Tip #15 What Have I Done Right? What Have I Done Wrong?

The last tip on this thread is about assessment and feedback. There's been a lot of
discussion on the forum about the feedback and grades given in Assignment 1 and 2. Some
people were really disappointed with the feedback and/or grade they've received. This is
understandable, particularly if you've spent hours and put a lot of effort into the assignment.
But much like the Pomodoro technique, where you focus on process not on product, here
too you may want to focus on the process, not the feedback or grade you were given.
Basically, what have you learned from doing this exercise? How have others assessed it?
Are they right? Are they wrong in their opinion of your work? Use this as a learning
experience and think: What can I take away from this?
As this is the end of the course, I wish you all good luck in your studies. Keep learning.
Enjoy learning. Knowledge is the one thing in life that can never be taken away from you.
Note:

You may like this article: 'The Neurochemistry of Positive Conversations'

Missed last Sunday's Google Hangout On Air? Watch the recording

at http://goo.gl/nP2p47

'm writing a few posts with tips and advice on how to 'study smart' to get more out of your
study sessions. Keep an eye on this thread (its link is https://class.coursera.org/learning003/forum/thread?thread_id=2370 )
Tip #1 Taking notes

When reading course material or watching the video lectures, make sure you take
notes on paper or on the computer (I prefer using the computer because the notes
are stored electronically and can be easily searched, copied and pasted elsewhere,
printed out, etc).

Have a note-taking system: if using a computer, have a separate file for each Week.
For example, Week_1.doc, Week_2.doc, etc. Also, use incremental file names so
that if one file gets corrupted or lost, you still have the previous file. Example:
Week_1a.doc, Week_1b.doc.

Please remember that taking notes doesn't mean copying everything you read or
view. It means writing down main ideas, new words, definitions, examples, etc.
Notes are useful when you have to revise or refer back to the material.

Make your notes as concise as possible. Use abbreviations (for example: 'bc' instead
of 'because', 'PDT' instead of 'Pomodoro Technique').

You may want to learn more about the Cornell notetaking system, which I use a lot
and find quite effective. More about it here (Wikipedia article) and here (YouTube
video).

Tip #1 Taking notes: Example:

I thought I'd give an example of how to take notes. Below is a passage from Video
1-6 Introduction to Memory:
Researchers used to think that our working memory could hold around seven items
or chunks, but now it's widely believed that the working memory is holds only
about four chunks of information. We tend to automatically group
memory items in to chunks so it seems our working memory is bigger than it
actually is. Although your working memory is like a blackboard, it's not a very
good blackboard. You often need to keep repeating what you are trying to work
with so it's stays in your working memory. For example, you'll sometimes repeat a
phone number to yourself until you have a chance to write it down. Repetition's
needed so that your metabolic vampires, that is, natural dissipating processes,
don't suck those memories away. [Number of Words: 124]

These are my notes of this passage:

Working mem: capacity 7 chunks; current belief: 4 chunks of info. Group items into
chunks (Q: like pieces in a puzzle?). More capacity when things are chunked. Wk
mem = blackboard. Repetition for things to stick in wk mem. Ex: ph no: repeat write down (Repeat to keep!) [Number of Words: 49]

These notes would help me remember what I saw/heard on this part of the video.

Tip #2: Video Lectures

If you're finding it difficult to follow what's being said on the videos, did you
know you can slow down the playback speed? At the bottom left corner of the
video player (see image below), click on the minus sign to reduce the playback
speed, This also helps when you're taking notes. Another tip: you can also turn
on the captions/subtitles to the video. Click on the CC button at the bottom
right of the video player.

And another tip: if you have a slow internet connection that makes it difficult to
watch the video online, you can always download it and watch it offline (the
Rapid Video Walk-through of the Course explains how to do this). After
downloading the video, you can watch it on VLC, a free, versatile video player.
VLC allows you to reduce/increase playback speed, take screenshots of your
favourite scenes, etc.

