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As I stressed in my original post on this blog, learning to properly use the internet is a skill that is essential to todays higher education.  I have always considered myself an internet savvy person, but I have learned a lot of great tips and tricks that I had no idea about through this course.  Anything that can help you learn a new skill is something worthwhile in my book, so it was refreshing to take a class that focused on skills rather than an academic subject.  Here are a few things I took away from the course:

One thing that I learned about myself is something that I already knew, and that is that I am a procrastinator.  What I mean by saying that I learned something I knew is that it has been well known to me for years that I have a tendency to procrastinate, but it was not until now that I have been given a clear picture as to WHY I do it and HOW it can be remedied.  Procrastination affects almost everyone I know, and even if someone can cut their procrastination in half it would help themselves out so much.  This class has certainly given me a lot of insight into how to fight procrastination, and for that alone I would recommend it to anyone.

My most meaningful experience in the course was getting input from fellow students in discussion boards and blogs.  We’re all in this together, and the more people sharing tips and communicating, the better.  It was great to see what made other people tick, what interested them, and how they wanted to better their study habits and procrastination.  The online format did not allow for much personal communication, but being able to see a relatively large sample size of an Ohio State community was fascinating and worthwhile to me.  I hope the next online class I take (if I do actually take one) will have a similar element of communication and sharing of experiences.

In the future, I will use many of these skills and websites to not only add to my education, but to finish tasks in a more timely and organized manor.  Organization is key to success, and the more ways one can concentrate and organize their ideas the better.  Sites that I learned about, such as academic databases and word clusters can be used to make anyones education more streamlined.  Anything that can help me get a step ahead is valuable, and I will continue to use these skills as I finish my undergrad and go on to graduate school.

Overall, this course has proven to be a very worthwhile experience for me, and to be honest I did not come into it expecting to learn so much valuable insight into online learning strategies.  Regardless of an individuals internet experience, I would recommend this course to them to get an easy 2 credit hours while actually learning something along the way.  This truly has been one of the more important classes I have taken at OSU.

If college as a whole has taught me one piece of scholarly advise, it is that resources are infinitely valuable to anything you do in your academic career.  Luckily, as an Ohio State student I have tons of resources at my fingertips, and it was extremely important for me to learn how to use them early on.  In my freshman year, I made it a priority to familiarize myself with the library system and with a few online databases.  This may be one of the better choices I ever made.

Political science is all about research first and foremost, and coming into college I had only written one research paper.  I talk to friends in other departments in which their school work is reading and writing focused (English, Business, International Relations, etc.) and they all say that the resources systems at Ohio State have become impossible to live without.  Databases give me easy access to online scholarly articles, and I can find books easily if I need them.

Researching can be an extremely arduous process, so anything that makes it easier and faster is a great thing in my eyes.  This module taught me a a few things to make the easy even easier, and I believe that knowing these resource pools are necessary for every student everywhere.  Any form of discourse is an extension of some form of preceding resource, and in todays web based world finding these resources is easier than ever.

College students today watch A LOT of videos, and who can blame us?  There are so many mediums and means to watch them: YouTube, Netflix, TED, Amazon Prime, etc.  I personally have watched countless videos on anything from lectures and speeches, live music and comedy, to movies and television shows.  As a result, I quickly learned that all of these sites could be used for more than just entertainment and can also be used in my education.  Video is an excellent form of media for education because it conveys ideas in a manner that not only attracts the viewers eye, but keeps it there.  Even the most boring commentary can be spiced up with moving objects and bold visualizations, and I have personally found videos best used when something needs explained to someone who knows little about the topic in question.

It wasn’t until I did the exercises in this module that I really thought about locking down and taking notes on the videos I found educationally valuable.  A good educational video is essentially the same as a good lecture, and often these videos are more concise and less monotonous.  More people would be compelled to watch a documentary online than sit in a lecture for an hour.  I find it easier to take notes in lectures, mainly because of the longer time allowing me to take more detailed notes.  However, taking brief notes on videos is a great idea when I need background in a topic, and it will be something I continue to do as I move forward.

As a political science student, I have always found the politics behind redistricting to be particularly fascinating.  Unfortunately, the current system is prone to being dominated by the majority, and when the majority redistricts to benefit themselves and their party rather than the constituents it is called gerrymandering.  Redistricting is almost always performed by the state legislatures, allowing them to skew, combine, expand, or contract federal congressional districts to help out their party.  Both Democrats and Republicans are notorious for doing this, and gerrymandering is seen as one of the biggest challenges to American democracy.  The most recent example of this happening was in 2010 when Republicans gained the majority in the US House of Representatives, and state legislatures such as Ohio were able to push a few incumbents (including perennial Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich) out of their seats.

While I do have a background on topics such as gerrymandering, I found this video to be particularly helpful to both refresh me on the concept and give a basic education on the topic to my roommates.  I found the use of visuals to be particularly helpful, as it kept my interest and laid everything out in an attractive and attention grabbing way.  The use of animals as an example also made it different and entertaining, and if someone had no background in political processes, I am sure this would be much easier to understand than jumping right into political jargon.

Has studying ever been easier then it is today?  The internet is becoming the single most valuable resource for the modern student, and it is clear that as time goes on the internet will only become more and more important.  Gone are the days of pouring over old books in the library, just to find that perfect statement.  Gone are the days of thumbing through encyclopedias just to find a sliver of information on a piece of history.  The internet has made all of this doable through the click of a button and a tap on the keyboard, and I for one am extremely thankful for this asset to my education.

The study websites on the web are good and plenty, and no matter how you like to study, there is something out there for you.  When I study, I like to read, write, and use flashcards.  Databases allow me to find the articles I need to read, while sites like Evernote allow me to write detailed and organized notes.  Flashcard sites allow me to not only make and use flashcards, but share them with my friends as well.  And that is the beauty of the internet as the ultimate study tool.  If you’re like me, you can find the sites you need! If you need visualizations, there are countless sites to use!  We live in an exciting time to be a student, and the internet is one of the many reasons why.

Technology has become integral to modern education, and as a result many technological skills have become increasingly important to learn if a student wants to succeed.  Often times, office hours and phone calls are taking a back seat to communication by email or text.  Before I came to school, I had a personal email but it was used very sparingly.  Once I arrived at Ohio State however, I realized how important and useful an email can be, and it remains one of the most used tools in my education.

Email can almost be thought of as a form of social media, albeit in a more professional setting.  It allows individuals and groups to stay in touch online, and can be used with everything from funny forward messages to more sensitive personal and business information.   This medium has allowed students and professionals to not only communicate in a timely, reliable fashion, but also collaborate in groups online and off.  My education has made it very clear to me that there is no better way to get in touch with group members, fellow students, and instructors.