Archive for 'Study Aids' Category

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InkBuddy – Ink-able ‘Flash Carding’ for free

If, like our very own Frank, you’re a fan of using flash cards for exam revision, tests etc. then you may want to take a look at a new Tablet PC app called InkBuddy. Developed by Raymond Davey, a mature(?) student at the University of Auckland, InkBuddy comes as a result of Raymond’s fruitless search to find an electronic flash card solution that fully met his requirements (don’t you just hate these ‘brainiac’ software developers :o)). The good news for us is that Raymond is offering InkBuddy as a FREE download to anyone who wants it.

Studying in the humanities – Part 2a: Note-taking for lectures: The ‘before’

Well it’s been 2 months since I scribed the first in my series on how I use my Tablet PC (along with other e-gadgets) to study electronically (and as close to 100% paperless as I can) so before I proceed to the next part, I should perhaps apologise for such a lengthy delay. Over the past few weeks I had resolved to finish off part 2 almost daily but every time I did, something new would crop up and prevent me from doing so. Thankfully from now on (or for the time being at least) I’m not as affected by external distractions so subsequent updates will hopefully be a bit more forthcoming.

Unfortunately, due to its length, I’ve had split this part of the series into three separate posts. Yep it’s long and while I seriously detest long posts with a passion (especially when I’m writing them :o)) I think the complexity of the subject warrants it. To ease the torture of you having to read it (if you have the fortitude that is) I have, as I did in Part 1, used as many sub-headings and bullet points as I could and I’ve also tagged on a brief summary at the end. I hope that helps :o)

Ok so without further ado I proudly present (after the jump) the first subsection of Note-Taking for Lectures – the ‘before’ phase

NaturalReader: Let your tablet do all the reading

Having a tablet lets you do many tasks with more interaction than you would otherwise. Many student tablet owners decide to digitize their books for easier reference and a lighter daily load, but digital books also have other advantages. They’re normal text and therefore you can do anything with them you can do to text, such as copy and paste into reports/notes. Such as…use a program that can convert text to speech (hmm…).

Maybe this is just my personal lack of concentration kicking in, but have you ever opened a textbook to read, only to realize ten minutes later you’re still on the same page? Assuming you don’t have any problem reading in general, this type of situation needs a little extra focus.

Studying in the Humanities – Part 1: My Electronic Filing System

If you’re going to succeed at being an efficient TabletPC based student (regardless of what program of study you are taking) then it really helps to get, and stay, as organised as possible, and even more so when you’re study routine is primarily digital in nature. Thankfully you can go a long way to achieving this simply by having a good electronic filing system for your notes in place. By doing so you’re not only putting yourself into a position to deal with the torrent of information that bombards you during the course of a semester, but you’re also gifted a ‘tool’ that helps you maintain relevant study focus, while at the same time helping you to work more effectively towards meeting your submission commitments. In this, the first in the series on how I use my TabletPC to study at university, I’m going to reveal the filing system I utilise in order to help me keep on top of my workload and take me one step closer to organised ‘nirvana’.

Before I begin there are a couple of points to note. Firstly it may seem, due to the commentary and screenshots I provide, that my note filing system requires the specific use of GoBinder. However I hope it will become quickly apparent that my system isn’t dependent on any particular piece of software and can be easily incorporated into any note-taking application of choice. Secondly, in order to provide the best illustration of my general filing system, I’m backtracking to a series of archived notes from a previous year’s study (imported into GoBinder 2006). Although I’m still as obsessed with keeping my electronic notes as organised as I’ve always been, the structure of my course has changed substantially with a lot less lectures and a lot more independent study to schedule. As a result I now arrange my electronic filing a lot bespoke to the more general method I’m going to be discussing. Oh and I should perhaps apologise beforehand about the long-windedness of my explanation. Although I’ve tried to keep things as concise as I can it does ramble on a bit but hopefully by using subtitles and bulleting I’ve made things a little more readable for you. Ok on with the show after the jump and please try to stay awake :o)

Creating Video Flash Cards

So are you the kind of student that loves using flash cards to review for an exam? Maybe you’ve never put in any thought to writing up a set that would aid you in your studies. Just thinking about carrying a stack of 3×5 index cards everywhere you go seems like something that might make you cringe, I know.

Wikipedia+RoboForm is my Ace in the Hole

That’s right. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love my Wikipedia.

In case you haven’t heard, Wikipedia is a free, easy to use, online encyclopedia that is user-edit-able (which is what a wiki is). Usually, a user run encyclopedia would be a bad thing (spam, faulty information, lack of information), but in this case it’s blossomed into a wonderful resource.

Ink Wiki? Anyone?

I know they offer personal Wikis for organizing your information (it you’re particularly fond of the Wiki format) but none of them include ink. I’m just want a simple “insert ink-drawn image” tool so it’d be easy to include formulas and diagrams. That can’t be too hard, right?

Why? I’m thinking for study purposes. My classes overlap so much that it’s annoying having everything separated sometimes. Imagine if I could create my own reference Wiki with definitions, conversions, formulas, theories, diagrams, etc. with the added power of ink add-ins. I’m sure some study program does something similar, but I don’t want something so complex (like RecallPlus) that it takes forever to set up and figure out.

Happy finals, everyone

Just a quick shout-out to all the students preparing for, taking, or done with Fall finals.



The blog’s essentially dead right now because I still have three left (one down!). Things will resume again after 5 pm Monday!

In the meantime, some stuff to help you out…

Posts:
Study Smart With Your Tablet PC

Forum Topics:
what do you do about open books tests?
Final Exams Anyone?
Q: Studying for Finals, what do YOU do?
RecallPlus Role Call

*image from www.grinningplanet.com/2005/11-29/fear-joke.htm

Eric Zückerman’s Study Journal for OneNote

Eric (or Dr. Zückerman) was gracious enough email me a study journal he put together for students using OneNote. Even if you don’t end up using it, it has some good tips for the academically minded. [click here to download]

He also included a PDF version of the OneNote files so you can browse it before downloading.

The concept behind the study journal is simply to have you take command of what and when you have studied for each course. Any particular weeks work can be surveyed by yourself or your instructor to ensure you have practiced the skills necessary to show you have learned the material. If done properly, the order in which you approached your studies is clear and can be analyzed for further improvement later.

Included in the files here are a sample of my study journal for a Tuesday/Thursday type class in inorganic chemistry and a ‘how to’ example for a MWF type class.

Two neat finds at Barnes & Noble

I love looking around Barnes & Noble. Something about all those books and all of them brand new still is just cool to me, even if they are non-digital books. My last visit I picked up two neat finds: one for a student, one for anyone trying to succeed.

The first is a SparkChart titled “Study Tactics” ($4.95 USD or a free download here). Like all those little binder insert quick references, it is chalk full of information on note-taking, organizing, reading, discussions, references, exam prep, test-taking, focusing, and planning. Even if you know everything on the chart, it’s a great motivational pick-me-up when you REALLY don’t feel like doing that homework assignment. It’s also a great way to start off the semester on the right foot. 

Find #2 was a book/course by Napoleon Hill titled Law of Success. It is HUGE and $35 USD, but a great read. It goes into detail on seventeen lessons tried an true of successful people and is full of motivational stories and quotes (kinda like Chicken Soup for the Super Successful CEO). For those who enjoy scientific reasoning on why things are how they are, this is the “How to be Successful” book for you. It’s not boring either, which was surprising for me. 

I tried to find an e-version of both of these with no luck yet, but I’ll keep trying. At least the SparkChart would be easy to scan or keep in your backpack.

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