Module 7: Keys to Motivation for Online Learning

This post is meant for students.  It is often difficult to pinpoint the motivation that drives you everyday.  As we saw in this module, there are two factors: intrinsic and extrinsic.  I took a leadership class last year taught by Urban Meyer and the differences between the two factors was talked about in class a lot.  The way that painted the clearest picture for me about the differences was thinking about extrinsic motivation factors as short-term motivations.  For example, a fear of failing an upcoming exam will propel one forward enough until they take the exam.  This may work for the person, however, the motivation is now gone after the exam was been completed.  Intrinsic motivation factors, on the other hand, last forever and derive from long-term thoughts and goals.  Back to the exam factor, it will help anyone in their academic career if they are able to have tangible goals.  What I mean by this is that you should know why you’re in college and what you are trying to get out of it.  This way the exam that you are afraid of doesn’t represent just that one exam, but the entirety of your academic aspirations.  I found it to be helpful to look inward and have moments of self-reflection to identify these motivations.

Module 6: Searching and Researching: The Foundations of Academic Writing

This blog post is intended for the student viewer.

I appreciated this week’s module as I do not think that it is a topic that we are exposed to enough during our academic careers.  Academic research papers are something I have done in the past, in college, and something that I fully expect to happen again in the future.  Even if our post-college lives do not include graded academic research papers, the foundational knowledge will accompany us throughout our professional careers.  This is because the process of researching will be something that we will absolutely have to do again.  There will come a time where you are tasked with something that you have little surface level knowledge on. At this point in time, you will need to conduct research.

The part of the module that I thought was most helpful in trying to navigate the area of research is the ‘utility’ function of the sources that one should find.  I think this because it is paramount that the information be presented in a way that will never alienate new viewers of the topic.  People should approach these tasks with the assumption that the audience doesn’t have any surface knowledge.  This will mean that one needs to introduce their knowledge to the viewer at the beginning of their presentation.  Therefore, it is incredibly important that one is able to evaluate a source to determine if it is, “appropriate for the audience.”  This note on source credibility that we saw in the module cannot be overlooked as the audience needs to know the world that we are talking about before they will be receptive to our research on the matter.

Module 5: Online Learning Strategies and Skills

Hello Students!

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s module as much as I did.  I was particularly excited when I saw the name of one of my favorite apps in the module: Evernote.  If you do not know what this is, I highly recommend that you download it immediately.  Evernote is a modern note-taking app.  One of the best features of the app is the ability to organize your notes.  Evernote has it set up in a way where you can organize your notes however you see fit.  The way I usually do it is by Class.  What makes Evernote modern?   This is because Evernote has a mobile app as well as a laptop version.  This alone isn’t exciting, however, you are able to make a note on one device and have it come up on the other devices that you are logged into.  This makes studying much more flexible.  This also allows for you to take notes anywhere!  This is the app that I use to go grocery shopping as well as take notes for my accounting classes.  It is also very easy to format, so users can add as many bullet points as they’d like.  This is a plus as now you can tailor your notebook to any method, even the Cornell Method!

Module 4: Online Learning Strategies and Skills

There was one tip on slide 6 of the module that I thought was one of the most important of the module.  This slide suggested that students should interact with their online readings.  We are fortunate enough to have a lot of different functions available to us with an online formatted textbook.  There is one method of recall that has been used for a while: highlight.  Most online textbooks have the ability to highlight text.  This is a basic function, but it comes in handy when you can separate all of the information you have highlighted and look at it alone.  This is something I do as a study tool and have found great success in doing so.

Another piece of information that I thought was helpful on this slide was, “Draw symbols to identify important or confusing information”.  This is also something that I do.  It seems like overkill while you are reading it, but your future-self will thank you.  This is a simple study tool that will save you a lot of time in the future.  I did this in both of my law classes with a simple: ?, X, or checkmark.  All three of these symbols meant something different to me and made going back through the information a lot more organized when I was ready to study for the final.

Module 3: Efficiency in the Digital Age

 

The most useful thing I learned in this module was the act of trying to figure out WHY you’re procrastinating.  I never thought of it this way, but procrastination can have some real internal meaning behind it.  It could tell one a lot about how they feel about certain subjects, ideas, and tasks.  For example, after reflection I could find out that I am procrastinating certain coursework because it is the hardest subject for me and it intimidates me.  This could lead to a realization that I need to seek extra help in this particular subject.  This could also tell me that perhaps I choose the wrong major, or that I don’t want to take another class taught by a particular professor.

Some advice that I would give to people is the difference between taking a break and procrastinating.  If you work for an extended amount of time on one thing, I absolutely recommend taking a breather and letting your mind rest.  Every time I do this I find myself more relaxed and capable of focusing on the material.  Procrastinating more comes into play when you are waiting until the last possible moment to complete a task.  Taking a short break helps me relax and centers myself for the next round of work.

Module 2: Communicating and Collaborating

I think the most useful thing I learned in this module is the art of group work.  Despite everyone sharing a common goal, group work is a difficult thing to manage.  There are different personalities, thoughts, and work ethics colliding at every twist and turn.  An important thought that was noted in this module on slide 13 is that, “group work does not end after graduation… you will be constantly collaborating with colleagues.”  My advice to every student out there is to not take group work for granted.  It may seem like you are being inconvenienced by having to accommodate other schedules, but you need to look at it from a different angle.

Being in group work in college is great preparation for working together with people in the real world.  I promise that if you put as much effort and focus into a group project as you would at your first job after graduation, then you will come out of that project with an increased knowledge of the subject and maybe even a friend.  There are a lot of similarities between college group work and the collaboration that you are going to have to do after graduation.  I think everyone should look at group work as an opportunity to improve your interpersonal skills.

 

Website: https://www.online.drexel.edu/uploadedfiles/public_website/content/infographics/infographic-group_tips-2015.pdf

Intro to Me

I am a first year direct-admit Accounting major in the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.  I attended Maine Township High School South, a competitive high school in a Chicago suburb.  I have interests in Accounting, Economics, and Finance.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]