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Module 7: Keys to Motivation for Online Learning

Many a times we as students have a great deal of things going on with our lives and time to time get distracted and loose our focus and get behind on things that are to be done by us. Module 7 talks about useful strategies that could help us to stay motivated and focused to finish tasks at hand in a timely manner. One key skill that was reinforced when going through the module to me was in order to find motivation to maintain our learning habits we could try and link the topics we are studying to their application outside of the scope of the course in say for example at a job. Learning about say the impacts of global warming in a science course can help one in the long run if for say they become an environmental engineer and have to find ways to curb the impacts of global warming. I like that idea of considering our own relevant knowledge as skills for keeping one motivated to study more, thinking about the future applications with the acquired knowledge.

The module also talks about other strategies and techniques on to how to manage interruptions and avoid distractions and one particular video that I found helpful in staying focused. https://youtu.be/AAv0ko2pelEThe video talks about apps such as calm, and other background noise cancellers and generators one could use to maintain focus. It also talks about strategies to avoid distractions by creating two accounts one for study and work and other for social media so that while studying we are not bothered by notifications. I found these strategies to be helpful and something I would like to use in future studying times and also advice my fellow peers to try them out and reap the benefits.

Resource Guide Book

Module 1: Online student success

Module 2: Communication

  • Name of resource: Guidelines to improve online group work
  • Link to resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZRyDgDlvqA
  • Category of resource: Communication (Youtube Video)
  • Brief description: Tip and strategies on how to deal with non participating group members

Module 3: Efficiency

  • Name of resource: Time management: What to do with free time?
  • Link to resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3kNlFMXslo
  • Category of resource: Efficiency (Ted talk)
  • Brief description: Few practical strategies to help find more time for what matters to us, so we can “build the lives we want in the time we’ve got.”

Module 4: Studying

Module 5:Note-taking 

  • Name of resource: Effective learning strategies
  • Link to resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dhcSP_Myjg&feature=youtu.be 
  • Category of resource: Note-taking (Youtube video)
  • Brief description: Deep processing and effective strategies that enforce deep processing (question generation, concept map etc. )by University professor.

Module 6: Searching and researching 

  • Name of resource: Writing a college research paper
  • Link to resource: https://youtu.be/D2DRdOts5lY
  • Category of resource: Searching and Researching (Youtube video)
  • Brief description: Useful tips on constructing a college research paper, basic outline and explanation.

Module 6: Searching and Researching: The foundations of academic writing

 

Module 6 explores writing in college something which is a very important success driver in our college life as there would always be a course or two where we would encounter academic writing and conduct proper research for it. And coming from high school most of us would know by this time that college writing is different from high school writing. One of the videos https://youtu.be/D2DRdOts5lY from the module provides tips on writing a proper college research paper and how it is distinctive from a high school paper. In high school most of us are expected to follow exact instructions from our teachers for a successful paper but in college we primarily drive our decisions on how we approach a research topic and how we decide to deliver it within the scopes of a research paper and is much more involved and may be difficult.

The video enforces was for every research paper we got to have a basic outline in the back of our mind and try to keep our research within the scopes of the outline. To jumpstart the paper one may start with an Introduction anywhere from a paragraph to 2 pages which depends upon the length of the paper which composes of background statements to introduce the topic and and something to lead up to the thesis. If the paper is longer than 10 pages, we could include a section talking about how the paper is structured in the background. The paragraphs following the background paragraph introduces subtopics that support the thesis. Then finally we lead to a conclusion paragraph that basically restates the thesis, gives a brief summary of the paper in few words and the implication of the paper’s argument.  Other tips for us college students which are reinforced in the module are the proper techniques for searching credible sources for our research papers. We could look for the three aspects essential to source credibility while searching for resources mentioned in the module which are: reliability, quality and utility.

 

 

Module 5: Web Enhanced listening and viewing strategies

Module 5 talks about the effective note taking strategies which are key to studying effectively for us college students. One video within the lecture I found extremely helpful for advice was from Professor Chew from Stamford University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9GrOxhYZdQ discussing some effective learning strategies. Students should strive to keep away from shallow processing that comprises of meaningless and superficial aspects of learning and does not lead to effective learning. Instead they should look into deep processing which provides meaning and implications of learnt material leading to connected learning. Some of the studying strategies that enforce deep processing are: 1) question generation where questions are generated on the read material to make connections, compare or contrast etc., 2) creating a concept map which are diagrams of nodes and links which enforces processing information deeply, 3) practicing retrieving without referring notes to check your understanding and 5) practicing using the learnt information in the form required say short answers, essay etc.

Other useful tips provided in the module where note taking strategies such as the Cornell method, Outline method, Bullet and sentences method and the Concept map method. I would like to incorporate in my note taking strategies the lesser known methods by me such as the Cornell method and the Concept map method as they are useful strategies that I could incorporate when I revisit my initial draft of notes to give them more structure and in that process I revisit the said concepts again and it would reinforce my memory. The Cornell method would give me an analytical outlook in the notes I took by looking at what and why something is important with a brief summary of my notes. The Concept map method would help me understand the main concepts and the links between them to better understand the events so that I can retain it in my memory. Other general tips from the module I would like to share with my fellow peers to aid in effective note taking are 1)being active listeners in class, look for signal words and phrases by lecturers such as “this is important”, “for example”,etc 2) dealing with speed – not getting lost, if an information is missed ask the professor later 3) Getting structure of the lecture- not copying down everything from the lecture slides, instead giving structure to the notes by trying out said note taking strategies.

