Survival Guide: Rules to Live By

Gen 105 – Week Nine- Final Project – Survival Guide March 30, 2008 Survival Guide Start by getting your computer ready. Have plenty of memory, ink for the printer and paper. Tell all friends and family that you are in college; you have no time and please do not bother me. I will always eat before I start on the computer. I do not want to be hungry while I am reading or typing and I want to avoid snacking while on the computer to avoid weight gain. I will go to the bathroom and get a tall glass of ice water before getting on the computer.

Have a good relationship with your counselor, because you never know when you might need them. Invest in Simon & Schuster’s book, “Handbook for Writers” and a good dictionary, because sometimes the spell checker does not help. This handbook will help you with audience, tone, purpose, and structure with all your writing assignments. Print out all course materials before starting college online; learn any techniques or tricks to using the programs of your computer. Learn Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc… One of the simplest tasks I learned before starting online was a different way of copying.

If you have to transfer any material to another file or program, you can use control A to highlight all the text, then control C to copy all the text, then go to where you need to transfer the text and hit control V to paste all the text. I had always used copy and paste, but even with that, sometimes the text is messed up or missing. By using the control A, C, & V, it works so much better. Take advantage of printing out your learning materials for each week, so you can take it with you anywhere to study when you have a break. This also helps get you away from the computer for a while.

Download any materials onto a portable device, such as an I-Pod, thumb drive, or even some cell phones. Again, this will help you get away from the computer for a while. I can exercise while listening to my studies or at work; I can listen when I have a break. When researching for an assignment, use the online University Library, it is the most accurate form of research. I can find books, articles, and journals; I learned how to use key words to find information easier. Using other sources to find research, such as the internet, with sites like Google, ask.

com, yahoo. com, excite, and Wikipedia. org.Remember that you cannot totally rely on them exclusively; most of your sources must be peer-reviewed items.

Each class will give you links to read and study, so between the University Library and the links will allow you to do most of your accurate research. It is very important to uphold academic honesty when researching, have the integrity to acknowledge references from the original works and authors. Avoid plagiarism, always use the plagiarism checker and give credit where credit is due. The consequences of plagiarism could be a failing grade, failing the course, suspension, and a permanent note in your record.

It is not worth loosing a college degree over. Use proper grammar, mechanics, spelling and punctuation. Know how to write informative, positive, negative, and persuasive messages or letters. Learn how to write an effective resume, cover letter, and thank you/follow up letter and the strategy to conducting a job search.

Make a list of your goals; identify your short-term and long-term goals. Figure out your educational and career goals. What kind of college courses do you want to take? What kind of career do you want? Set time limits to achieve your goals.Do not let obstacles get in the way of finishing your goals, stick with it, you are doing this to improve your life. My goal to getting a bachelor’s degree is to get a better paying job and put money away for my later years.

I will use a day-timer or organizer to have a day-by-day account of what I need to do each day. I will prioritize the most important things that I need to accomplish first. Work and school come first right now; I must work a full time job to pay the bills. Then I come home and start my online college.

I spend a little time to clean, cook, and eat dinner with my family, and then it is back on the computer.I try to get all assignments and participation done by Saturday, so I can have a little time for me, or do what is needed around the house, spend time with Lily ( our four year girl) , and maybe watch a movie. I will apply the SQ3R technique to studying my college courses. I will approach the material in a positive way and with an open mind. I will minimize distractions to focus on my reading and make sure I am in a quiet place.

I will do most of my reading and assignments at my desk in my room and most of the time; it will happen at night. I will survey the text to read faster.I will take notes and ask myself questions as a way to comprehend and retain the information and to be able to look back on as needed. I might re-read over the text or my notes or recite the text out loud to help me remember.

I will pay attention to topics of paragraphs, headings, bold face type, italics, and summaries. Being a logical/mathematical and organizer personality will help me organize material logically and analyze any situations. I will make to do lists to stay on track. Participation with my classmates every week will help me to relate to others with different personalities and intelligences.I am interested in self-improvement, so I will enjoy learning something new and solving problems.

Some weaknesses that I will have to work on, is the adventurer and the naturalistic in me. I might turn my stress into doing something in nature instead of being a stress eater. I will find some hands on ways of learning and seek people with whom I may find more stimulating. I need to be more involved with music to express more ideas.

My personal mission is to stay positive and remember why I am doing on line learning, to make a better life for myself.