Golden Road to Knowledge [yeah!]

You know how to take notes… so I would recommend looking them over once in a while as opposed to stashing them away and never setting sight on them ever again! The whole purpose of taking notes in class is so you have a reference to look back to. A good technique to engraining your brain with information that you may have heard already in class before, is to look over these notes and actually learn them.

 Here’s something that works wonders…

-Read your notes before you get to class… you don’t have to be memorizing them or anything but simply read over them and get a feel for what the lecture was about.

-After class, review your new notes, and it helps go back to your old ones too… if you want.
*I’ve heard it helps to read notes before you go to sleep… true? Not sure, but I guess it beats the common myth of sleeping on your books.

-Not too crazy right? C’mon… it really doesn’t take up that much time to read over a couple of pages of notes, it helps when you’re actually in class and you remember reviewing what the proffessor is talking about. Whoohoo! Honestly, it just makes your brain feel better.

Before you know it, exam time will come and you’ll really be studying… you know… the kind where you read and read and read over things but the pressure of the exam is just too much to handle and you try to memorize and remember things and this and that and you end up daydreaming… blahh blah blah. Save yourself from this. Please. Just read over the notes man, that’s it! And as you’re doing it all throughout the semester, it won’t feel like studying because it’s not studying and because all you’re doing is reading over them. That’s all I have to say about that, and it’s even less stressful than reading this blog.

By Nefarious Natalia Brakoniecki

Make time for success!

Try not to stress about being so busy and not having enough time for everything.  If you write down a list of your priorities, arrange them from important to least important, and fit each one into your schedule you will be fine.  I need to start organizing my priorities because I am busy all of the time, and I don’t have a lot of time to get my homework or studying done.  Since I work and babysit during the week that uses up a lot of my hours.  That leaves me less time for school work, family, friends, sleep, and eating.  A good idea would be to cut down my hours at work or say no to babysitting once in a while.  I have many priorites in my life and even though they are all very important to me, I have to learn to put the most important one’s first.  I believe that family and school work should come before everything, and since that is most important to me maybe I should put more hours into those. 

Try not to procrastinate!!! It is very very bad! People procrastinate all the time, and they do it because they would rather do something more enjoyable or something they feel more comfortable with.  These people don’t really understand the difference of an urgent task and an important task.  They would rather do something that they think should be done first rather than what NEEDS to be done.  This then leaves less time for the important tasks to be done, and that is what procrastinaters do the important tasks last minute.  Three steps to stop procrastinating are, 1. realize you are procrastinating, 2. work out why you are procrastinating, 3. get over the fact that you do it

Making a list of your priorities and how many hours a day you put towards them really helps you realize how much time u put in and are suppose to put in for each.  It will help you see how you are using your hours of the day, and think about the priorities you need to put more hours or less hours into.  I took a little bit of time to make a list of how I use my hours during the week and I need to put more effort into my school work rather than socializing. 

So try not to stress to much about how you are using your hours.  Try making a list and see how that goes.  Hopefully it will make you realize what priorities are most important, and that they should have the most hours put into them.

Here are some sources you can look at or go visit about managing time

http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/studytime.shtml

www.leadership.uconn.edu

or you can visit the involvment office =)

By Rachael Hepworth

The Career Center: Internships

Internship Services For Students:

“Internships are new professional learning experiences where students are supervised by a mentor and contribute meaningfully to an organization”

There are two types of internships that are offered. Those would be credit internships and non-credit internships.

Credit internships:

A credit internship requires a longer process then a non-credit internship. A credit internship is open to matriculated students with good standings and has completed 54 credits. These students are usually juniors and seniors. The student must attend internship counseling sessions with the Career Center  internship coordinator. There is a learning agreement that must be signed by the student, the site supervisor, the internship faculty adviser, and the internship coordinator. Thirty-eight hours of work will give you one credit. a student can earn 1-6 credits. Usually three credits equal about ten hours of work a week. To receive the credits they must be approved by the internship coordinator. The site supervisor must provide an evaluation that is worth seventy-five percent of the students grade. The student must write a paper that is required for the internship faculty adviser, which is worth twenty-five percent of the students grade. The internships can be paid or unpaid. They must be completed within each semester, and must be set up one semester in advance.

