Organising and Evernote

I am disorganised by nature, I flit between one thing and another and often forget what I'm supposed to be doing in the process.

I've been using this program to try and help me remember the stuff that I used to scribble down and forget forever.

https://evernote.com/download/

So far, so good. It syncs across devices so I can send myself audio clips, I can copy paste bits of notes, I can clip web sites and lots of other bits and bobs between my computer and phone.

It's main use to me is being able to leave myself a note for what I'm doing as I switch topics or if the sproglets suddenly need my attention and I want to bookmark what my brain is in the middle of processing.

Dropbox

I love cloud storage. It's free, it's a great way to backup important files and it makes sharing large files incredibly easy.

I have a dropbox account anyway, and recently noticed that they are offering students a free size upgrade if you register with your university email address (or add a uni address to an existing account) Currently the free upgrade stands at 8GB which is pretty good.

https://www.dropbox.com/spacerace?r=NTM3Njg5MDU1OQ

I use it to back up my uni work between my home PC and my android phone, it means I can access my files from wherever I am and keep them synced.

If you don't know where to find your Open University email address, log into StudentHome and look down the left menu, there is an option for Google Apps email, just click through and it will go through the set up for you.


If you sign up through my link we also get another 500MB free each. Tada. I love free stuff.

Online Tutorials

I am loving the online tutorials that are provided by the OU. The Elluminate software is a fantastic bit of kit and it has been really helpful being able to converse with fellow students and to have access to the tutors for an hour or so a week too.


The ability to attend a tutorial in my pyjamas, whilst having to make minimal childcare provisions is absolutely priceless to me and means I have access to tutor support that I would otherwise have to go without as there is no way I can attend the face to face tutorials.

Things I have learnt about Elluminate to make things easier;-

1. Always perform an audio check before or just as you enter your online tutorial. A working mic is useful but working speakers are necessary. If you can't hear or speak, let people know via the text window as soon as possible or people will be talking at you and wondering why you're not responding ;)

2. Don't be nervous about chatting over the mic, everyone else feels just as awkward about it as you do. I hate talking over mic, and detest talking to a group/public speaking but I figure it's something I really have to get used to and now is as good a time as any. Plus I imagine that everyone else is also sat in their homes wearing pyjamas, and that makes me feel a bit better ;)

3. You can save the whiteboards as a .pdf for offline viewing which is a great way to keep them for notes towards the TMA. Also, you can save the chat conversation as a .txt file so you can read through at your own leisure and pick up bits that you found interesting the first time through. I keep my pdfs and txt files saved on my dropbox account (more on that in another post) so I can share them easily with other students who were unable to make the session.

First deadline, Meep.

The first TMA is due in today. I was lucky enough to get my submission in a week ago as I'd had some good study time put aside and could crack on with it. I've amended it a couple of times since, as I'd forgotten to put my PI number on the front page, and then again to alphabetise my references at the end. Still not sure it's completely right, but it's not supposed to be is it? It's all a learning process and I should be able to look back and laugh at how hard I found such a relatively easy assignment.

So now it's in, and done and I just have to wait for the feedback. I've heard from a few people that it takes a little while to get used to the critical way that tutors give feedback so I'm bracing myself for an email full of red pen and a big fat F all over it.

Meep.

Note Taking

During my first Elluminate tutorial, my tutor mentioned the Cornell note taking system. I had a google about and it seems like something that will really help me focus my notes. My handwriting is atrocious due to lack of use and a lazy scrawl so anything that helps me condense them into something readable and usable is good.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes


https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4GQ7jvuSfivaktWQ0hFQWF3cmc

So it begins

Well, in the end I didn't start early. I think I made the right choice too, the online tutorials that we're having are definitely helping sort out my mind a bit and help me see what kind of work the tutors are expecting. Some other people I've seen in online communities started early and are now having to redo the work, I am very glad I didn't put myself in that position.

We're now in study week 2. The module site opened on the 6th October and I'm finding it very easy to use and it has made me feel very relieved. It has a great weekly breakdown of work with access to online activities that fit in with the Learning Companions. Access to transcripts for all the audio-visual material is great, however it's very awkward to try to download mp3's from the site and seemingly impossible to download the videos.

The Elluminate sessions are a little chaotic at the moment whilst we all get to grips with the software, and specifically the audio aspect, but it's still very very useful to share some ideas and see what the tutors have to say.

I am keeping a separate word document as a reflective diary, the template was provided on the module website, which seems to be a useful way for me to keep specific assignment related reflections. I have a fab new planner too - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0230362478/ref=pe_217191_31005151_dp_1 which is helping organise my brain and my time.  I'm going to keep this blog going though as I find it useful to have a space to put my thoughts down that don't fit into an academic diary.

Study Space

My fantastic husband built me a whiteboard that fits on top of the filing cabinet next to me. I've turned the filing cabinet round so I can utilise the magnetic side of it to stick my module map and notes on to as well.

It makes me feel more organised just having it there next to me :) I'm planning on using it for important dates, a to-do list and a space for mindmapping.