Google Calendar

I've been trying out Google Calendar for awhile now, and am really liking some of its features. It's fast, easy, and syncs with my iPhone. It sends me daily emails with my agenda for that day, and automatically sets alarms. It's easy to schedule repeating events or multiple days for work on the same assignment. I'm still working to figure out how to organize it by course, and I wish it had a wake-up alarm!

New research on studying: what works, and what doesn't

If you're serious about studying, you need to read this new TIME magazine article Highlighting Is a Waste of Time: The Best and Worst Learning Techniques

Here's an excerpt:

"In contrast to familiar practices like highlighting and rereading, the learning strategies with the most evidence to support them aren’t well known outside the psych lab. Take distributed practice, for example. This tactic involves spreading out your study sessions, rather than engaging in one marathon. Cramming information at the last minute may allow you to get through that test or meeting, but the material will quickly disappear from memory. It’s much more effective to dip into the material at intervals over time. And the longer you want to remember the information, whether it’s two weeks or two years, the longer the intervals should be.

The second learning strategy that is highly recommended by the report’s authors is practice testing. Yes, more tests — but these are not for a grade. Research shows that the mere act of calling information to mind strengthens that knowledge and aids in future retrieval. While practice testing is not a common strategy — despite the robust evidence supporting it — there is one familiar approach that captures its benefits: using flash cards. And now flash cards can be presented in digital form, via apps like Quizlet, StudyBlue and FlashCardMachine. Both spaced-out learning, or distributed practice, and practice tests were rated as having “high utility” by the authors."

The freezer method

Passing along something to try when you've got a deadline, especially for writing.

First, mentally move your work deadline back 48 hours. Complete the final draft and "put it in the freezer" by putting it aside completely.

Then, 24 hours later (note that this should also be 24 hours before you'd normally be completing it) sit down with it again and read it as if seeing it for the first time. Missing words that your spell check program didn't catch? Punctuation? Proper formatting? And so on.

All good?

Strategy for those Monday surprises

Today was just the most recent in a string of Monday surprises this year, by which I mean assignments which were NOT due suddenly were. A bad moment under any circumstances, right?

But because I am now applying my new strategy, I was ready when my first period teacher announced that we'd had enough time to work on it, and today we were turning in the assignment. First period, and on a Monday! My partner and I had worked yesterday on the assignment, emailing drafts back and forth, so that we were ready and turned it in, and for a major grade too, which counts as 70% instead of the daily grade (30%) we all believed this was.

Our grade was the only 100, and the highest grade in the class - compared to the average 60.

But the real point here is my new strategy, which is this: do everything you can, complete all assignments possible, AS IF they are due tomorrow - or, especially, on Monday.

The strategy works because you finish everything without putting it off - you know what I'm talking about here - just because you have more time and therefore just because you can. It forces you to assume that you MUST knock it out.

The bonus is that you keep your time open for the new incoming assignments, because there will always be incoming.

Breaks and something called diminishing return

Not to depress you, but have you ever thought about the average high school student's day? Seven hours, a short lunch, rushing around from class to class. Tutoring or clubs or practice or games or other things to do after school. Home by dinner time, then homework for like two or three or four hours. Homework assignments on weekends, and even on holiday breaks. It's like having a full time job and a part time job too.

The longer we work and the tired-er we get doing homework, the less we get done and the harder it is to do good work.

Breaks are the answer. The later it gets, the more breaks we need. Try taking 10 or 15 minute breaks every 30 or 45 minutes. It really makes a difference, even though what you probably want to do is just push through and get it over with.

Just make sure you get back to work after the break.

From Cleared to Cleared

This may be obvious to you already, but apparently I keep forgetting it and when I remember to do it my life is just so much easier.

Before you spread out all the papers and books from your backpack or notebook, make sure the desk is clear.

That way when you're done (or think you are) with everything you need to do, as you gather it all back up and organize it for the next day, it's harder to forget something.

You know, from cleared (surface) to cleared.

First, pile it all up

This is getting harder and harder to do, now that I have a multi-section backpack AND a 3-ring binder AND all these pockets AND a car.

Before I get started on my homework, the first thing I have to do is chase down all the various pieces of paper from that day:  folded, crumpled, misfiled, loose at the bottom of the backpack.