Non-Credit Internship:

A non-credit internship is much simpler then a credit internship. This type of internship can be completed by any student. It has very flexible arrangements. Most information, such as hours, pay rate, and length of internship, are all arranged directly by the students and employer.

http://stamford.uconn.edu/careercenter.html 

–Samantha Horne

The Career Center

Career Center: University of Connecticut at Stamford

The Career Center offers help to current undergraduate students, alumni, and employers.

 

 The Career Center offers  individual or group career counseling. They also hold numerous career workshops on resume writing, interviewing, job search, and a variety of other career development topics. The Career Center also offers help with resume and cover letter preparation. There are members of the Career Center who help with career assessment. They also will help you prepare for interviews. To do this the Career Center holds mock interviews. The Career Center is also very up-to-date with the on-line job search. They will train you for Internet job searches. The Career Center has on-line job postings on monstertrak.com. Besides the on-line postings, the Career Center  also displays information on bulletin boards throughout the campus.

The Career Center provides a Four-year career planning guide. I found this guide very helpful for planning my next four years as an undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut. The guide is the following:

Freshman Year                                                                                          

• Think about a major

• Experiment with different classes

• Visit the Career Center 

• Schedule a career assessment session

Sophomore Year

• Explore career possibilities

• Explore experiential Learning opportunities

Junior Year

• Obtain an Internship

• Take courses that expand your skills

• Enhance your leadership experience

• Take the GRE

Senior Year

• Complete HuskyCareerLink Registration for access to on-line job postings

• Explore job listings at monstertrak.com

• Attend career workshops

• Start networking

• Consult job listings regularly and attend the Career Fair

 

The Career Center  also holds annual career fairs. These fairs led to internships and possible job offerings.

 

To arange meetings with the Career Center contact Halina Hollyway:

Telephone:(203)251-9549 Fax:(203)251-9596 Email: halina.hollyway@uconn.edu

http://stamford.uconn.edu/careercenter.html

 

–Samantha Horne

 

 

So much to do in so little time? Manage your time wisely!

It is extremely important to know how to manage your time wisely because if you don’t, everything will get crammed together.  It isn’t easy to make time for everything in your life when you have a lot going on at once.  School, jobs, friends, family, sleep, and food are all very important priorities and you should put a  good amount of hours in for each of them. 

I have a lot of difficulty managing my time because I have so much going on.  I have two jobs, a ton of school work, a boyfriend, and family I have to worry about.  That doesn’t even include all the other things such as sleeping, eating, talking on the phone, going on AIM or facebook, or watching tv.  When I am at home I spend most of my time either texting or on the computer.  I never feel up to doing my homework or studying because I would rather talk to my friends.  I need to learn to manage my time better because I am a huge procrastinater.  I leave most of my assignments and studying until last minute and that isn’t a very good habit.  Even though I believe that I work well under pressure, I need to manage my time more wisely and spread everything out rather than leaving it for last minute.

Time management is a personal skill and only you can control your schedule.  Organization, prioritization, and scheduling are the three big steps in helping to manage time.  It is a good idea to organize your schedule for each day or for the week because that will allow you to take it one step at a time and do what is most important.  Making a list of what you need to accomplish will help quite a bit.  Once your list is created, you can organize them from the most important to the least important.  The last part is taking your list and fitting it into your schedule for the day.  It is important to make sure you are giving a good amount of hours for each priority and especially for the most important ones.

How are you spending your 168 hours a week?  There is a formula you can follow to help see how many hours you are putting in for certain priorities.  That will help you realize the priorities that need more focusing on, and the priorities with which the hours can be reduced. 

