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Module 7 gave us great insight on how to stay motivated and engaged while completing activities in your life. these activities could range from completing household chores, working out, working, and school. I am someone who becomes easily distracted by the simplest things. I am the person who would much rather complete a math assignment then write a long essay. papers are my worst enemy and I am sure many of you would agree with me. I notice my procrastination and distractions most when writing or completing an assignment that takes longer than anticipated. However, this module has introduced me to many different tools and resources to help get rid of my many distractions including my number one problem: my cell phone. I have also found out that using your computer screen and cell phone right before bed can be harmful and can affect your sleeping schedule. I found an app fro the MacBook that allows you to control the color of your computer screen to help with the harmful light. This is something that I am going to work on because I think getting a better night’s sleep would be extremely helpful in allwoing me to follow a more proper schedule.

Hello again everyone, this weeks module was extremely informative for research papers! As boring as that sounds, I am someone who struggles with writing long research papers and finding enough research and articles to get me through the paper.  Module 6 however, showed us how to get reliable and quality sources. From experience, most long research papers require at least 15- 20 scholarly sources which can be a pain. Sometimes it is super easy to just do a google search and find whatever you can on a topic, but if you learn how to use the OSU library catalog you can find many more scholarly articles and journals. And not to mention the worst part about writing a research paper is the citations at the end, whether you are creating works cited, a reference list, or a bibliography. This module included online resources to help with that including easybib and RefWorks which are easy tools to help you create proper citations based on the format you need. All together this module helped me figure out and easy more doable way to write long and demanding research papers. It gave you very helpful references, tools, and resources that I would have never thought to use.

https://library.osu.edu

After completing this module I have discovered new learning tips on how to take effective and efficient notes. Before this module, I definitely took notes on how the people in the video recommended not to. I would always rush and write every single thing down and hardly look up from my paper. On the other end of the spectrum in certain classes if I wasn’t in the mood to take notes I would get distracted by my phone or computer. Sometimes in big lecture halls, it is hard to focus and put all your attention to your notes and listening to your professor. Professors also usually put their lecture notes online which can help lose people’s attention in class knowing that it is going to be posted online later. However, this module showed me that it is important to actively listen to your professor while taking notes and try to listen to the rhythm and sound of their voice. this will allow you to catch the important information you may need. It is okay not to write every single thing down and although you may miss some things there is always room to go back and edit your notes and review them more often.

After each module I have found myself learning a million new things. It ranges from learning how to navigate through google all the way to figuring out my best learning style. Each module includes a unique tip or trick to help better your academic experience as a college student. After finishing up Module 4, I found various new online study tools and resources specifically for college students. As you know being a college student your life can get pretty crazy and you may not have time to read through 4 chapters of you Anatomy book. But that’s where apps and websites like Quizlet come in handy. Quizlet has saved my life on many occasions. I could create quick flash cards that would make it easier to try to memorize concepts right before a quiz. I hate to admit it but sometimes I had to cram some studying in due to my busy and chaotic schedule! Once I have found all these cool new apps and websites to help me study, organize, and learn new topics I always forget or lose track of them. This is where learning how to bookmark pages or websites can really help speed up your process. In module 4 there was a direct link to a site that explained clearly how to bookmark something, (https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000858.htm) this was extremely helpful because before this module I had no idea how to.

After completing this week’s module, I learned an important tool that will definitely help me organize my crazy life. I have always had a Gmail account but never utilize the calendar that google provides. The calendar has many different tools that allow you to create a detailed and organized visual of what your days, weeks, and months will look like. I put in this summers schedule to my google calendar last week and it has already organized my schedule for the weekend. I found that I have checked the calendar more if it looks nicer and I enjoy the colors that I see. I know that may sound like a little detail but the more I enjoy the aesthetic of the calendar the more I want to look at it. A suggestion that I have for those of you who are reading my blog post is to take the time to make an organized calendar and check the tasks you complete as you go. I would even reward myself with a little treat when I complete something and check it off the list. This serves as an incentive and a reason for me to enjoy a sweet treat, usually a big bowl of ice cream. LOL!

In today’s blog post I will be focusing on some of the key tips and lessons from this week’s module. Off the bat, the most important and useful things I learned was that I am a terrible scheduler. After taking the Time Management Self-Assesment guide (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm), I scored the lowest on scheduling (3 out of 7, yikes)  and it made me really think about how I schedule and go about my daily routine. It brought to light that I really do not sit down at the beginning of each week and plan and schedule when I am going to complete my assignments or set time aside to study. I usually just go with the flow and do things as they come up or right before they are due. Scheduling is something that I am going to try to be better at so I can be more successful in my classes. One thing the assessment reflected upon was that scheduling is not about just assigning times to do your homework when its due, but making you think about delays, interruptions, and unexpected events. By creating a more detailed and organized scheudle I will be able to get my priorities in the right place and achieve my goals for each week. I know along with myself that everyone is busy doing college things and can get distracted throughout their week, so learning how to become a better scheuduler will help me greatly in trying to complete my homework and assignments on time.

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