Pile it all up in one place, and sort it all out:  to do tonight, to do another time (tip: put the due date at the upper right corner), stay at home, file with the class section of the notebook for use at school, etc.

If I don't, once or twice a week I miss a deadline, or panic and rush to finish an assignment I forgot because I didn't find the paper until I was doing the laundry, or looking for something else, etc. Not a good feeling.

The alternative, of course, is to carefully organize these papers as I proceed through the day. Not going to happen.

Khan Academy

Check it out. Do it now - or immediately after you finish reading this post, anyway.

This really smart guy who lives on the west coast wanted to help his nieces and nephews on the east coast with their homework, so he started recording these really simple video sessions explaining math and science concepts. Here's the magic:  it's just his voice explaining while you see the formula or whatever being worked out.

These are incredibly helpful, and they are more and more useful as I progress through high school.

I read that some schools in California were switching the lesson plans around, assigning for homework the Khan Academy videos to introduce and explain new concepts, then using class time to work on what would have been the homework problems.

This is important. Go check it out here

Turn me in!

Ok, that's not actually what the label says, but that's the message my brain gets when I see it.

Ever do the homework and forget to turn it in? Who hasn't? But this is crazy after you've done the work, to get a zero or a late grade just because you couldn't get your act together to hand the thing in when you were supposed to.

But who can blame us, really. Our parents have no clue how rushed and crowded our days are, and how huge and loud the classes are, and how crazy it is to change classes every 45 minutes and race off the the next one across campus before the 5 minute tardy bell. (I read about how in Japan the teachers move, and the students stay in one place as a team. Cool.)

So this works for me:  at the front of my 3-ring binder I use for all my classes. there's a black plastic page with a pocket, and on the pocket is a label that says, "TURN IN TODAY" and I start every day with my assignments in that packet, in the order of my classes. At the end of the day I should see an empty black page if I've turned everything in.

Of course, this means I have to put all the pages in that one place every night.

Which means I have to do all the assignments.

BUT if I do them this way I at least get credit for doing them.

See? Better.

Chapter outlines

I've discovered that formatting really does matter. Sort of like grammar.

You know all those big headlines separating sections of the chapters in your textbooks? Probably best to include them, then indent stuff under all those other smaller headlines.

If you really want to do it up right, use some color and maybe some underlining. They're kind of like signposts that help you see what's related and what's not. It helps me study later, and has been great for open-notes tests where I have to find something quickly.

And if you do it right, you won't have to open the textbook again except maybe to read the chapter summary.

I'm OK with that.

Divide and conquer

Here's where my past posts intersect.

How do you know what needs doing when you discover that by some miracle you have no homework due tomorrow?

That big calendar on the wall where you have been adding all the due dates for assignments, projects and research papers, along with tests and every possible deadline or scheduled anything.

It's how you know that even with two weeks to work on a project, you only have this Sunday afternoon to work on it. You can see how jammed up you are just by looking.

If you're smart, you've been scheduling in the fun stuff too, just to make sure it doesn't get lost in all the work.

Then, if you're lucky, one day you will look at the calendar and see that you really do have nothing to do today but hang out.

It could happen.

Homework in the absence of homework

One of the hardest things for me is remembering that just because I don't have any homework due tomorrow, that doesn't mean I have no homework.

I know; it depresses me too sometimes. But that's part of growing up, right? I still remember the feeling of freedom when I got home and I had NO HOMEWORK! It was kind of like a snow day, only better in some ways because they happened in all kinds of weather, and we don't get that much snow here in Texas.

But the truth is that I pretty much always have homework these days. Something is due soon, even if it's not tomorrow, and chances are that it's going to require more work or time than just one pass at it. There's always a test lurking out there in the near future somewhere.

Reading textbooks, reviewing notes, outlining chapters.

It never ends. Best to get a jump on it, because it's not going away, and WILL bite you eventually.

Got to go. There must be something I need to be doing.

Assignments 101

If the assignments are posted in your classroom, take a photo.

But don't forget to plug in the due dates etc. to whatever app you're using to stay on top of them. I put mine on a big wall calendar that lets me plan ahead.

When you're in a hurry and/or doing something else in class, why waste your time writing the information?

Makes you wonder why more teachers don't get this. Also makes you appreciate the ones who post the information online.