To learn more about manageing your time check out the website www.studentactivities.uconn.edu

There are also some books you can check out about time management. 

Beat Procrastination and Make the Grade: The Six Styles of Procrastination and How Students Can Overcome Them   By Linda Sapadin and Jack Maguire

Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time  By Brian Tracy

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People   By Stephen R. Covey

By Rachael Hepworth    1572784

 

      

NOOOOOOOOO! -tes.

Notes.

Hmmmmm, that word doesn’t exactly compare with music to my ears. I’m not a fan of note taking, quite honestly speaking. To me, if you have to take notes in a class, it makes me feel as though the class isn’t interesting enough to begin with… I mean, if I have to take notes then doesn’t it mean that class really isn’t quite memorable enough to recall? Oh the joys of going to college. Well, if you find yourself in a class like this, you should probably drop it, unless of course it’s required of you. If you have no passion for it – but you thought you would - then apparently that’s not your “calling”. I’ll let you in on a few tips that I find to be useful for taking notes. Of course not everyone will benefit from these tips because people tend to vary in their learning styles, listening skills, etc. but these useful bits of info are broad and rather general so I think that if not taken too seriously, notes don’t have to be as treacherous as they are now.

Alright, first thing you do when you set foot in class is get a general feel for the room. Make yourself comfortable. Some classes have some rather comfy office chairs … wa wa wee wa ;] “king of the castle”… that was such a great movie. Anyways, once you sit down and settle down, get out that number 2 pencil or that ballpoint pen and make sure it’s in decent condition… may seem wierd to say that but it makes a huge difference when your writing utensil withstands the pressures of speed writing, erasing, chewing, and constant head tapping. Trust me. You don’t want to miss not even a second or two of what your professor says because we all know it’s always very extremely and infinitely important. Like when they start commenting on the psychology of today’s drivers and how they almost exploded on their way to work. Of course I’m just kidding about that one… seriously though, having the right tools to take notes and to be comfortable in class really is crucial and it puts you in the ultimate mood to take notes.

Next, comes paying attention in class. This can be difficult. We all have our own lives filled with drama or whatever it is but honestly, when you go to class it’s like being detached from the outside & real world and in way it’s like a form of meditation, if you allow yourself to see it that way. Focus on your proffessor. The trick is to just open your ears. Let all words flow in, circle around a few times in your brain, and then let them go… because there’s more coming. Like how a highway works. You take an exit to get on the highway [info going in ear into brain] you must speed up and get into the flow of traffic, let the info get in your head and just let it click and mingle a little bit just as you would “mingle” on a highway… and then before you know it you take the exit off of the highway and go about your businness… after the info chills a little bit in your brain, let it go and accept the new wave of words [the new flow of traffic]. This is just a simple way to explain listening… the last thing I’m going to cover is the actual writing part.

Well after all that, you’re probably thinking ooohhh god, there’s so many better things I could be doing with my time than letting traffic in and out of my ears… but you know what? I learned a whole load of stuuuffffff by going with this process. And I feel pretty damn smart and proud of myself after class as a result. Anywho… to tell you the bare truth, the notes that you end up taking have no real value while your taking them if that makes any sense. Basically by letting yourself listen to your proffessor’s words, you’re actively thinking about the lecture… but while you’re doing that, taking notes will be like driving, or riding a bike… you will become unconscious of the fact that you’re doing it because you’ll be listening to your prof. Physically taking notes should be seen as a tool, not so much of an act. Whatever catches your thoughts, should be transferred from brain to arm to hand to fingertips and transformed into written words… which are really just collaboration of scribbles if you really think about, or if you don’t think about it at all for that matter. The reason I said that is because going into college I took things a little too hard on myself. I thought it was going to be so much worse than it really was. Well you know…. spending time in class and coming out of it should feel rewarding. It will be stressful at times, no lie… but that should be seen as a time for growth and learning… not just academic learning, but learning about yourself as a person. If it feels stressful, that’s GOOD – that means you’re not used to this, this will be a challenge, and even if I don’t do an A+ job on this, as long as I put MYself and MY best and get out of it alive and whole, I’ll feel like a whole different person.

