Study Tips

Realizing that being in dorm rooms with 3 other girls was not always conducive to good study habits or quiet time; my college had placed study areas all over the university grounds.  There where study carols in the library, tables in the commons, a study hall in the union and private rooms in the dorms.  I could always tell where a study area was, because it was always empty.  People simply don’t know how to study.  However, for success in pursuing your college degree finding the best method of study is going to be a life-saver.

If you really do live in a dorm with other loud people, you may want to take advantage of your college’s study areas. If not, the best way to study is devising your own study area. Get a desk with space to write (your computer desk will be fine as long as it has space for books too) and keep a jar of pens, highlighters and other necessities.  Once your mind connects that place as a study place it will help you get in the mindset to study.  Concentration is the key to effective study time.  Efficiency experts have said that every time your concentration is broken it can take up to 8 minutes of time to get refocused.  So turn off the TV, and don’t study in an area where people will talk to you intermittently.

Many people cannot study in silence because our culture simply isn’t used to quiet anymore.  The best thing to do is play music, particularly classical music, in the background.  It becomes a kind of “white noise” which blocks out distractions and gives you the ability to think more clearly.  Have a goal in mind for what you want to accomplish in the session and set a milestone.  If your goal is to read two chapters, don’t get until you have done so.  If you are working on a paper, don’t leave until you have 3 pages written. Decide for yourself a reasonable goal and stick to it.

Every person is unique and has unique study habits.  Find the method that works best for you, and stick with it and your college degree will be done before you know it.

Have you ever looked at the toys kids have these days and thought, “wow, where was that when I was growing up?” I do. I see kids with Lego sets that build Star Wars spaceships with all the perfectly shaped parts and remember that when I was a kid all I had were the blocks that came in primary colors and were just squares. All you could really build were block houses, block trees and block people to sit on a block bench. I don’t just feel that way about toys, I feel that way about school too. I went to college to get my degree before the personal computer was on everyone’s desk and I marvel at how much easier it is to write papers and research when you study online.

Gone are the days of trudging to the college library, looking for the same book as the other 30 people in your class and hoping it has everything you need to know because you don’t have time to look for others. Getting a college degree is much easier today. With online resources, you can access almost any knowledge you need from journals (now liberated from being in the forbidden reference section where you had to put your watch on deposit to borrow a book) to maps and pictures. Most colleges even have online links to their special collections for students so you can all access the material at the same time and get the information you need.

Not only does the ability to study online give you the chance to get all your facts and research done quickly, it also allows you to get assignments from professors and communicate with them on a personal basis. In the Stone Age when I was in college, that was done by making an appointment during office hours. Now you can send an email at your leisure to clarify an assignment and your professor can answer at his or her convenience.

Getting a college degree will still require effort and study, but the increased speed, accessibility and communication all enhance your efforts to complete your tasks. Then, you’ll have time to play with some of those really cool Lego sets.

Historically, every day had a natural ebb and flow to it. People got up when the sun came up and worked early before it got too hot. Then they would eat and share family time as the sun waned and when it went down, they went to bed.  Then the light bulb got invented, and it’s been downhill for nature ever since.  After the light bulb was the car which took you places faster, the convenience store which stayed open all night, TV and movie marathons, and then the computer and the internet - a 24/7 system of light.  So unlike generations of my farmer ancestors, I get up around 10:00 AM, sometimes sleep in the afternoon, and then run around most of the day and go to sleep around 2 or 3 in the morning.  For people like me who are earning a college degree, there are definite advantages to studying online.

Taking a class online is perfect for anyone with a job in daytime hours because of the increased flexibility it offers. If you work in the day, you can come home and read your assignments at night, making sure to send your homework in by the deadline.  This main advantage to online college education has allowed many working people who would not have a change to pursue a degree the freedom to do so.

As internet technology has progressed the availability of dedicated web space and chat rooms has allowed students to work in groups, even if they live far away or have differing schedules.  Email and chat functions make it possible to share ideas, collaborate on projects and even study together from places all over the country.  Now people from all over the world can be in your class getting the same college degree. Online study can lead to better diversity and interaction between students.

I might have lost touch with the natural way to do things. But as someone who likes to get online at night and go to the gym in the afternoon, all I can say is, “Thank God for that light bulb!”

Not long ago I took an online Continuing Education Unit on technical writing from a college offering the six week course over the internet. I started out very well, but by the second week began to fall into “I’ll get to it later” syndrome. By the time I managed to get finished with email to friends and a few games of Bejeweled I would notice the lesson waiting on my account site was supposed to have been opened by yesterday. Not good. After a couple very apologetic emails, I learned that even though getting a college degree with online courses might be more flexible there are still requirements to be met. Everyone taking a course through the internet as part of the college degree should know how to study effectively online.

The best strategy is to make a class time for yourself. Even though it’s your time, there still should be some structure to the study habits. Pick a time each day to sign onto your account or class site and check email, look for assignments and communicate with the teachers. By having a “class time” you will be disciplined enough not to let too much time go by or miss something important. You never want to get so caught up in going about the other things in life you forget that you are in college.

Even though the bulk of your learning and activity will happen on your computer, you should treat this class like any other that you would take while getting a college degree. Buy a notebook or folder to keep all your materials or notes in. We learn better by writing so take notes of the things you see or hear onscreen, especially of you are listening to an audio-streamed lecture. Treat this lecture just as you would in a college class. Listen for detail and jot down any questions you may have.

cEffective online habits come through practice and perspective. You might be at home with a computer full of games and friends, but technically, you’re still in school.

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Like many others, I have cats in my house. To be more accurate, I am owned by cats who allow me to feed them and pay the mortgage so they can live here.  One of the best things about cats is the sleek and stunning way they get around. They can flip in the air, land on their paws and stretch their body as they lay in the sun so that their paws go one direction and their head goes the other.  That just looks like it feels so good. Of course the key to cats is the flexible spine which allows them to rotate in all kinds of directions with grace and poise.  Flexibility is the great advantage of online study when getting a college degree.  Don’t take that flexibility for granted, though. There is a big difference between a cat’s spine and boneless chicken.

Effective online study involves dedication to the process of the course over the scheduled time.  Many courses will list times or dates by which a chapter or online session must be completed. Keep a written calendar of those dates like a syllabus or set your online calendar to send you notices when those dates are due.  Even though lectures are there on the screen for you to read, print them out and highlight the parts that are most important, just like you would a textbook. The point isn’t just to check off the boxes and get through the class, the point is to learn from it.

No one gets a college degree in a vacuum and you will be expected to participate in online groups, chat sessions and emails sharing project objectives and completions.  Make sure to always follow the rules of group etiquette and behavior. The safety of being behind a computer keyboard can lead some to act in ways they generally wouldn’t. Avoid procrastination, especially in sections where group work is involved. Accountability is an important trait to learn when getting your degree.

Follow up and follow through and you will discover the flexibility of online study can be an effective and efficient way to get your degree and land on your own two feet.