Because if you've ever had a teacher who passed out a calendar while saying it was already out of date, you know what I'm talking about.

Quizlet

No doubt there are other versions available, but my personal preference for online flashcards is Quizlet.

You can make your own, or use the auto-fill feature for vocabulary words, terms, even names and dates.

Then you can study, test or play games. You can even use them for translations between languages, or have the audio pronunciation.

Pay $10 and get the premium version, and create study group collections with password protection. Very efficient, easy, and if you download an app you can even access it from your iPhone.

Here is the link.

Laptop desks

I am experimenting these days with a wacky aluminum laptop desk, and I'm not sure yet what I think about it. It is endlessly configurable, and by that I mean it has way too many pictures of how to take it apart and put it back together again in a completely different shape. I'm not sure I WANT to lay on my side in bed and have it suspended over me, but if I did I could with this thing. When I'm on the couch it can float in air in front of me, which is great once it stops its final tiny movements and gets perfectly still, at which point it's great while I use a wireless keyboard and mouse. You can check it out here but just so you know, I got it for $89 which was a lot, but it's actually made a huge difference on long study nights when I'm living on planet Khan Academy.

I'm also trying a desk on legs which sits on the couch to either side, and this one has a fan motor and side tables. See this one here.

Neither is exactly what I thought it would be, but at least I worry less about the effects of the computer slump on my posture. I think I may be two inches taller.

Supply central

I'm about to get my driver's license so maybe this will change, but I am going crazy discovering that I don't have what I need just about when I need it. I know, I know. I should think ahead, plan better, anticipate, I get that. But I'm a teenager, OK? I'm busy here.

But I stumbled on a solution. My mom has what she calls the disaster closet, only half kidding. When we had that big flu scare she went out and bought all kinds of medicine and supplies, and now when she runs out she goes to the closet and shops for what she needs.

I mean, it's kind of funny BUT I kind of like it for solving my problem.

I have one teacher who only wants black pen, no blue ink. I have another who wants pencil only, no pen. A third teacher wants us to always have a yellow highlighter and a red ink pen. And another who wants hand colored maps with map pencils, not markers that bleed through. Then there's all the other stuff I need for projects.

So I have a big drawer of back-ups, extras, and more extras. And a whole shelf in the disaster closet, filled with paper and supplies.

Crazy, but sometimes you have to pick less crazy over more crazy. Especially when they take off points.

BIG calendar

Life is complicated enough, but this semester has turned into project central. And not just extra credit or optional, we're talking major grades x2.

Sooo... what I know is that it's all about the tools, and big problems calls for big solutions.

The answer? A wall-sized calendar, four colors of markers and I am on top of all those posters, brochures, research projects, and book reports.

Just have to try not to be overwhelmed when I look at my weekends and see that they are my only hope of staying on track...

Elapsed versus remaining time

Here's something to do on a slow Saturday. It really opened my eyes as I'm trying to prepare for timed tests like the ACT and AP exams.

Here in Texas we've been taking TAKS tests since the third grade, but those are untimed in the sense that you can take as long as you need. Tests in courses are pretty much set to a length the teacher knows can be completed. So even though I've never had much of what they call test anxiety, I've been worrying about the timed tests after the practice SAT test I took a few months ago.

So I decided to try to get a better feel for how much time was left to finish. To do this, I started with my iPhone, and just kept checking it, but this was a distraction as I worked to finish a section of a practice test. Then I bought a little timer that show the remaining time, just a two-color clock face that shows the ever shrinking amount of time remaining. That way I could just glance up and judge whether to speed up some.

Different way to look at it, and it helped with the worrying.

Here's one version but check your smart phone first to see if you can set it up that way, or try the app store.

Check-backs

OK, I just made that up. But it really is perfect for what I mean.

I have been working from some of the most confusing instructions I've ever seen on some of my assignments. It's just crazy -  it's not enough to use tiny fonts and hand out bad copies, but the 16 things you have to do are buried in seven paragraphs of blah blah blah.

Some of my grades were lower than they could have been just because I missed something, so I've started highlighting each step AND writing a number out in the margin. Then when I THINK I'm done - or even better, after the first draft or even the outline if I go that far - I do my check-back.

See? Perfect term. It might raise my overall grade by five points this semester.