Hello All! If you have been keeping up so far we have discussed tips on communication and a couple of strategies to battle our compulsive technological urges but some of the most important things are yet to come.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare for online reading! This is probably one of the worst things to ever happen to me when I got to college. It’s almost like nothing is on paper anymore. Get a comfortable reading on a device and for that matter get comfortable active reading. I promise this will save your butt in many situations. What I mean by active reading is simple, interact with your text in ways you don’t normally do.
- Use the margins or online note taking app to summarize key ideas
- Pause to quiz yourself to test your comprehension and reinforce important content
- Create and jot down mnemonic devices
- Draw symbols to identify important or confusing information
- Develop diagrams to support your understanding
- Highlight important information (and review it in 1 day, 1 week, 1 month)
If you do these things I promise assignments will become easier and testing will be a breeze especially when it comes to your English courses. I know I make it seem like sometimes technology is our enemy but it really isn’t if we use it in a way to benefit our minds. Technology can actually help to support your active reading and memory strategies. They allow you to learn new things, practice, review, and quiz yourself. Below I will link a source that helped me tremendously in finding a website that was not only right for me in boosting my memory strategies but also in helping me find some sweet college deals. Check it out and I hope you find something that works for you too!