Listening Skills

Listening for meaning is a form of active listening. Active and attentive listeners not only pay attention to words, they also focus on the intent of each word–the message a word is intended to communicate. To decipher messages, first determine the central idea being communicated. Then pay close attention to anecdotes, explanations, and other details meant to clarify meaning. While you work to improve listening skills, always pay close attention to the central focus of what is being relayed.

While you're listening, and after the listen task has ended, check your comprehension. Did what you learn make sense within the context of the topic or central idea being communicated? Monitoring and checking comprehension makes sure that you're active listening strategy is working.

Ineffective listeners often attempt to jot down every detail from a lecture. They are under the impression that a detailed outline equates to good notes. Students who utilize this strategy often get discouraged when they review their notes only to find the breadth, detail and lack of focus in their note-taking is confusing and leaves them unable to identify central themes and important topics. Effective listeners adapt their note-taking to the teaching styles of their teachers and lectures. They focus on central ideas and jot down details that expand on, or clarify, the central concepts of a lecture.

It's not uncommon for students tune out professors when they start discussing confusing or complex topics. Even when it's possible to hear every word during a lecture, it can be very difficult to process confusing or complicated concepts. Good listeners harness their mental faculties to process what is being presented.

People who struggle with listening often have a difficult time concentrating. Good listeners must work to develop the ability to concentrate and ignore distractions. This requires the ability to tune out personal worries, thoughts about family members and friends, and thoughts about upcoming activities. Those who can hone the ability to concentrate can improve listening skills.

If you do not complete required reading or review notes from previous lectures prior to class, it is very difficult to process information and attentively listen to lectures. This is why you should never neglect to complete reading or other class assignments. Attending a lecture prepare provides you the background knowledge required to be an effective listener–and an effective student.

One of the keys of effective listening is the ability to concentrate on central ideas and main focuses. It is a mistake to only be concerned about facts and extemporaneous detail during a lecture. In other words, effective listeners focus on the stories or ideas behind the facts. They then are able to pick up on the supporting fact, details and evidence for the main concepts, ideals and topics being discussed.

Many people tune out lectures because they're bored or disinterested. As a result, they neglect to take notes on key concepts. Effective listeners become interested in the subject material, so they can process the information and pay attention to classroom lectures.

Exam Preparation: Ten Study Tips

 Preparing for exams? Give yourself the best chance with these top ten study tips.

1. Give yourself enough time to study

Don't leave it until the last minute. While some students do seem to thrive on last-minute 'cramming', it's widely accepted that for most of us, this is not the best way to approach an exam. Set out a timetable for your study. Write down how many exams you have and the days on which you have to sit them. Then organize your study accordingly. You may want to give some exams more study time than others, so find a balance that you feel comfortable with.

 

2. Organize your study space

Make sure you have enough space to spread your textbooks and notes out. Have you got enough light? Is your chair comfortable? Are your computer games out of sight?
Try and get rid of all distractions, and make sure you feel as comfortable and able to focus as possible. For some people, this may mean almost complete silence; for others, background music helps. Some of us need everything completely tidy and organized in order to concentrate, while others thrive in a more cluttered environment. Think about what works for you, and take the time to get it right.

 

3. Use flow charts and diagrams

Visual aids can be really helpful when revising. At the start of a topic, challenge yourself to write down everything you already know about a topic - and then highlight where the gaps lie. Closer to the exam, condense your revision notes into one-page diagrams. Getting your ideas down in this brief format can then help you to quickly recall everything you need to know during the exam.

 

4. Practice on old exams

One of the most effective ways to prepare for exams is to practice taking past versions. This helps you get used to the format of the questions, and - if you time yourself - can also be good practice for making sure you spend the right amount of time on each section.

 

5. Explain your answers to others

Parents and little brothers and sisters don't have to be annoying around exam time! Use them to your advantage. Explain an answer to a question to them. That will help you to get it clear in your head, and also to highlight any areas where you need more work.

 

6. Organize study groups with friends

Get together with friends for a study session. You may have questions that they have the answers to and vice versa. As long as you make sure you stay focused on the topic for an agreed amount of time, this can be one of the most effective ways to challenge yourself.

