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This week’s module on maintaining motivation couldn’t have come at a better time. With the semester winding down and winter break on my mind, finding motivation to finish strong was the last thing I could find. I recently made the decision to switch my major, and seeing as the current classes I’m in have no bearing on my degree, I’m finding it even harder to study for their respective finals. However, in order to avoid a bad grade on my transcript I knew I would have to muster up the will and just push past these weeks. I’ve employed some of the methods taught in this week’s module, mainly the app blockers and focus improving noise website, Noisli. As someone who could never focus with music on in the background, Noisli was the perfect app for me. It plays soft noises found in nature like leaves blowing in the wind, ocean waves, and rain. The app blocker combined with this meant I wasn’t straying away from my studies and hopping on social media or online shopping websites. I also found some classical music study playlists on Spotify that were perfectly motivating and not overly distracting. I hope these tips help you achieve productivity in this final stretch!

https://www.noisli.com/

This week’s module was about researching properly, an important aspect of any course. I thought I was done with reading scholarly papers and citing books with my schedule chalked full of science classes, but I was so wrong! Numerous times in my biology class I have had to consult credible sources and lab reports, conduct my own research and write about it, and properly cite the resources I used. This just goes to show: knowing how to properly research is a valuable tool that is utilized in all classes, regardless of the discipline. This week’s lesson really emphasized the difference between “searching” and “researching”. This is something I learned first-hand when tasked with creating a poster project on the Ebola virus for my biology class. Merely searching simple questions was not sufficient enough to properly explain the virus to others at the poster presentation. Delving into the assignment with real research was necessary. The project required the knowledge of prevention, treatment, diagnosis, and history of the virus. Credible, quality sources were necessary. I searched the web for reliable sources that had multiple citations, distinguished authors, and real, factual material. This was surprisingly hard to find as much of the internet was littered with Yahoo answers and opinion based articles. A helpful article that explains how to navigate one of the less credible websites, Wikipedia, is linked below. The article touches on the downsides of using Wikipedia, “Wikipedia forgoes the review requirement in favor of timeliness and the ability to include anyone who wants to participate” (pg 2). This is important to remember: anyone can contribute. I hope you guys find this article useful and remember that research skills are universally applicable!

https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2007/6/eli7026-pdf.pdf

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