to work on staying focused and using my time more wisely.

One thing I have already been using from this module is google Docs. This semester I have had the most group assignments I have ever had during my time in college. Since all my classes have been online, we have had to find ways to work on one document without being in the same place. The perfect tool for that has been Google Docs and Google Slides. A few weeks ago I had to give a presentation with my group members over the Cola Wars. We did all our work exclusively on Google Docs and Google Slides. First we put all our research information on one Google Doc. After everyone finished their research, we then put all our information on Google Slides and we formatted it. Our presentation was roughly 40 minutes or so. Using Google Docs/Slides is very helpful while working in a group because you can see what everyone else in the group is doing. Its almost better than being in person because you don’t have to look over anyone’s shoulder! I don’t know how group projects would with online courses if it wasn’t for Google Docs. It would make it a lot more difficult that’s for sure. It’s a pretty cool service and I’m sure I’ll be using it more in the future.

Reference: Module 2 PowerPoint, Slide 23