 

7. Take regular breaks

While you may think it's best to study for as many hours as possible, this can actually be counterproductive. If you were training for a marathon, you wouldn't try and run 24 hours a day! Likewise studies have shown that for long-term retention of knowledge, taking regular breaks really helps.
Everyone's different, so develop a study routine that works for you. If you study better in the morning, start early before taking a break at lunchtime. Or if you're more productive at nighttime, take a larger break earlier on so you're ready to settle down come evening.
Try not to feel guilty about being out enjoying the sunshine instead of hunched over your textbooks. Remember Vitamin D is important for a healthy brain!

 

8. Snack on 'brain food'

 

Keep away from junk food! You may feel like you deserve a treat, or that you don't have time to cook, but what you eat can really have an impact on energy levels and focus. Keep your body and brain well-fuelled by choosing nutritious foods that have been proven to aid concentration and memory, such as fish, nuts, seeds, yogurt and blueberries. The same applies on exam day - eat a good meal before the test, based on foods that will provide a slow release of energy throughout. Sugar may seem appealing, but it won't help when your energy levels crash an hour or so later.

 

9. Plan your exam day

Make sure you get everything ready well in advance of the exam - don't leave it to the day before to suddenly realize you don't know the way, or what you're supposed to bring. Check all the rules and requirements, and plan your route and journey time. If possible, do a test run of the trip; if not, write down clear directions.
Work out how long it will take to get there - then add on some extra time. You really don't want to arrive having had to run halfway or feeling frazzled from losing your way. You could also make plans to travel to the exam with friends or classmates, as long as you know they're likely to be punctual!

 

10. Drink plenty of water

As a final tip, remember that being well hydrated is essential for your brain to work at its best. Make sure you keep drinking plenty of water throughout your revision, and also on the exam day.
Good luck!

20 Study Hacks to Improve Your Memory

1. Walk Before An Exam

It’s been proven that exercise can boost your memory and brain power. Research conducted by Dr. Chuck Hillman of the University of Illinois provides evidence that about 20 minutes exercise before an exam can improve performance.

2. Speak Out Loud Instead of Simply Reading

Although this may make you look a little crazy, give it a go! You will be surprised how much more you can remember when you’ve said it out loud.  
Warning: Don’t try this in a crowded library!


There are many ways to integrate a reward system into your study habits. Here’s a simple way to motivate yourself to study with Gummy Bears:

4. Teach What You Have Learned

The best way to test if you really understand something is to try to teach it to someone else. If you can’t get anyone to listen to you explain the Pythagorean Theorem, why not teach a class of stuffed animals!

5. Create Mental Associations

The ability to make connections is not only an easier way to remember information, but it’s the fuel of creativity and intelligence. Steve Jobs famously said “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something”.
Mind Maps are an easy way to connect ideas by creating a visual overview of different connections.

6. Draw Diagrams

Drawing diagrams will help you to visualise information which would be hard to describe. This creates a visual memory in your mind which can be recalled in an exam. You may even be asked to draw or label diagrams such as the human heart in your exam so get practicing!

7. Times New Roman is the Fastest Font to Read

Simply put – there’s a reason why Times New Roman is the default font on most applications!

8. Use Apps to Block Distracting Sites

The SelfControl app helps you to avoid distractions by blocking websites for a certain amount of time. Discover more student apps to make student life easier in our blog post “12 Student Apps You Don’t Want to Miss!”.

9. Watch a Documentary on the Topic

Documentaries are an entertaining way of compacting an entire story into a short timeframe. This will help you remember key details from a story plus you may even get extra credit for mentioning that you took the initiative and watched a film about the topic!
Check out the infographic in this blog post which helps you decide which documentary to watch.

10. Search Google Like a Pro

Save time when researching sources online by mastering the biggest search engine in the world; Google. Follow the tips in this image to find what you need at your fingertips:

11. Create Flashcards for Quick Memory Buzz

Quickly test your knowledge of key concepts, definitions, quotes and formulas with flashcards.

12. Take Regular Study Breaks

When your brain is working, you need to take regular study breaks to help your brain absorb more information but also to keep you motivated and focused when you are working. Take a short break after 45-50 minutes study as your focus and concentration will become impaired after this period, anything new after 1 hour 30 minutes does not get assimilated.

13. Listen to the Correct Type of Music

The area of how the correct types of music can lead to more productive studying by elevating your mood. Have you made your Mozart Spotify playlist yet?

