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The internet is saturated with countless resources, both credible and not. As students in higher education, success is correlated to the standards of output they can provide, and college is a great place to learn. Credibility of sources is one factor, and another is intake of bunch of information and noting it down. This post focuses on the latter. This information pertains to the students in academic institutions.

Information in college is not only limited to what we can read online, but also listening to instructions and content in classes to ensure academic success. This module covers web-based strategies to enhance viewing and listening skills. One way in which these skills translate is by note-taking. Taking notes is not just about writing/typing what the professor says in class, it is about paying attention to detail and being able to comprehend which detail to write down that can help the student to connect the dots and analyze the content effectively. This is also termed as “Active listening”. One thing to ensure during the note-taking process is that it shouldn’t be mindless. It is also dependent on the student to figure out whether typing works better for them or writing. There are various technological resources listed under the module that can help students categorize the notes easily. Two apps that have worked well for me are OneNote and Notability. OneNote has a feature with sticky notes to make quick points to remember. It also has a section to label sub-divisions within a specific topic and create extensive notes there. Another app that I love using is Notability. Apart from the basic note-taking features it has options to pick the type of pages student wants to use and option to type and write with the apple pencil. It also allows students to record audio and screen at the same time. This is extremely convenient to go back and review in case students miss the content while taking notes.

I hope these app suggestions can benefit students to incorporate active listening while taking effective notes!

Often times, as a Philosophy major I am required to read a multitude of papers while also compartmentalizing arguments so I can form rebuttals of my own in response. However, a personal challenge I have faced, as I am sure many other students face as well, is that I cannot concentrate for long periods of time and I lose the continuity in my reading. Through the lessons in Module 4 I realized that I need to focus on metacognition and not on the number of papers or pages I get through. (This ensures quality over quantity.) This is a result of active reading where the reader is able to analyze and connect the dots between what I am reading and what I have already read.

When it comes to technology used in order to ensure memory and metacognition, I have not personally come across any that have helped me in this journey, however, I have heard about DuoLingo and Quizlet that help users retain information they have learned through repetition and application of theories through multiple choice questions. I would love to try them for myself to apply my knowledge so I can understand different facets of theories better.

Overall, I believe it is essential for a student to find out what works for them and what doesn’t. One should also keep in mind that different classes have different requirements, and there are different tricks to understand and learn information presented. Students can achieve that by understand what works for them and by communicating with the professor about their needs and queries.

It is no doubt that when the pandemic hit in 2020, the whole world went through a major upheaval. We learnt to adapt a new routine for ourselves where everything we did in-person shifted on an online platform. This abrupt change forced people to get better acquainted with technology, and it proved that eventually everyone has to adapt to technological resources because, whether one likes it or not, technology is the future. 

Increasingly, people have started creating companies that are based online, financial transactions are conducted online, and even courses are taken online which covers a portion of the entrepreneurial, financial, and educational industries. Since the world is transforming in this way, I believe that it is extremely essential for people to get comfortable with technology professionally. I like to think of it as a skill. One of the topics covered in our module this week is includes the concept of netiquette. Needless to say, in a professional setting one must follow the punctilios of workplace decorum but it is important to note that it is done differently on an online platform than in-person. It not only involves taking precautions like not using all capitals while drafting messages but also the format in which one does so. This can be in the form of group messages, emails, blog posts, etc. 

I am grateful to be able to learn these strategies at an undergraduate level so I can implement them in the professional world.