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In my opinion, the most helpful knowledge I learned in this module is the ways to prevent the stress. As students, we always feel stress in our daily life. There are many factors which gives us stress in the social environment. For example, with final week coming, I often feel nervous and anxious. (However, if you are straight A student, you may feel well) The final exams are like heavy mountains weighing on my heart. My mental state is very bad these days. However, the stress factors are more various in our study life. Students have stress not only because of the learning problem, but also because of serious illness or ending a long-term relationship. The heavy stress will impacts students’ health and influence their learning efficiency. Therefore, the methods to reduce stress become important for us.

The first advice to release stress is to get some exercise. The exercise, especially aerobic exercise (running), is a great way to help reduce stress. Some scientist point out that exercise can increase the production of certain hormones, which will lead to a better mood and help counter depression and anxiety. What’s more, exercise can help us feel more energetic and focused so that we will be more productive in study. I think this method is helpful. Because I have to prepare for the final week, I have not been exercising recently. This may be the reason why I feel stressed. It seems like I need to increase exercise in the future.

Another suggestion is to get more sleep. As I said in my previous Blog, adequate sleep can help us reduce fatigue and increase memory. If sleep deprived, we will feel more stress and are less able to concentrate on our work or studies. In order to overcome sleepiness, some students may drink more coffee. However, the caffeine in coffee can contribute further to stress-related emotions such as anxiety and nervousness. And if we feel anxious and nervous, our efficiency will become lower and lower. Therefore, the adequate sleep is one of the most important things for students.

Sleep and exercise are both ways to reduce stress in the long term. There are some techniques to reduce the stress in the short run. For instance, we can breathe deeply before one exam. The deep breathing can make us feel more relaxed and focused. What’s more, we can use “Progressive muscle relaxation” method to relax our major muscle groups. The sensations and mental concentration will produce a calming state in this process. There are many other methods, such as listening music, can help us reduce the stress. Therefore, the stress is not scary. We can overcome it with scientific and healthy methods.

https://open.lib.umn.edu/collegesuccess/chapter/10-5-stress/

In my opinion, the most important part of this module is the differences between College writing and High school Writing. We all know the writing is a significant task in our college life. In the Ohio State University, we have writing courses such as English 1110 to help us fix the college writing. However, many students (including me) still didn’t the special points about college writing. Why it is different?

The format of college writing is different from the writing in the High school. For example, in order to teach us catching skills quickly, the teachers in high school always taught students the five-paragraph essay, which divided essay into five parts. I have to say this structure is simple enough, and we used this writing style very well. However, when we take part in University, the teachers begin to change. The five-paragraph essay is not a great structure very well. However, we didn’t know how to change this writing style at the same time. Therefore, some classmates started to complain that the college writing was too difficult.

The college writing is more difficult than high school writing actually. The writing in college becomes more academic, and our professors and instructors are stricter at the same time. What’s more, the thesis of writing is also changed. In the high school, our essays always focus on summarizing and analysis. But in a college paper, there should have more elements. It should have “Summarize” part to restate in our own words the main point or points of another’s work. It also should have “Compare” part to explore significant likenesses and differences between two or more subjects.

The college writing needs students to have their own idea and points, and the paper is the process that exploring the answer of problems. If the writing in high school is “Search”, the writing the college will be “Research”. If we can find the differences between these two kinds of theme, the college writing will become easy to understand.

https://open.lib.umn.edu/collegesuccess/chapter/8-1-whats-different-about-college-writing/

In my opinion, the most useful thing I learned in this module is the method to make note. For our students, the class note is a very important part of learning. A good note is sometimes even more important than the teacher’s handout. However, there is a significant problem that how to make a good note. In the Module 5, it introduces four major methods to make notes. And in my eyes, these methods all have their advantages and disadvantages.

The first method is called “The List Method”. It is similar to almost people understanding about class notes: the students list all information on the note paper. This method has a large advantage that it can help us go over the class very well. If we can record all information in the class, we will not need to worry about missing knowledge points in the subsequent learning process. However, the disadvantage of “The List Method” is also obvious as well. It is almost impossible for students to record all information in the note. Therefore, to improve the quality of class notes, we need other methods.

The second method is called “The Outline Method”, which is the most widely used method of note-taking. For this method, students should write down the outline of class in their note books. Compare with whole information, the outline of knowledge is much easier for students to record in the class. The outline is constructed by topic points of lecture. The Outline Method can help us connect important points and create a web of knowledge. Although the outline method is useful, it also has disadvantage. Because the notes do not explain the knowledge points, students need to review the course several times and refer to more materials to review.

The third method is called “The Concept Map Method”. We can also call this method the mind mapping. This method is different from other two methods in the context. The concept map is a picture, and students use lines to connect bubbles on this picture. Each bubble is a topic point of lecture. This method is simple enough. However, I don’t suggest students use this method to review their lecture. The concept map method is more suitable for preview rather than review.

The last method is “The Cornell Method”. This method combines the first and second method in the context. It divides the note page into three parts. The major part records mean information of the lecture, which is on the right of the note page. The question part is on the left of major part. In this part, students can point out questions about lecture. The third part is on the bottom of the page, which is used to supplement the content of major part.

These four methods all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the students should use them for different areas. Only using one method is not a good idea.