 Okay. Breathe. Taking notes isn’t hard, it doesn’t take a smart person to do it, all it’s really about is finding your groove, your comfort zone. It’s really cool to look at yourself from an outside view and really think about what makes you happy and what makes you enjoy your classes. Just promise that you find at least some interest in your classes, it really makes a difference… and if you don’t like it but are forced to take it [which sucks I know] find something you like about it… even if it’s one of your classmates or SOMEthing… ANYthing. College is cool… keep your head on your shoulders, open your mind, breathe… and don’t worry bout a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright – that means, if you screw up a little, it’s no big – life goes on.

 Some helpful sites on note taking… if you found this one to be not so helpful:

 http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/processes/notes/index.cfm

http://stamfordstudentlife.uconn.edu/srcal.html
*The Source (these guys can give you real human help)

http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/freshman_seminar/notetak.htm

By Notorious Natalia Brakoniecki.

Tips to conquer writing ~ Uconn events and resources

When I came to this university I certainly did not expect to actually need help with my writing. I expected everything to be as simple as it was in high school, but, unfortunately, I was mistaken. You will find that the professor’s here have very high expectations and what you thought may be worthy of an ‘A’ might actually come back to you with a big fat ‘C’ in that horrible red ink pen on the front of your paper. It is helpful to know where you can turn to when the paper you are asked to write seems a little too difficult or if you need a better understanding of how to do some aspect of writing.

 What I did not know was that, here at the Stamford regional campus at Uconn we have a place where you can go to get help with your writing. Sure, you may be a little nervous at first or ashamed at the fact that you need help, but there is nothing to worry about because it might just end up saving your paper and your overall grades.

 Visit the Student services room 2.01, you can call 203-251-8484 to make an appointment and you will get yourself a 40 minute session with a writing consultant in room 302.

All you need to do is bring in the assignment sheet and instructions (and maybe your paper if you have it written and want help with that) and they would be happy to assist you in any stage of your writing process.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they will not rewrite your paper for you it’s just too good to be true, they want your paper to show your own thoughts, ideas and opinions. They are there to train you into becoming a better, more confident writer.

I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity if you are ever doubtful in your writing ability for it could really turn your writing around.

Be sure to keep a look out for events coming up that involve writing, you could really benefit from them. I happened to attend one event on using and quoting sources with the MLA style. I remember thinking, oh great this is going to be so boring and pointless I totally know how to do MLA already that’s too easy. But, actually, I found it to be extremely beneficial and even entertaining. Melissa Mullins, who is one of our english professors did a great job at keeping everyone who attended entertained with her quirky humor and with the way she interacted with everyone. I learned things that I really had no idea how to do like citing sources with more than one author, citing a source that has no author and so much more. So, take a chance and go to an event, you may find that it is more helpful than you expected.

-Katherine Grierson

Tips to conquer writing

We all experience it, or at least I do, the dreaded announcement of a writing assignment commonly given in many classes, but especially those English classes. I don’t know about you, but I have always had a distaste for writing. Every time a teacher announces a writing assignment there is a brief moment where it seems as though the world I live in is coming to an end. I always feel that my writing is not good enough, or that I just do not have the precious time to consume in order to write the paper. It just sits there and eats at the back of your mind until you finally sit down and do it. If you are a procrastinator like I am, you should know how writing a paper at the last minute can be very stressful.

So here are a few tips on how to get that paper done without feeling the strains of stress:

1.) Start early (and I mean way early)- Simply begin by understanding exactly what your professor is asking you to write in the paper.

2.) Develop a thesis statement – It should be clear and to the point stating exactly what you are going to talk about in your paper and should contain a lot of supporting evidence.

3.) Develop an outline – Take out a piece of scrap paper and briefly outline some of the main points you want to talk about within the paper.