Module 4: Web-Enhanced Reading and Study Strategies Blog Post

 

This web enhancing reading module is extremely valuable and relevant to us college students to re-visit and and evaluate some of our reading strategies and how we could enhance them going forward in our academic career. One major strategy from the module that stood out to me was the SQ3R reading method that really made me revisit my reading technique and how I can better them for optimum results https://youtu.be/0dhcSP_Myjg

First step S in the strategy is to skim the material, maybe read the main titles and get a feel for what you would be engaging with and having a mental outline. Second step Q is to ask questions to self, maybe about concepts you are not familiar with, jotting it down, having a quick look up of the terms and setting up the stage before you actively read it. The third step and first of the R’s is to actually read the material. Then to recite it in our mind, speaking concepts aloud can help with material retention. And finally, review and revisiting the material just to make sure you understand what was read and having a final look before moving on. Though I knew the general steps in the strategy, in the coming weeks I would like to actively enforce them step by step just to make a difference to my memory retention of the material read. An advice for my fellow peers and myself from general tips that I have been following that were reinforced in this module are: not multitasking, tackling one assignment at a time and giving it your full attention, refraining  from mindless highlighting while reading etc.

 

 

Module 3: Efficiency in the Digital age

 

 

The most useful lesson I learnt from this module is from a ted talk by Laura Vanderkam in the lesson plans on what to do with your free time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=125&v=n3kNlFMXsloI I liked how she mentioned that, “we do not build the lives we want by saving time, we build the lives we want and then time saves itself”. If we try and incorporate that kind of drive in our life to achieve the life we want, we wont have to look for strategies to save time, and I think that is wonderful.

Something form the module I have already put into practice is reducing digital distractions. I try to evaluate my study environment now before diving into work mode by being more aware of my distractions and try and avoid it by maintaining an interruptors log, from the time management assessment from Module 2. The link to the article where I found the interruptor’s log is provided here https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_94.htm

Although I have been using google account and drive primarily for google docs and excel the majority of my academic life for engineering assignment documentations and group collaboration, I have not made use of google calendars or the new google tasks feature now available to use. I would like to incorporate them in my schedule and make good use of them and try to be better at managing time.

As I constantly seek  for solutions to  better my situation and find tips for my fellow college students to be better at managing time, I came across this article that  gave me some useful tips as to how we can be more effective in my studying patterns  and would like to share. Globokar, J. L. (2010). 3 Getting Organized. In Introduction to Online Learning: A Guide for Students. (pp. 29-44). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc) Globokar (2010) summarized in her article a four step process to identify workspaces that matches one’s needs, something I found extremely important as I have always faced problems with finding a suitable place to get things done. It made me realize how important it is to find a suitable environment to study as the act of studying itself. I plan on applying the tips and tricks I have learnt from this module in my daily life and hope to be more successful in my studying endeavors.

Module 2: Collaborating and Communicating on the Web

 

One major takeaway for me from the module collaborating and communicating on the web is the importance of netiquette. Slide 2 from Lesson: Module 2 talks about what is netiquette  and why is it important. Often times one may neglect the practice of good netiquette as they may feel online communication is not very personal.  One may feel how one behaves online would not affect their personality and often little care is given in terms of carrying good netiquette practices while communicating online. Rules of netiquette are crucial to protect one’s digital reputation and a permanent digital footprint is created for every interaction or communication online. It is also something that I have put into practice in my personal life as well, be it a professional communication or casual chat with a friend on a social media platform. I am very cautious of not getting into any heated public arguments on a social media platform and whenever possible try to respond in a public neutral approach to a certain topic of discussion.

Some tips on improving online communication I would like to practice from this module is taking digital communication as if it was a physical face to face communication and think and communicate accordingly. That way I could be even better at communicating my thought process efficiently and also engage in the conversation better. I also found it very useful to revisit some of the tips of online communication within academia and refreshing some of the basic practices of emailing a professor or composing an academic email. A learning and advice that I have learnt from the module that would be beneficial to us students in the long run would be being aware of our presence online and think and act with caution whenever communicating and collaborating online.

 

MO 2.4 :Positive role of technology tools for online collaboration

Nowadays a lot of courses taken by college students require group work and collaboration at some point of the course or throughout for carrying out end of semester projects or similar assignments. For collaborating on these academic project, many a times the members of the group may not be available physically due to schedule conflicts with one another. in a situation like these, many a times students find a resort for online collaboration to get the work done so that all group members can engage and contribute equally to the project.

One trustworthy medium that I have been using from the beginning of my academic career for online collaboration also mentioned in lesson: module 2 slides is google docs and its many features for easy access to group collaborated work. With just a link for a particular google doc, accessible to all who have the link, collaborating online seems a great alternative to not being physically available for group collaboration and doing the same amount of work efficiently with more group participation. Having assigned group work online and collaborating on ideas live on google doc comes in handy when one might be in a tight schedule and may want to revisit work done at a later available time. Other technology tools for online collaboration include group me, an extensive communication platform used by a majority of college students and zoom meetings for online meetings. All these available technology tools make life much easier for students and encourage more collaboration, something that is required throughout one’s college careers.