In my opinion, the most important thing I learned in this module is memory management. I believe most of students know memory is important: it affects every aspect of our learning. When I see someone with better grades than me, I often say: “His memory is better than mine.” The memory and study have been connected in my mind. Sometimes I also think that memory ability is innate. However, in this module, I know it can be managed. The memory is divided into two parts: short term memory and long term memory. In my eyes, they are temporary memory and permanent memory. And learning is the process of transforming short-term memory into long-term memory. To avoid the fish’s memory (Only has 7 seconds), we need to use some methods to manage our memory.

We can make a deliberate decision to remember the specific data. The specific data and terms like the flash points in the dark, and they can help us to connect events in the brain. Sometimes, we don’t need to spend a lot of effort to remember the whole content of an event. Just remember a few key times and words. For example, when I mentioned 1929, the first thing I could remember was the Great Depression. The time data “1929” connects with term “Great Depression” in my mind. What’s more, because the terms “Unemployment” and “Financial Crisis” connect with “Great Depression”, I can remember more information by mentioning 1929.

What’s more, we can link the information to our everyday life. As I said in the context, the information always connects with each other in other mind, and one piece of memory may be the key of another piece of memory. However, the key can be lost sometimes. If we link the memory to our everyday life, it will be like putting the key in a place where we can see it. For instance, I connect face mask with Covid-19. When I see the mask, I will remember the information of Covid-19, and then I will review the knowledge of financial crisis during the Covid-19.

This may sound weird, but in fact, memory is not a straight line, it is more like a complex web that connects all information together. Therefore, managing memory is our necessary skill. It can not only help us improve our learning efficiency, but also improve our quality of life. I believe I can learn more about memory management in this module, and I hope you can catch more methods as well!

Link:https://open.lib.umn.edu/collegesuccess/chapter/4-5-remembering-course-materials/

In my opinion, the most important thing I learned from this module was to beat the procrastination. As a student, procrastination always gets me into trouble. Sometimes I believe there is a stupid monkey in my brain. It will appear and control my mind when I want to work or study. Therefore, the strategies to beat procrastination are actually useful to me. I agree with the suggestion that “Don’t Multitask”. I am not a genius, so I can’t multitask very well at same time. It is unwise to pile all tasks together (Believe me! I learned it in my high school). If I want to improve my efficiency to work, I need to develop routines and discipline. As Sunil Harrypersad said, “To prevent procrastination and missed timelines, one must develop specific routines and discipline.” People need a plan to regulate themselves. There is nothing more dangerous than walking with your eyes closed. The specific routines and discipline will become the lighthouse which points out the direction to overcome procrastination. However, if you think it is difficult, you can try to use 10-minutes rule. If 30-minute task is difficult to complete, you can divide them into 10 minutes. The 10-minutes task is much easier for everyone.

The philosopher Zeng said, “I daily examine myself on three points.” We can also ask ourselves three questions when we study. “Where are you? What do you want to do? How will you feel after doing it?” These three questions will lead us to think the process of working. If we review the process of working, we will find the defect of time management. The result of thinking will become the weapon which used to beat procrastination.

“Everyone has procrastination.” However, it is not invincible. There are many strategies help us to overcome it. “The first step is always difficult.” But we can continue to walk on correct direction. The next steps will become easier. I believe these useful strategies could improve my efficiency in the future. I hope these strategies could help you as well. The procrastination is a large block on the way, but if we break it, the road of our lives will become smoother in the future.

Link：https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/04/13/14-ways-you-can-overcome-procrastination/?sh=18c042f217df

In my opinion, this module is very important to me. The skill of communication online is actually useful during the epidemic. What’s more, because I have a slight social fear, the internet is the major tool which I used to communicate with other people. In my eyes, the most important point of this module is the netiquette online. With the development of social media, more and more people like posting their own ideas on the internet. When the information becomes mess, the netiquette is the regulation of people. I’d like to share my mind with other people, but I don’t want to be attack on the internet. Therefore, the netiquette is the tool which protects my digital reputation. I can avoid public argument or flame war by its help.

What’s more, the netiquette also regulate my email to my professor. I’m afraid to send my email to professor sometimes, because I think I may make some mistakes in my email. However, in this module, the netiquette tells me how to communicate with professors and avoid mistakes. I learn that my email is forever, and I should be careful before I send it. I should pay attention on subject line, because professor may not have time to read whole event. (I did not the importance of subject line before, and I sometimes sent email without it.) I learn that the email is serous for me, and I must observe netiquette. The problem should be point out, and connect with professor on right way.

Here are 18 Etiquette Tips for E-mailing Your Professor:

1. E-mail is forever.
2. E-mail goes where it’s told.
3. Professors might not be using the cruddy university e-mail system.
4. Professors might not open mail sent from luckydogpig@thepound.com.
5. Subject lines are for subjects.
6. Salutations matter.
7. Clear and concise is best.
8. Always acknowledge.
9. THIS IS NOT A SHOUTING MATCH.
10. No one really likes emoticons and smileys.
11. This is not Facebook.
12. This is not IM-ing.
13. This is not CollegeHumor.
14. This is not RateMyProfessors.com.
15. Spelling mistakes make you look like a doofus.
16. Signoffs and signatures count.
17. Your prof doesn’t want to hear your philosophy of life.
18. Don’t lay it on too thick.

These 18 etiquette tips is regulation of writing emails, I hope I can use these tips to communicate with my professor very well. What’s more, the method of communication in group is also significant. Whether it’s online communication, email communication with professors, or communication with classmates, etiquette is necessary. That’s what I learned in this module.

Artcile link: https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/09/30/18-etiquette-tips-for-e-mailing-your-professor

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