Tip #3 Have a Plan

A study plan can help you stay focused and on course. The material for a
particular week is published on a Friday (Week 3 will go live on Friday 16 Jan at
12 pm/noon EST, which is equivalent to 5 pm UTC/universal coordinated time).
When it does, you'll know how many video lectures and reading material there
are in Week 3.
Make a list, on paper, of all the material you want to cover and plan when you
are going to study. For example, Video Lecture 3-1 and 3-2 on Saturday, 3-3
and 3-4 on Sunday, etc. If possible, try and spread out the material over a
number of days, instead of cramming everything into one day. Also, when you
plan your study session, set up a start and end time, organise it into minisessions, each lasting, let's say, 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break.
Don't forget to include time to participate in the discussion forum and to take
the weekly quiz.

This my study schedule for week 3:

M-W: Read Chapters 5, 6, 8-11 of A Mind for Numbers
=>Read 2 chapters a day, plus 1-2 worthwhile article
=>Recall info, take notes, and try apply to current study habits/situations
Thu-Sat: Watch videos, recall info, take notes, and try apply to current study
habits/situations
=>Watch 3-4 videos a day
=>Prior to watching video checking out power point (overview), then going over it after to
help with recalling, then take notes recalling without the powerpoint
Sun: Review, check week 3 discussion boards and then Take Quiz
=>Watch Bonus Videos
Also prior to learning new material reviewing yesterdays material! Also to study in
25min/5min break sessions.
Would like some feedback. Thank you!

Tip #4: Course Quizzes and Exam:

There are three quizzes and a final exam on this course.

Prepare for the quizzes by going over your notes (you've taken notes, right?) and
making notes of your notes.

When you take the quiz or exam, start by reading all the questions and answers

Then, one option is to answer the easy questions first and then the more difficult
ones. Alternatively, answer the questions in the sequence they're presented

If you get stuck at one question, just leave it aside for the time being and go to the
next one. Remember to return to the questions you couldn't answer and try again.

When you finish completing the quiz or exam, go through all the questions, making
sure that you've answered them all.

Submit your answers

When taking the quiz and exam, don't look at the notes you've taken. This is an
excellent way of testing what you can remember.

Tip #5 Learn More: using Google to find resources

If you want to learn more about a particular topic covered on this course, the instructors have
provided a list of materials and resources in the Reading section and in 'Further Explorations'

You can also search for materials and resources on the internet. However, in order to get more
relevant and reliable results, try this: restrict your searches to higher education websites. For
example, if you google
chunking psychology site:edu
Google will look for stuff available on the websites of US universities. If you google
procrastination site:gov
The search engine will look for content about 'procrastination' on US government sites.

You can further fine-tune your searches. A lot of academic/scientific articles are available in PDF
format. You can tell Google to search specifically for this file type, like thus:
chunking psychology site:edu filetype:pdf

Another example: a lot of presentations are in Powerpoint format, so you can ask Google to search
for
procrastination site:edu filetype:ppt
Note: pptx is Powerpoint's newer file format identifier. Use it (filetype:pptx) to find presentations
produced in this newer format.

Please remember that if you want to reference content which is in the material you've found, make
sure you do it properly (read my earlier post about Plagiarism for some basic instructions). Respect
authorship and copyright rules.

Tip #6 Planning
Getting organised and planning your studies is essential. As part of this, it's
really useful to have a planner/calendar where you can write in any relevant
information, deadlines, reminders, etc. Make sure you put your planner in a
highly visible place, such as the fridge, a mirror, or the wardrobe door.
Here is a planner I've made for this course (currently living on my fridge)

Tip #8 Internet Browsers

When you take an online course, make sure that the browser you're using
works with the website. For example, Coursera recommends that you use one
of these browsers to access the site: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or
Safari. You should also use the latest version of the browser. Other browsers
and older versions of a browser may not work properly with the site.
I personally prefer Google Chrome for Windows (the latest version is 39.0)
because i find it faster than other browsers. Another tip: if you're having
problems accessing the Coursera site, try downloading and installing a different
browser and see if that fixes the problem.

Tip #9 Quick Translations

You can get stuff translated using a web-based translator (see Tip #7 Foreign
Language? No Problem!). But there is a faster way: you can use the browser
Google Chrome to translate pages automatically. How? Watch this video and
read this article. You can also add an extension to Chrome: this allows you to
read content easily as your browse the web.

