I have learned through exploration of technological resources that you can find and connect through Study Blue- flash cards that other students taking the same course, with the same instructor even, have shared and you can comment on the card collections and share these amongst a study group. I have found Google calendar to be immensely valuable for tracking and organizing not only my academic but family and personal life all in one place. I have learned how to navigate google to produce more relevant searches and how to search the O.S.U. database more efficiently. I have come to the conclusion that finding material or videos on certain subjects and material is really useful. Like finding a video about how mitosis occurs rather than trying to visualize it all on my own from a static picture.
I have learned in this last semester that I need to keep setting my goals and try to be more efficient in breaking them down into smaller pieces because a whole, they can be intimidating and daunting when it comes to motivation. I need to use Google calendar the way I did when I was first introduced to it to organize things and break them down into time frames and chewable bits.
The most meaningful experience of this course for me was the time monitoring project and the google calendar assignment. The time monitoring project made me plan out my time hour by hour and I was accountable for adhering to that schedule because I had to record it to show that I was managing my time. Google calendar was an epiphany. Not only can you map out your regular schedule, but you can add in to do lists related to different aspects of your life and see them all laid out in a weekly/monthly calendar. I had been trying to do this on paper but I always get frustrated with how messy I make things and how unorganized it all seems to lay out in the end. This way, online, it’s completely neat. I can put multiple assignments from different classes in to do lists and see how their timelines overlap. I can see what quizzes and test are coming my way at a glance.
I will be using strategies to break down my larger goals into smaller goals in the coming semester. I will be using Google calendar to schedule weekly and daily review times to plan around. I will also try to integrate rewards and incentives to competing not only long term, but short term goals as well. I will continue to search out online content to further my understanding of content found in class. I will find or create visual content to help my understanding of raw facts. I will try to find ways to relate what I’m learning in class to my own life experiences to make them stick. When I find that I cannot grasp the concepts of a subject on my own I will connect with my peers to see if they can explain it to me differently.