14. Make Your Study Space Portable

We may be creatures of habit with favourite seats in the library but information retention actually improves when you vary the places where you study. Check out this Buzzfeed video for more study hacks:

15. Practice, Practice, Practice…

Practicing sample answers to past exam questions can help train your brain to retrieve information. Create realistic, exam-like condition and test your understanding.
 

16. Don’t Stay Up All Night Before an Exam

Make sure to get adequate rest the nights leading up to your exams. When you sleep, your brain assimilates the information you have learned when studying so getting a good night’s sleep will help you remember those pesky maths formulas you need for your exam!
Don’t make this your sleep schedule:

 

17. Discover News Ways to Learn

Trying new methods of studying can help you find what really works for you. Use technology to your advantage by watching educational TED Talks or downloading useful dictionary apps.

18. Use Scents or Gum to Jog Your Memory

This may seem a bit random but spraying an unfamiliar scent while you’re studying can help jog your memory when you spray it again just before an exam. Chewing a strange kind of gum will work the same way.

19. Study in a Group

Studying in a group can help you collect new insights to enhance your learning experience. The ExamTime Groups tool is an innovative spin on the traditional study group formula. Our Groups tool helps you share resources, discuss ideas and interact with members of your team or group project.

20. Meditate

Studies say that meditation can help students stay focused when studying. Not only will meditation help you concentrate when studying but it will help reduce pre-exam stress as it improves both mental and physical health.
Check out this Meditation Education infographic on Edutopia which details the educational benefits of meditating:



Our final piece of advice for those of you sitting exams is to stay positive. It’s amazing how a positive attitude can impact on your exam results or motivate you to complete that assignment when all you want to do is go to bed!
Got any other study hacks? Let us know if any other study hacks have worked for you in the comments section below.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

inches(Apple iPad), 7 inches(Samsung Galaxy Note) or the recently evolved 5 inch phablet, they’re pretty great for holding vast stores of information in a compact form. With a size that small, and features of both devices mixed in this device, there are endless possibilities of use. For example, you can read your books without carrying their weights. You can watch videos while travelling, and listen to music. If we think about the early nineties, at that point even the inter-net was a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee’s eyes.

2. On the go–  Back in the old days, the only way one could learn, was through books and by attending classes. You weren’t guaranteed a good education even if you went to an expensive college. But now, everything has changed. One doesn’t need to go to a classroom to learn, or carry heavy books with them. They can do so much more from their tablet. Lot of universities have started to post videos of their lectures online, and there are certain initiatives like Coursera and Udacity, where they teach you online via videos and interactive editors. They also give out assignments to reinforce what they’ve taught you. Here, we’d also like to add ourselves to the list of these great initiatives, with the same goal of spreading education high and low.


 3. Time Independence – Another big advantage of this is that you can do so at any given time of the
day. No longer are students with low household incomes deprived of sleep while they study and work a job, because they don’t have to commute long distance to get to a classroom, it’s right there in their hand. So they can manage their day to day lives better while still getting an education that doesn’t compromise on quality or time.

 4. Bridges gaps – Here’s another one—well, to make this point stand out more, we will quote an example. Let us imagine a scenario, where students are in a rural village, and they don’t have places for education. What do they do? The tablet solves this dilemma easily. We are pretty sure no educator would want to miss out on teaching budding engineers, scientists of tomorrow, and they won’t even have to leave their place of residency to do so. They can interact using the tablet. Win-win for everyone involved.
We’d like to part with a simple note—Software. Hardware. The human mind. All coming together to make something better of our tomorrows.

`Upon the education of the people of this country, the fate of this country depends.`
Benjamin Disraeli

The Next Level of Learning is Here!

 

Almost everyone today knows the impact made by smartphones and tablets. There was a time when the only thing you could do with your phone, was make calls, and text people. But that has changed over the course of the last 10 years. At a glance, one could find some major technological breakthroughs—the birth of the PDA, smartphone, and then the tablet. These things have revolutionized how we interact with each other, and have opened a multitude of options for us to harvest. We’d like to elaborate on one of them (one close to our hearts). Interactive learning through the use of tablets and smartphones.


We don’t want to sound dramatic, but we need to make sure that the next Issac Newton and Steve Jobs get all the help they need. We’re at the dawn of an era where they don’t need to be in M.I.T. to learn what an M.I.T. student learns. They don’t need to be in New York to appreciate the grandeur of the Met. Some may say it’s a poor substitute, but we prefer to look at it as an enabler. A way for someone to dream outside of what is and try to venture into what can be.