Tip #10 Productivity

Here's a productivity tip which may be useful in your studies and elsewhere:

Computer Keyboard Shortcuts: If you want to find a word in a long document (e.g., a
Word doc or a webpage), you can use Control F (press CTRL then press F. Mac users
should use Command F). This opens a window that lets you search the document you're
viewing. Other useful keyboard shortcuts for Windows (See full list):

To copy text: CTRL C

To paste text: CTRL V

To undo a command: CTRL Z

To select all content: CTRL A

To increase the font size on a web page: CTRL Shift +

To reduce font size: CTRL Shift -

More: TED Talk: 10 Top Time-saving Tech Tips

Check out this article ('A Learning Secret: Dont Take Notes with a
Laptop') published in Scientific American. Here is an excerpt:
"Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students
cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture. Instead, they listen, digest,
and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the
information. Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some
heavy mental lifting, and these efforts foster comprehension and retention.
By contrast, when typing students can easily produce a written record of the
lecture without processing its meaning, as faster typing speeds allow students
to transcribe a lecture word for word without devoting much thought to the
content."

Tip #11: More Productivity

You know that you can use Google to search the web. But did you know that you can also
use it:

To find the meaning of a word. In the Google search box, type define this-word.
For example
define procrastination

To translate a word. type translate this-word into target-language. E.g.

translate procrastination into Spanish

To perform a calculation. E.g.

2340 + 358 * 4 =

To find out the current time in a city. E.g.

time Tokyo

To convert currency. E.g.

500 Euros in Indians Rupees
And iif you're using Google Chrome as your browser, you can do all this by typing
directly into the address bar

Tip #12 In the Cloud

More and more, I find myself using applications which live in the cloud, as opposed to
those installed on my computer. Here are a few web-based applications that I use a lot:

Graphic Design: Canva: faiirly easy to use. Bonus Tip: check out Canva's Design
School for tutorials and ideas on how to create stunning visuals.

Presentations: Powerpoint Online: you know Powerpoint, but did you know that
it's also available as a web-based application? Note: you'll need a Hotmail/Microsoft
account to access it. It may not be available in all countries. PPT Online doesn't
have all the features of the desktop version, but works really well. Bonus Tip: you
can edit your presentation online, which is handy if you want to make some lastminute changes to it.

Non-linear Presentations: Prezi: great if you're looking for a different way to

present information. Bonus Tip: check out Prezi's Tutorials and Cool Examples.

Scheduling Meetings: Doodle: no need to sign-up. How does it work?

Survey: SurveyMonkey: easily create online surveys. How it works.

Tip #13 Free Resources

When I'm looking for free resources (photos, icons, videos, music, etc.), I head to a number
of sites. Here are two which I find particularly useful:

Creative Commons Search: try, for example, searching for a Creative Commons
image on Flickr: type in a word, click on the Flickr box. When you see the results
page, click on Sort : Interesting and License: Creative Commons. Learn more
about Creative Commons

Internet Archive: a huge library of materials, from texts and audio files to video
and live music.
Please respect copyright.

Tip #14 Study Groups

Study groups, where you get a group of people to study together, are a great way of
maximising your learning, if done correctly (only invite people who are serious about
studying). Difficult to get people to meet face-to-face? Organise your sessions online using
these tools:

Google Video Hangouts: up to 10 people can join as guests at any one time.
Requires each participant to have a Google account

Skype: did you know that Skype is now also available on the web? Requires a
Skype account

meetings.io: no registration required, just set up the meeting and invite others to join
Reminder: End-of-course Google Hangout On Air, this Sunday 1 February, 4 pm
GMT. Special guest: Dr Barbara Oakley. More info
at https://class.coursera.org/learning-003/forum/thread?thread_id=3983

I regularly do two things to study that I rarely see listed anywhere.

First, is that I illustrate my notes such that my entire college career looks like a
comic book or graphic novel. I don't think you have to be great at drawing to
make this happen -- but it helps when you can draw something funny to act as
a "hook" for memory. This utilizes visual memory; sometimes I can just
imagine my drawing and it helps me remember (locate) names, dates, and
other information included in the pic.
Second, I make an audio recording of myself reading or reciting highlights of a
course. I try to record some of it in a question/answer format. I usually like to
listen to NPR in the car or while I do other automatic tasks (like doing the
dishes) -- but instead, I occasionally listen to my own recordings to refresh the
information (aka spacing effects). This way, when I am reading test questions
(in my head), I hear the answer also.
Hope this is somehow helpful.