•  What have you learned about technology/online tools/online resources?

Personally I felt that I did not gain the information I thought I would from this class. The one new thing I learned in this class was that Ohio State has a site where students can share their own opinions and make multiple blogs, with different URLs. However also the module in which the instructor gave us helpful sites for college students, and the students added their favorites was useful. I am not to big on using websites, but after seeing some of the ones students have used, I think I may use them more often.

• What have you learned about yourself?

I have learned that I am an official definition of a procrastinator via quizzes. Which I would agree with. However, I do agree that my procrastination gets worse when things start to get hectic and not work out. But in other terms when I am working a lot with school, I usually have better time management skills because I do not have that free time blocks in which I can “dilly dally”.

•  What was your most meaningful experience in the course? Why?

• How will you apply what you learned in this class in the future?

I will apply the various sites that have been suggested by the instructor and by my fellow peers to help better myself. These sites were most used to help one prepare/study/test one’s self for an exam or quiz. Studyblue was brought up a lot in this module unit, however   I have found Quizlet to be more beneficial to me. The time management assignment that we did would be beneficial to continue to “check yourself” with how you are managing your time. Personally I like to do things on paper instead of computer so next time I may print out a weekly 24/7 calender and highlight my activities and categorize them into sleep, leisure, school, and work.

• How I felt about the Class.

Personally I thought I would learn more in this class than I did. I felt as this was more of  “Welcome To College” class or “Here are the basics of the Internet”. I found as it could be more advanced in the ways of the internet uses. I found it to be very basic especially with the lessons. I felt as if I was a young child within the first two modules I believe where I was reading the textbook and saying to myself, ” Am I really spending time to learn these definitions'”? or “Am I really reading on procrastination right now”? Which has been a topic talked about since grade school because of how prevalent it is in today’s society, especially wit the technology out today. Personally if there were more interesting academically inclined video games or computer games, I feel as if kids would concentrate on those instead of the violence and killing. If school started to become more fun and enetertainment wise instead of heavy brain drilling with all this information that you must know or else you will fail.

How many times do you use Google in a day? Think about it… I bet you use it more than you think.

Knowing how to search things properly on Google, databases, and online in general is key now a days, and not for just students. It is key for EVERYONE.

People need to realize that there is an Advance Search link/tab when they search for a topic. People will complain constantly about not being able to find this, or it keeps including this. When simply they could eliminate that hassle really easily. Just press on the preferences, or advance search link/tab and type in what words you want to include. Or what words do you not want to include. You can even search articles by dates, authors, titles, etc. Most professors in class will specify, “I want only articles written within the past year”, or “I want articles written within the past _______”.

I cannot tell you how often I use that tab, just for its convenience and less headache for myself. Even the simplest searches become even simpler.

Another hint is to always type in other ways to rephrase what you are trying to convey. Even if you cannot think of another way to rephrase it look at the links you have found so far in the search, I bet ya one of them has a way to rephrase it. They may say Equus Caballus instead of horse for instance.

Refer to YouTube for searching help needs. There are some good videos on their that will help you better your searching techniques, and provide you with the results you want.

Note taking is  HUGE part of college. Almost every class in college you will have to take notes and attend a lecture. If your note taking technique is not on point, it could/probably will lead to many problems down the road…

To be an effective note taker you need to:

• be an active listener
• identify parts of a presentation
• notice keywords and points
• notice fluctuations in the lecturers voice
• pay attention to the visual aids

After these key steps you need to figure out which way of taking notes is best for you.

Do you like writing your notes? Or do you like typing them?

If you like writing them, write in pen, this allows you to see the material clearly, and you can also change the color of pen you are using throughout the lecture to highlight key points. Also with pen if you want you can highlight key information with a highlighter.

Now if you were to type your notes, make sure your laptop or tablet is charged before you attend lecture.

Now identify how you want to type out your notes. Do you want them in a basic outline form like I like mine ? Where you use roman numerals, upper/lower case letters, and numbers.

Or do you want note taking strategies as listed here:  http://learninghub.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-online/learning-strategies/notetaking.php

There are an unlimited ways of taking notes, and using them to your advantage. You just have to find which ways work best for you!

The link for the embedded video is above, however it will not work.

