{"id":397,"date":"2021-01-19T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T09:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/bench-to-bedside\/?p=397"},"modified":"2021-01-19T09:00:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T09:00:09","slug":"my-top-tips-for-online-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/bench-to-bedside\/2021\/01\/19\/my-top-tips-for-online-study\/","title":{"rendered":"My Top Tips for Online Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Sima Naddaf <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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September\nwas approaching fast and summer seemed like a distant memory, the type you\nrather forget; not because something bad had happened, no, frankly quite the\nopposite. Nothing enjoyable<\/em> happened during summer 2020. September had\narrived marking the start of new academic year. The back to school banners\nwhere outside the shops and just like most students I too, bought plenty of\npens, re-fill pads and highlighters just in case -first mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although I\nknew my first year of university at King\u2019s would be starting online and I was\nbeyond exited for my new chapter, I didn\u2019t quite anticipate how MUCH of a\ndifference it would be. Soon I realised the way I used to study -take notes as\nthe lecturer speaks, go home read the book chapter, compile your notes and highlight\nimportant aspects, was somewhat outdated. I would find myself swamped with\nnotes, pre-notes and lectures to catch up on since it took me three to five\nhours to fully digest one pre-recorded lecture that was around 1,5h long.\nExhausting\u2026 And yes, I did have the thought \u2018maybe I am not smart enough for\nthis\u2019 however, after voicing my concern with others on my course it became\napparent -we all <\/em>were struggling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although\nhesitant at first, our cohort reached out to the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine,\nexpressing our concerns with online learning. Soon there were more online-live\ntutorials and guidance on how to study effectively sent out to us. There is a\nsaying I believe, \u2018it\u2019s better to have learned and have lost, than never to\nhave learned at all\u2019, which yes clich\u00e9, nevertheless serves a purpose here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the\nstart of this blog, I mentioned how buying all that stationary was my first\nmistake. I\u2019ve managed to cut down on excessive study time and yet do the same\nquality work I did before. Below I\u2019ve compiled my best tips and how I did that:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking notes \u2013 when taking lecture notes for\npre-recorded or live-online lecture, just jot down extra points the lecturer\nsays. Right after the lecture sit down and challenge yourself to write three\nthings you remember. It will give you a chance to assess how well you were\nlistening during the session. After, compile your notes using the lecture\nslides and if you write by hand, this is the time-consuming step for you. Personally,\nI use PowerPoint note function and OneNote. I write down my notes at the same\ntime and print them after the lecture. This way I have the slides and my\nadditional notes all in one go.<\/li>
Motivation \u2013 establish a routine and motivation\nwill follow. When I started waking up early every day after a week it didn\u2019t\nseem like chore. If you just are starting out and can\u2019t get into the habit of\nstudying effectively or you lose focus easily -try \u2018study with me\u2019 videos on YouTube.<\/li>
Plan ahead \u2013 by this I don\u2019t mean the next\nday, no. I mean your future. Sit down and write an answer to each of these\nquestions. What qualities of life do I find most precious? Have I attained them\nalready? If not, how does my degree or future career help towards attaining\nthem? Notice, I asked qualities of life, not aspects. Lastly, If I continue\nwhat I am doing right now for the next five years, will it get me where I want\nto be? Make a plan, and each day work towards your answers, when you feel\nunmotivated or down, visualise your mood board and I promise, it works.<\/li>
Don\u2019t be so harsh on yourself \u2013 1440 minutes in a day, if one\nminute was wasted by procrastination you have 1439 minutes to try again. Somehow,\nwe have grown to be so critical of ourselves, leaving no space for mistakes to\nlearn from, but at the same time consoling and being experts of giving advice\nto others. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
After four months of trial and error I\u2019ve managed to cut down my study time to two to three hours, which is the average time taken by university students per lecture. Hope these tips helped you and if they did please share it with others!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sima Naddaf September was approaching fast and summer seemed like a distant memory, the type you rather forget; not because something bad had happened, no, frankly quite the opposite. Nothing enjoyable happened during summer 2020. September had arrived marking the start of new academic year. The back to school banners where outside the shops and … <\/p>\n
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