4.) Write down your sources the moment you find them – This is a tip I have always failed to follow, but it can be a serious time saver. The moment you find something on the internet or in a book, or anything, write down everything it is you will need to make that bibliography page.

5.) Make a first draft – don’t worry about spelling or grammatical errors just get all of those ideas scrambling around in your head onto paper.

4.) Verify that your sources are valid – don’t cite wikipedia (trust me I’ve tried it), professors do not like that website at all because of the simple fact that it can very well be completely made up information since it can be edited by anyone at any time.

5.) Always revise your work after the first draft is written – Have a friend or parent look over your paper for any errors. Believe it or not, it is very common that they will find problems within your paper that you most likely bypassed.

6.) Take your time writing the paper – Do not rush through any paper, you could do so much better if you just pace yourself and start early.

7.) Do not do the paper all in one day – You will feel so much less stressed out if you split up your writing time. Come up with a set schedule to write the paper and abide by it.

8.) Take breaks – In addition to not doing the paper all in one day, be sure to give yourself breaks while writing your paper so you can rest your mind. Get a drink, eat some food, anything so long as you are sure to return to your paper shortly.

 If you are having trouble developing a schedule to writing up that paper, go to http://www.lib.uconn.edu/using/tutorials/freecalc/index.php. This is a great resource that actually makes up a schedule for you and gives you tips on how to get started, writing your thesis, and a whole lot more.

 Now, what I always believed to be one of the most difficult parts of writing any paper is the works cited page. This can drive anyone insane trying to figure out what should be cited and what does not need to be cited, and even the format can be stressful.

So, what is it that you should cite?

Anything that is not common knowledge, what the average person would not know. For example, we all know bananas are yellow that is common knowledge, but I doubt everyone will know how many people live in the United States with cystic fibrosis or even what cystic fibrosis is.

Cite anything you find from outside scources. If you have any doubt at all at what needs to be cited, cite it.

 The following is a list of things that need to be cited:
~ newspaper articles or magazine articles
~books or book chapters
~web sites and web pages
~encyclopedias
~statistics and charts
~emails, interviews or speeches
~group projects

 OWL is a great resource for writing up a works cited page:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ It gives you all of the up to date styles such as MLA or APA as well as tips on writing a paper.

Citing sources can be very time consuming and monotonous so what I find to be the best way to get those sources cited fast is using one of the following machines, however, they may not always be up to date so you need to be sure to check OWL before printing out that works Cited page:

1.) www.easybib.com

2.) www.Citationmachine.net

3.) http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/

They are easy to use and can really come in handy especially if you are running low on time writing that paper. With these tips and information, writing those papers could be a whole lot easier than you once thought. Just remember to start early and take your time.

 -Katherine Grierson

What’s Your Style?

In order to have good study skills and do well on a test, there is a major detail that you must know about yourself in hopes of achieving your goals!  About halfway through this course, there was a presentation about knowing what type of learners we were, given by Anne F. Farrell.  I really enjoyed this presentation because it allowed me to understand myself a little bit better as a learner. 

There are three types of learners: visual, which means you learn best by viewing or sight, auditory, basically that you are more likely to listen to the speaker, or finally kinesthetic, which means that you learn best by actually doing what you’re learning by a more hands on approach. 

During the presentation the speaker gave the class a website to go to in order to see what type of learners we were: http://www.jobsetc.ca/toolbox/quizzes/styles_results.do?lang=e.  To my surprise, after taking the test offered, I found that I was a kinesthetic learner after all this time of believing myself to be a visual learner.  My test results showed up, “Hearing Learning Style = 50%, Visual Learning Style = 56%, and Kinesthetic Learning Style = 94%”.  Taking this three minute survey can actually help you in the long run.  Although you can use all three styles of learning to the best of your advantage, knowing what kind of learner you are can make things like studying and in class time much easier for you.  Most of the time, students that are strong in all areas are more likely to do better on tests and learning in class, but being well rounded like that is not something every student has.  All in all, here are some ways to fulfill your strategies of learning to the very best.