This video gives a general overview of the Evolution of the Horse, or as today is now called the Equus. This general overview, using pictures to portray how the horse has evolved. It starts out with a brief overview in words, saying that the Horse has been around this earth for longer than 50 million years. Then it goes to a  smaller chart comparing the hysodonty (teeth) of the horse to the relative body size of the horse. Following this chart then they start from the first species, which then leads up to the domestic horse which we know see in today’s day in age.

This video supplements my learning by giving me visuals. When you read scientific articles from databases, they sometimes lack a simple picture for one to make a connection with in their brain, so they can better retain this information. This video provides pictures with each species of the horse through the 50 million years of evolution. This gives the audience a clear overview and connection with how far this evolution process has come, and where the horse originally started from. I am a visual/hands on learner, so this video helps me make connections. These connections will stay within my memory longer and be better retained do to the simplicity of the video, but also way it is presented. Each picture of one species of the horse has its name to go with it. This therefore gives me the word and picture references to better store in my memory. I will also be able to recall this video in times I need to refresh my memory and get a better sense of which species is called what in a clear simplistic overview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnUnQ5wn7bc

Here is the link copied from the web browser page itself, since embedding it is not working.

There are many resources that the web has to offer students and teachers. These resources range from ways to study, to how to write a paper, and then from how to find resources for a paper. If one was to type in Google studying resources, there are endless possibilities, but what are the best ones?  Personally I like quizlet. This site is good for preparing yourself for an upcoming quiz or exam. You can utilize other quizzes that people have made or create your own.

Students have such a great resource to them now a days, but are they using it correctly is the question? There are so many distractions  now a days, but an app called I-Am-Studying by Google chrome can eliminate this issue. This app allows students and anyone else to block certain websites from being opened while they are studying or trying to get something done. This app was a good find for myself, and I feel more people should know about it.

Using the internet is a great way to get engaged in your learning.

• Participate in online discussion boards and forums. Interact with your fellow peers and professors.
•  Be a critical thinker and analyze what has been said.
•  It is best if you put what you have read in your words, then you will retain the information better for the future.

I still have a love/hate relationship with E-books. I am more of a paper person, but depending on the book and what class will determine if I buy the E-book version or not. Do other students prefer the E-book than the paper version? Exclude price and pretend that they are the same price, compare the two, which would you choose and why?

Reading online seems to be harder. It is more straining on the eyes and I notice us students seem to get distracted from it more easily. A key to helping the reading go more smoothly is to pick a good environment and set goals for yourself. Say to yourself I want to read from page x-xx and take notes, or high light on PDF/file the important parts. After you have read the article/assigned reading make sure you review and ask yourself did you truly understand it? Or are there pieces and parts that are still fuzzy? If things are still fuzzy you need to go back and look through the reading again. Clear things up, make notes, mark up the document. Then to refresh yourself on the subject before class, look over your notes, reread the intro to the document, and also read the summary. These two pieces of information are important and will help you recap things.

As a student you will have an online relationship with almost everyone of your professors, teaching assistants, graduate assistants, teachers, etc. You need to make all of them positive relationships. This will benefit you and the professor, TA, or GA on the other end of the media device. By using the correct “etiquette” or Netiquette  is key in society today.  Netiquette is etiquette for online. For example an email. You need to have a proper greeting at the beginning of your email, such as Dear ____, then a clear concise body in your email, and a closing, such as Thank you, your name. The subject of your email should be clear, short and concise. Some professors will prioritize their emails by the matter of subject. If your subject is not clear and concise, it may get over looked.

I am pretty sure that now every email service has spell check. You should always use this tool before you press the send button. Then after you have used spell check, make sure you have proofread your email at least once.  Once you are confident about the message you are trying to convey then you may proceed and press the send button.

There is more than just emails at hand when creating positive relationships. Discussions boards are used in online courses. These places are important for you to be concise, grammatically correct, and spelling should be accurate. Multiple people will be reading these, and you never know who will be next to see them in your class. One wrong mistake can make an impression on someone, and you do not want that.

Study groups can be used in the college atmosphere also. Some classes have these in a discussion board style way. Anyone can post on them, and then anyone can respond to the post also.  Make sure to read these over also. You DO NOT want to make a bad impression in this area.

Notes to remember for making online positive relationships:

1.  Netiquette

2. Grammar

3. Spelling

4. Proofread

5. Be Concise

This advice applies to all types of online communication, such as; online group projects, group chats, discussion boards, emails, and more.

Cheyenne Koubeck

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