Student_Survival_Guide

TOPIC 1 Downloading files for your use on your machine or portable device. Downloading files is really useful during distance learning, because it can really save me from having to do a lot of hand written notes, or printing things I don’t need to. Having a flash drive can be helpful in situations where I do work on a computer that is not mine. Almost each week’s assignments will have an Appendix or reading that is necessary to complete the work. Since it will probably be used that more than just one time, it can be downloaded right on to the computer. Doing this can be a lifesaver if the internet goes out, because between the class folder and having those files downloaded on my computer, I will be able to do my work anyway. At the beginning of each class, I will first to go to the class syllabus, the course calendar, and the file that contains the information about the final project. These are very important, so I will save them to my desktop and print them out. I will also save a copy of these onto my flash drive, so I can take them with me. Go to the course outline, and print that out. I will put a folder together for each class. The calendar will be on the front of the folder, and the syllabus will be put into clear inserts inside the folder. Week 1 will go in the front, and then they will be put in order through the folder so I can open it up and use it as a guide. All of the other printouts of files from class will be put into the inside pockets. I will select all of the links located in the course overview, that contain files, selected readings, or an appendix that I will need for assignments, and download them all on to my desktop. The University of Phoenix Axia College offers a variety of tools for distance education. I can use the University Library for research on topics from classes while in school. GENERAL SEARCH - Type in a topic and search right from the main page. ARTICLE DATABASES – EBSCOhost_, Gale PowerSearch, _and ProQuest are some options I can use to do searched based on specific criteria. EBSCOhost will let me see full text views of periodicals and peer-reviewed journals, which can sometimes be mandatory in an assignment. The information is current and comes from a specific resource. ProQuest and Gale PowerSearch are all different from EBSCO and each other. Based on what I need to find, I can use the database I need. ENCYCOLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES – Use these for definitions, biographies and references on broad or specific subjects. REFERENCE AND CITATION GENERATOR – This is a tool for writing citations of information resources. There is a proper way to do this, and there are also some exceptions in certain situations. I can use this option in case I need some help with something. ASK A LIBRARIAN – This service will let me talk with an actual librarian about something while using the University Library. There might be something I can’t figure out on my own, and I can go here to get some assistance. REQUEST A SPECIFIC DOCUMENT – If there is something that I can’t find in the library or anywhere else, it is possible to request specific documents. First the library will check and see if the document is already available and tell me how to retrieve it. IF it is not already available, then the library will try and retrieve it themselves. Identifying key information within articles When researching a subject for an assignment, I may come across a lot of information that needs to be read. It is important to know how to look for key information within the articles you read so you can find what you are looking for. TITLE – Looking at the title of an article is the first step to identifying what that the article will be about. This may not always be the case, but it will more often than not be true. PARAGRAPH TITLES/HEADERS – Next, scan down the article and look at all of the paragraphs. There may be titles of the paragraphs, and those should be pretty informative. If there is not a title for the paragraph, then briefly look at the first few sentences to get a feel of what the author is trying to say. TOPIC 2 Understanding Axia’s academic honesty policy While attending Axia College, academic honesty is something that should be remembered and practiced at all times. Since we are in a distance learning environment, we will come into contact with a lot of information. It is ok to gain ideas and gather information based on things you read, as long as the academic policy is upheld. The academic policy is upheld in order to help students bring out their own ideas and respect the ideas and thoughts of others. PLAGIARISM – Plagiarism is essentially taking or using the work of someone other than yourself, and then using it as your own and taking credit. This can be done by flat out copying the work of someone. Plagiarism can also be if you are paraphrasing or quoting someone’s work without citing the references or websites where the information was from. SELF-PLAGIARISM – It is possible to plagiarize not just another person, but yourself as well. If you create a piece of work, and turn it in for a grade or credit once, then you can’t use that same piece of work for a grade in another class. A student who turns in their own work that they already were graded on in a separate class will be punished the same as if they had cheated off another person. UNAUTHORIZED ASSISTANCE – If an instructor who gives out an assignment and says the student should only use resources authorized by them, then that is exactly what the student should do. If the student does otherwise, that is considered a violation of academic honesty code. A student also has to do their own work, and can’t have someone else do it for them. If for some reason a student plagiarizes while attending the University, there are going to be consequences. It is really important to know the consequences of plagiarism if it does happen. First the violation will be sent to the proper people at the University that need to be notified of any allegations. There is a chance that a warning is all that is necessary for the alleged violation. If a warning is not sufficient, there will be a review to see if the violation is legitimate. The student will receive a fair review by a committee. Next, there will be an investigation of the violation. This investigation will happen in a timely matter. The campus will obtain any information needed in the investigation. The University will also contact the student with a written notice of the charges, which the student must respond to. Once the investigation takes place, and the student has received the charges of the violation in writing, there will be a meeting to review the issue. There will be a campus committee, and a registrar’s committee. The student can defend themselves to this committee, but there can be no legal representation. There will be measures taken to ensure confidentiality as well. The Director of Affairs is the one who makes the final decision, based on what the committee sends in after the review. If the decision is made that there was an actual violation, there will be sanctions given based on the seriousness of the violation. There can be anything from counseling to expulsion. There is the option for the student to appeal the final the final decision, as long as its done in a timely manner and done properly. Avoiding plagiarism – It is actually very simple to avoid plagiarism. It all comes down to being honest while being a student, and following the guidelines of the University in regards to properly citing information and quoting references. While researching, be sure to take constant notes about where you get your information. Plagiarism often happens accidentally while researching because the student forgets to properly write down sources of information. Another thing a student can do is know how to use quotations and paraphrases. Quotation is where a student puts the exact words of another author inside quotation marks in order to quote him or her. Paraphrasing is where the student is using the general idea of someone