 If you are a visual learner, there are steps to take to help you do well with studying and on tests.  One of the main things you want to focus on is to find a good seat in class so you can see the board clearly and be able to take notes as well as make any charts you might find helpful.  Taking notes is very important as well as going back to reorganize them.  In your books you can also view photographs and diagrams, and be sure to write down explanations that are given.

For auditory learners, you need to actually hear the information and explanations that the speaker presents to you.  While reviewing the notes you’ve taken in class, it is best for you to act everything out again.  For example, read your notes out loud and in class pay attention to exactly what the professor states.  Another way to effectively increase your learning is to create poems or songs while you study that you may remember while taking a test.

Finally, kinesthetic or those that succeed most by doing or experimenting hands on need to remain extremely focused.  While studying, rewrite the notes you’ve taken in class and if studying from the book, hold it in your hands rather than on the table.  You may also consider moving, and standing up while talking and discussing in a study group, as well as writing while you are talking, hearing an explanation, or reading.

Remember, not everyone is strong in each of these areas!  You need to take what you have and do your best with it.  Whether you try to follow the tips given for your specific way of learning, or if you try to use all three efforts in class, or studying, you will see that in time, you can become a better learner.

A Guide to Studying

As first year college students, we all know the transition from the work in high school, compared to the work that we get in college is a very significant and sometimes difficult change.  The work load is massive and can effect various areas of your life.  As a student, along with many others that made it through their first semester, we are not trying to scare you.  In fact, if you manage your time wisely and know exactly what you’re doing you’ll have no problem at all.  Time management is probably the biggest key element you will have to consider as a college student.  Nonetheless, with time management comes along everything you need to fit into your schedule such as research, note taking, etc.  Of course, one of the most important categories is studying and study skills. 

Throughout my educational experience I’ve heard many people say, “I don’t know how to study”.  It’s a common point that is heard and I would even find myself saying it most of the time as well.  To be honest, when we chose our topics for this blog, I really wanted to do study skills because it is something I’ve learned so much more about since I came to college.  Within the last concluding weeks of this course, we had a presentation on study skills given by the Academic Advisor, Sharon H. Burke that I found to be very helpful.  So, with that said, here are some helpful hints and tips that have guided me, and hopefully can do the same for you and lead you in the right direction with studying. 

When the academic advisor asked us to check off the list of “Test Anxiety”, I nearly said yes to every single one.  This included; drawing a blank on a test, getting nervous, second guessing myself, and remembering information that I couldn’t recall while actually taking the test.  One of the biggest problems students have is saying that they are not going to do well on a test and automatically having a negative attitude about it.  It pays off to remain positive about it, because even if the test is hard you can learn what you missed as answers to your questions and gain more knowledge that way. 

When it comes to studying, and finding a place to study, there are routes everyone needs to take and opportunities to consider as well.  First off, don’t study alone.  Find groups or even a partner to study with because you can learn from each other and by having discussions and by really taking the time to pay specific attention to important topics and details (both major and minor), that will be addressed on the test.  Also, when studying, try not to be distracted especially if you listen to music or have the television on.  You need to have peace and quiet and be comfortable, but not so much that you’ll fall asleep!

Doing well on a test doesn’t just have to do with how well you study at home either.  You can’t save all the information until last minute and try to memorize it in one day or night, because believe, me I’ve tried it!  Doing your assignments, participating in class, and reviewing your notes daily can really secure a higher grade on a test.  In fact, paying attention in class and taking notes is key because the professor strives for you to know the important information.  They might not always tell you it will be on a test or final exam, but they might repeat the information or write down details on the board. 

I’ve used these little helpful points for myself during the first semester and they have really helped a great deal.  Although they might happen to be some things that you hear throughout your life in school, they are honestly a very significant part of your career as a student.