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Module7: Maintaining Motivation Blog Post

For module7, I learned that the study environment also plays a role in my motivation. And study environment includes physical environment(distance, comfort, supplies you have readily available), social environment(noise, other people), and online environment(digital distractions, resources)(Lecture Slide 6).When we set three environments into a comfortable situations, we are more easily to be concentrated and have a high study efficiency. Moreover, we can find a soundtrack for our motivation. Search for “music for concentration” or “music for studying” and listen to a playlist that has been curated to increase concentration.

There are some tools help se eliminate online distractions.The app that I have already put into practice is Forest. It is a software that allows you to focus on one thing through virtual tree planting. In the software, you can set your tree planting time, and set the tree to die once you open other software. The users will earn money after planning a tree successfully. And you can use the money to unlock different tree spices. In my opinion, while helping us to concentrate, Forest also adds a lot of fun to us, which leads us to use this software frequently.

I will learn to manage stress and pay attention to my emotional health. According to slide 20 in our lecture, your well-being is another component that can impact your motivation. Your mental, emotional, and physiological states can help you be more resilient in the face of stress and more receptive to learning.

Module6: Searching and Researching Blog Post

The useful thing I learned in module 6 is the difference between searching and researching. As a person whose English is my second language, I always think that research and search mean the same thing. However, according to the lecture, research requires a critical look at the quality of the information you are finding rather than simply finding information that fits a particular topic. It’s a process that “encompasses why and how we cite our courses, what sources are considered “primary” versus “secondary”, what types and sources of information are considered more reliable, trustworthy or accurate, and many other things  (Prensky, 2005, pp.2-3). Researching resources is not the content searched out on google research, and the resource from research needs to be reliable and quality. Moreover, for searching, it is typically a right or wrong answer, while for researching, it is typically no right or wrong answer.

From the module, I learned how to determine whether the resource is reliable and quality. To determine the reliability, we should ask ourselves whether the credentials of the author are listed (PhD, MS, Dr.,etc.), whether the information comes from a reputable published or organization, and whether the information found peer reviewed.  To determine the quality, we should ask ourselves whether the information includes specifies and not only broad generalizations, whether the information is up-to-date, whether the information is consistent, and whether the article is well written, and so on.

Web-Enhanced Listening and Viewing Strategies Blog Post

From this week’s module, I learned that taking notes help us remember knowledge, think, pay attention to the professor, and clarify. And in order to take good notes, we should listen actively, get used to the structure of the professor’s class, and pay attention to the speed. According to e-Learning Companion:A Student’s Guide to Online Success, professor Ryan Watkins and Michael Corry suggest that listen for the main ideas, try to participate what will come next, listen for structural patterns (for instance, the following seven steps…), and then summarize what you have heard(Page 8). I think these steps help us a lot when recording the key points, because the professor will not wait for you to finish taking notes before starting the next content. Recording the key points can help you keep up with the professor’s rhythm, and it is also convenient for you to recall when reviewing.

I have already organize my notes electronically. I frequently use notability. It has a pretty convenient function that I can log in to my account to back up my notes, such as google drive, one drive, etc. This way I can view my notes on other devices, and when I change the device, these notes will not be lost.

I will put active listening into practice in the future. It was easy for me to ignore what the professor was talking about when taking notes, which caused me to miss some important points. If I can use the steps of active listening, my efficiency will be higher.

 

Module4: Web-Enhanced Reading and Study Strategies Blog Post

The most useful thing I learned in this module is how to strengthen our memory. Memory is the process of storing and retrieving information. Humans have short-term memory and long-term memory. According to chapter 4.5 Remembering Course Materials, short-term memory includes information captured in the moment and information extracted from passive memory for critical thinking and conclusions. But short-term memory is limited and will be affected over time and lack of use. So we need to store the memory in long-term memory. To this end we can adopt some techniques, such as making a deliberate decision to remember certain data, link information with other information that has been “stored”, link them with life, repeat, repeat, and repeat, and so on.

I have already learning with technology. Notability is a software that I like very much and use frequently. Because it supports handwriting and keyboard input, I use it to take notes in class. At the same time, I also import the professor’s PPT into it and maje some notes. This greatly improve my learning efficiency.

What I still need to improve is multitasking. I am always distracted by the phone, or I try to complete several tasks at the same time. In the end, I didn’t manage a task well. It turns out that we need to focus on one task at a time, and go back and forth between tasks slows my comprehension and wastes time. Especially in the current stage of online classes, I am easily attracted by the advertisements that pop up on the website. For this reason, I will turn off my mobile phone and close websites that are not related to learning.

Assignment: Efficiency in the Digital Age Blog Post

The most useful things I learned in the module is that the situation that we are prone to tell ourselves that there is always more time to get work done or that there are more desirable tasks to complete instead is called rationalizations. Many people have this phenomenon, and what we have to do is to overcome it. A lot of time management strategies and tools can help us, such as google calendar, to-do list, and so on.

The tool I have already use is making to-do list. When we have a lot of tasks, we often forget some tasks, so I make a to-do list to remind myself what needs to be done. And, to give an example, when I have a due on Friday, I will tell myself on Tuesday that I still have a lot of time to complete it, but when I see on the to-do list that I also have a lot of due on Saturday, I know that I have to finish my due on Friday in advance, otherwise I will not only be unable to complete due on Friday, but also due on Saturday. So to-do list helps me not to procrastinate to a certain extent.

The strategy  I want to use in the future is breaking down large tasks. The steps of some tasks are too complicated or too difficult to complete. When I see them on the to-do list, I will not be motivated to complete them. Therefore, I think that if I split them into many small steps, it will motivate me to complete it.

 

Module2: Communicating and Collaborating Blog Post

From module 2, I learned that online communication is different from face-to-face communication. According to the lecture, it states that when communicating online, keep in mind that your audience cannot see your face or physically hear your voice and tone(Slide5). Therefore, when we communicate online, what we say should be simple and easy to understand, and straight into the subject. Moreover, whether in emails, discussion posts, or other forms of online communication, we should learn to be polite and respect others. Based on the lecture, it mentions that we can only get one chance to make a first impression, so make sure your emails are written in a courteous and respectful manner(Slide 11). Therefore, we must always pay attention to be polite and respectful, or we will make a bad impression.

For part 2, we also learned communication and collaboration tools. From these tools, I am interested in Trello. It is a tool which users can easily create and assign tasks to stay on track. To be honest, I didn’t know this tool before. In our school life, including future work, we will definitely encounter a lot of teamwork. In order for everyone to treat the team work positively, I think Trello will help a lot to track everyone’s task progress.

Reference: Slide 5 and slide 11 from Module 2 lecture. https://osu.instructure.com/courses/103003/pages/lesson-module-2?module_item_id=6283781