else, but completely puts things into his or her own words. If any other source is cited or referenced, or even paraphrased, there must be proper citation. If a student turns in work that has a majority of quoted material that came from other sources, then the paper is not considered acceptable. Also, a student must understand that materials from the internet belong to an author just like written ones, and the same plagiarism ideas apply. TOPIC 3 It is really important for students to have an understanding of not only their own educational goals, but their career goals a well. A student needs to know how to identify their own short term goals and their long term goals. SHORT - TERM CAREER GOALS – In order for a student to identify some of their short term career goals, they need to know what they want out of the job they already have. Does the student want to change jobs altogether, or stay where they are. The student can set a goal to be in training for a level up position at the company they are with, or a company they desire to be with. LONG – TERM CAREER GOALS – In order for a student to identify with long term career goals, they need to have an understanding of the path they are on in the present. What are they working towards' The student should decide if they want to be working full time in a permanent career, or if they want to be in a position where they are still learning. The student should decide if they want to have something like an internship, or own their own business. LONG- TERM EDUCATION GOALS – The student can identify their long-term education goals simply be deciding how far they want to take their education. The average student might want to be finished after 2 years, and other students might want to continue school until they have completely mastered that particular subject. How to reach goals despite obstacles When someone has goals they are seeking, there is a pretty good chance obstacles will appear and get in the way. The obstacles can be pretty challenging and discouraging, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. The student should write down what obstacles are currently causing them problems. The student should then decide what it will take to overcome those obstacles. Not every obstacle is something that can be solved right away. The student has to decide what strengths and resources they have that will assist them in overcoming the obstacles they face. An Axia degree relates to goals in many different ways. There are so many aspects of what it takes to get a degree with Axia, and they all involve goal setting. The student must set the first and most important goal, which is what they intend to get out of attending school. The student will decide what degree they want to acquire while being in school. Next the student must start managing their time wisely and effectively while obtaining that degree. The student will set daily, weekly, and monthly goals for completing homework and other tasks. The student must also set goals in how much they want to learn by certain periods of time. TOPIC 4 Managing time wisely Balancing time between courses at Axia While attending Axia, managing time wisely is something that each student must master quickly in order to be successful. There are usually two classes in session at the same time, which means the student must separate his or her time so both classes receive enough attention. It is important that the student keep the syllabus and calendar handy, so all of the work and assignments can be kept track of in a timely manner. Jugg*le* work, school, and family responsibilities With all of the aspects of the average students’ life, it can be difficult to make sure each area of life gets enough attention. Working full time and making enough time for family can be difficult to begin with. Then adding full time school on top of that can be overwhelming to some students. If the student does not know how to balance their attention between the three priorities, it is possible to quickly become stretched too thin and fall behind. The student needs to make a set time for when school work will be done, and it will work around the time that the student will be at work. IF the time is balanced properly between the two obligations, they should not interfere with each other. Then family will come back into the picture and take the rest of the time, because family time can’t only be limited to blocks of available time. After a while of getting used to this way of managing time, it should become a little easier for students to manage these three very important things. Prioritizing and avoiding time-wasters While doing assignments and studying, it is easy to place yourself in a situation that is not ideal for learning which can end up wasting time and affecting the quality of work. When the student is going to begin school work, it would be a good idea to prioritize what needs to be completed first, and which tasks are more difficult. The more difficult tasks should get more attention. The student should pick a good place for studying that won’t have any distractions. Things that can be distracting and therefore waste time are phones, television, people talking, and other things. TOPIC 5 Fostering reading comprehension and retention techniques PRIOR TO READING – Before the student begins reading, they should prepare some first. The student should be thinking critically and positively. The student should also prepare to learn positively. PICK A SETTING – The student should pick a spot to read in that contains little distractions, and is easy to concentrate in. BEGIN READING – Familiarize yourself with what is about to be read, and try to become emotionally involved with the reading. UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE READING – The student should know if they are reading to learn, evaluate, or for pleasure. Using SQ3R and other study habits SURVEY – Scan over the material you are going to read for an idea of what it is about. Question – Ask yourself questions related to the chapter titles and about what you already know. READ – Read the selection, to try and answer the questions. Be sure to take notes. RECITE – This consists of repeating some questions. REVIEW – Use different techniques or strategies to go over what was read in an effort to remember what was read. TOPIC 6 Applying personality and learning styles Using your personality type for distance learning success My personality type is intrapersonal. This means I am most in touch with my own feelings and moods, and what causes them. Being intrapersonal means understanding me and how I relate to others as well. My personality type is good at dealing with other people that have different personality types, because I am good at relating to others. My personality type will also help with distance learning because I will be communicating with a lot of different people. If I was not ale to communicate well with others and be able to get along with them, there would be a problem. Developing your multiple intelligence My multiple intelligence type can be developed on a daily basis. If I have a good understanding of what my learning intelligence is, then I can develop it. Since my intelligence is intrapersonal, I would focus on myself. I would develop how quickly I recognize my feelings and what causes my feelings. It is important to be in touch with my emotions and other peoples emotions. If my intrapersonal intelligence has been developed well, it should improve my ability to communicate with my other classmates. Relating to others who have different personality types and intelligence It is important to remember that everybody is different and there are many different personality types. Not everyone learns the same way, or communicates the same way. It is important for me to remain open minded when talking to other students because they may say something I don’t agree with because they learn a different way. The best thing for everyone to do is just be respectful to everyone else and not assume that other students feel or agree with the same things you do.