Frequent Breaks

I have been testing with breaks during study, and got some great results which works for me, and maybe also for you!

I heard about frequent breaks on the Wired Study Tips podcast and I've been thinking about it. How did I use breaks, and how do I want to use them?

How did I, and most of the students, use them?

We use our breaks as 'way-out' 'Finally, BREAKTIME!' including playing some video games, chatting on an instant messenger, making the best origami figures ever. And we forget the time and we waste another half an hour.

How should we use it?

As relaxation. Give your brain some time to process it all. And yes, we need to do some complete other things than what we did. That origami figure isn't bad. But don't do it too long. 

I have breaks every half an hour. Just set a timer, and after 30 minutes, I stop studying and do something else. After 5 minutes doing something else, I start studying again. And after 4 of those sessions, it's lunch time, or any eating time, which means a break for like, 15-30 minutes.

What to do on a break?

Well, you need to do something different than the subject. If you studying the industrial revolution of China, don't read an article about the industrialisation of China, but read an article about flying fishes!

Instead of reading, there are a lots of things you can do.

• Cleaning your room. Jessica finds it usefull, and I agree with her. Not only something which doesn't require any thoughts, but also usefull, for if your girlfriend is coming over!
• Get some tea. That is what I do most of the times, get a cup of tea, zipping a bit, and start studying again!
• Just stare out of the window. Empty your mind, daydream a bit and get some fresh air. Lovely.

So, study for 30 minutes, stare for 5 minutes and study again for 30 minutes. When you got the routine, it's really easy!

Good luck, and, don't be afraid to share your thoughts about this subject with me!

Making flashcards

I want to try something new in my learning style. I want to use FlashCards.

Only I don't know anything about it, how you use it and how it works. I guess it is something with questions and answers, on the other side..

So, what I found, quickly on the internet is:

'Flashcards remain one of the best tools for memorizing information. The most common way to create flashcards is to use index cards. Students can simply write the question on one side and the answer on the opposite side and test themselves repeatedly. However, there are several ways to modify this process to enhance the learning experience.' Source

And how to make them:

• I'm going to print the questions. And I will write the answers on it with hand. With that, I already have seen the answer, and learned it in a different way
• I found a program called 'make bootable flashcards' on my computer, I will check it if it is usuable, or just some wacko microsoft thing again ;)

Where I'm going to use it for:

• Biology, the same class as where I tested iPod Studying on. Because here I do have some questions and answers, which are hard to memorize!
• Maybe sociology, because this is one of the classes with a lot of questions!

Maybe you have any tips for me with flashcards, because I'm just going to test it, do you use it, how do you use it? Let me know!

Keep in touch for the rest of the experiment!

Presentation in class: The Middle

Once you had your killer introduction, you are ready for the middle of your presentation.

What is in the middle?

• More explanation about the subject, some space to make the problem bigger!
• You come up with different solutions, and arguments for it or against it.

This part is more boring than your anecdotic introduction and now it is even more important to keep your audience interested, because this is what you really want them to tell!

Keep being interactive. The key to a succesfull presentation. Keep asking questions to some people in your audience, as I said in the introduction. They will be awake, and stay awake if you question them more often. The second sort of questioning you have to do is the 'does everyone understand?' No, they won't react, but it is a good gesture ;)

Keep it interesting. Yes, this is a more boring part, but it doesn't have to be! If you keep the dry math and all short, the class will be kept interested. Keeping that guys, who aren't interesting in anything but girls, interested is a great challenge. ;)

Be humoristic. Your class needs a laugh one at a time. Just make jokes, be sarcastic and you know what I mean, just make them laugh.

With these tips, your presentation will be more fun and more interesting, what do you want more?