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Module 7: Maintaining Motivation

This final module gives some insightful motivation facts and tips.  I know from my own personal college experience that motivation is not something that’s easy to maintain consistently, and it’s definitely not something you can just pull out of your sleeve whenever you’re in need of it, which is why, in my opinion, this module was the most helpful and a great note to end on.

First of all, the categorization of sources that motivation comes from was interesting to me.  I never thought of it as something that either comes from internal or external factors.  Sadly, I often feel that my motivation comes from external factors, causing me to procrastinate assignments when I know there won’t be punishment or grade drops if I wait to do it.  What’s ironic about this thought process of mine is it often does result in this.

Something I definitely need to work on is my smart phone addiction.  I know that when I study, I usually have my smart phone handy for if I get texts or if I need a break.  I know that if I don’t have it on me, I will be much more productive.  Luckily for me, the module includes a list of apps that help fight this addiction.

Module 6: Researching Tips

This week’s module was mainly researching and how to find the best quality sources.  However, the module also touches on how to properly write in college.  The module provides tips for both academic papers and research papers, both serving as great pieces of information for anyone that has trouble writing.  I consider myself a pretty good writer (I hope this blog doesn’t come out crappy, that’d be ironic) but one tip the module gives on writing that I don’t usually practice is to make deadlines.  You should make deadlines for each aspect of the paper; for example: research, outlining, writing, etc.

The video from Shopaholics made me laugh because I know that I’m a big google user when I need information.  I realize now that for researching purposes, that’s probably not the best method.  I guess I should also do some work on observing the quality of the articles I read before using the information I gather from them.  This module was super helpful on looking for things in order to assess an article’s quality, including the time it was written, its sources, its writing quality, etc.  I hope you all find this week’s module as helpful as I did.

Module 5: Learning Strategies

This week’s module has really taught me a lot about note-taking and strategies for retaining information in class.  If you’re anything like me, you get easily distracted and have problems paying attention to what’s going on.  Drew, a history professor from Indiana University had some advice to combat this.  First of all, you have to turn off your phone. This helps me because I’m definitely someone who checks social media and texts when I’m supposed to be paying attention in class.  You also have to use your laptop strictly for classroom purposes.  This has never really been a problem for me because I rarely bring my laptop to class.  I like to take notes with my notebook, plus I don’t like to carry around my heavy computer on my back when I go to class.  But, if you do use it, stay off Twitter, Facebook, etc.  As far as note taking goes, I’m not a fan of the Cornell method.  I would, however, recommend it to anyone who takes a lot of notes and needs a cue section to find information.  I’m more of an outline guy.  The way of organizing topics into subtopics just makes more sense to me.

Module 4: SQ3R and Multitasking

I was surprised to read about the SQ3R method in this week’s module. I was first introduced to this method of teaching in 8th grade by one of my science teachers. The man was very strange and taught us lessons in weird teaching strategies (ex: we had a star dance to help us remember the sequences of a star’s life). Although he was different and unorthodox, many of his teaching methods stuck. SQ3R was one of those methods I kept even to this day. I remember using it originally to prepare for the OAA tests we took that year. I most recently used it for my exam for auditing last semester. The question part of the method seems tedious to me, but it definitely helps me prepare for the information I’m about to take in.

One new thing I learned from this week’s module is that multitasking can be bad for implementing information into the brain.  I’m someone who likes to listen to music while studying. Usually I stick to classical music or music scores from movies to minimize distracting lyrics. This upcoming week, however, I’m going to refrain from listening to music while I work on assignments (starting after this one, if I’m being honest).

Module 3: Fighting Procrastination

This week’s module spoke to me in a lot of ways.  I’m definitely someone who procrastinates way too much.  It was kind of hard for me to discover my root, but I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s hard for me to get into it. Making a schedule will help me next week, but even that is hard because Lowe’s has me working all the time and at inconsistent shifts.  I started doing the 10 minute rule.  I will sit down on my lap top and only work on assignments for 10 minutes.  After that, I’ll go do something I want to do, and come back to it later.  It has helped me commit to the work, plus a lot of times I’ll continue to work after 10 minutes.  I’d definitely recommend the 10-minute rule for anyone with procrastination issues like me.

Module @: Online Communication vs. Face-to-Face Communication

Online communication is easily one of the most unique characteristics of our generation. I mean, you can be making connections with business professionals on LinkedIn while in your underwear watching TV. One of the most common forms of communicating online is the use of emails. I often feel that I’m hesitant about sending emails to professors. I always ask, is it professional enough? I’ll read my email over several times and even sometimes give myself time to think on it before sending it. Module 2 has some interesting tips on how to best communicate over emails. The module suggests you include a subject and a greeting, which I already do. It also suggests using a context and a closing, which I do not always do, but will begin to now. The most interesting thing it said was to let the professor know if you have already checked the syllabus, if applicable. That is something I have never done personally, but it probably saves both the professor and student time from a tedious “check syllabus page _” response. Ohio State’s Dr. Fus gives tips on how to properly email a professor based on his own experiences with students in the ling I am providing below.