Study Skills Connected: Using Technology to Support Your Studies

by Stella Cottrell, Neil Morris

Overview

Engaging, accessible and practical, this book helps students to get the most out of new technologies to enhance their learning practices, engage with their studies and improve their study skills. Covering a broad range of topics, it encourages a reflective perspective on e-learning resources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137019455
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/31/2012
Series:	Bloomsbury Study Skills , #119
Edition description:	2012
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Stella Cottrell is an international bestselling author, with over a million sales worldwide. Her other titles include The Study Skills Handbook, Critical Thinking Skills, Skills for Success, The Macmillan Student Planner, The Exam Skills Handbook and Mindfulness for Students. Stella was formerly Director of Lifelong Learning at the University of Leeds, and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching at the University of East London.
She has an international reputation for teaching and learning with her publications for staff and students being used by universities and colleges around the world. First published in 1999, The Study Skills Handbook is now in its 5th edition and has sold more than ¾ million copies worldwide. Stella has authored a number of other bestselling study skills guides as part of the Macmillan Study Skills series including Critical Thinking Skills and The Macmillan Student Planner. Macmillan International Higher Education's interactive e-learning study skills resource, Skills for Study, is also based on her work.


Professor Neil Morris is a National Teaching Fellow, and has won a number of national awards for teaching excellence. Neil has a research background in neuroscience and current research interests in educational technology, online learning and blended learning. He has conducted a number of published research studies on the impact of mobile technologies on student learning and engagement. Neil has led a number of strategic technology projects at Leeds, including MOOCs for FutureLearn, lecture capture, Open Educational Resources, Virtual Learning Environment and student response handsets. In his current role, Neil has strategic and operational responsibility for the Digital Learning Team which is responsible for the University's iTunesU site and delivering MOOCs for the FutureLearn platform.


Neil has authored a number of strategies and policies for the University, including the Digital Strategy for Taught Student Education, the Blended Learning Strategy, the Audio and Video Recording policy, the MOOC vision and strategy and the Open Educational Resources policy. Neil has given a number of keynote talks at UK and international events, and is a regular speaker at conferences. In addition to Study Skills Connected, Neil has authored Studying a MOOC: a Guide, which is free to download from www.palgravestudyskills.com/studyingamooc
Stella Cottrell is an international bestselling author, with over a million sales worldwide. Her other titles include The Study Skills Handbook, Critical Thinking Skills, Skills for Success, The Macmillan Student Planner, The Exam Skills Handbook and Mindfulness for Students. Stella was formerly Director of Lifelong Learning at the University of Leeds, and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching at the University of East London.

She has an international reputation for teaching and learning with her publications for staff and students being used by universities and colleges around the world. First published in 1999, The Study Skills Handbook is now in its 5th edition and has sold more than ¾ million copies worldwide. Stella has authored a number of other bestselling study skills guides as part of the Macmillan Study Skills series including Critical Thinking Skills and The Macmillan Student Planner. Macmillan International Higher Education's interactive e-learning study skills resource, Skills for Study, is also based on her work.

Professor Neil Morris is a National Teaching Fellow, and has won a number of national awards for teaching excellence. Neil has a research background in neuroscience and current research interests in educational technology, online learning and blended learning. He has conducted a number of published research studies on the impact of mobile technologies on student learning and engagement. Neil has led a number of strategic technology projects at Leeds, including MOOCs for FutureLearn, lecture capture, Open Educational Resources, Virtual Learning Environment and student response handsets. In his current role, Neil has strategic and operational responsibility for the Digital Learning Team which is responsible for the University's iTunesU site and delivering MOOCs for the FutureLearn platform.

Neil has authored a number of strategies and policies for the University, including the Digital Strategy for Taught Student Education, the Blended Learning Strategy, the Audio and Video Recording policy, the MOOC vision and strategy and the Open Educational Resources policy. Neil has given a number of keynote talks at UK and international events, and is a regular speaker at conferences. In addition to Study Skills Connected, Neil has authored Studying a MOOC: a Guide, which is free to download from www.palgravestudyskills.com/studyingamooc

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viii

Abbreviations ix

Introduction x

Who is the book for? xi

What is this book about? xii

Chapter outlines xiii

The approach taken by the book xiv

How to use the book xv

1 Studying with new technologies 1

Introduction 1

Self-evaluation: identify your priorities 2

Using new technologies at college or uni 4

Being part of an online learning community 5

Basic netiquette 6

Netiquette: managing your tone 7

Netiquette in academic and work contexts 8

Self-evaluation: netiquette 9

Your netiquette and ground rules 10

Your online presence 11

Protect yourself and others 12

Taking care of your privacy and security 13

Respect for others' online material 15

Plagiarism and cheating 16

Using new technologies as a student 17

What equipment do I need? 19

Identifying resource requirements 20

Developing the right academic skills 21

Identifying your academic skills needs 22

Basic IT skills 23

Summary 24

2 Virtual learning environments 25

Introduction 25

What is a virtual learning environment (VLE)? 26

How are VLEs used to support learning? 27

Using the VLE: interaction and discussion 29

Using the VLE: resources and assessment 30

Using the VLE: collaboration and links 31

Using the VLE: course information and administration 32

Case study: a student's use of the VLE 33

Online assessment practice 34

Making effective use of online feedback 35

Using discussion boards for study 36

Using discussion boards for assignments 37

Case study: discussion board thread 38

Summary 40

3 Managing online information for academic study 41

Introduction 41

Self-evaluation: what would be useful to me? 42

Stages in managing information for study 43

Finding suitable material for your assignments 44

Locations for finding academic material online 45

Using the Internet for academic purposes 46

Narrowing or extending your online search 47

The impact of your search strategy 48

Developing your search strategy 49

Bibliographic databases 50

Digital repositories 51

Saving, retrieving, sharing and using information 52

Using Google tools for study 53

Online tools for study: group presentations 54

Online tools for study: written group report 55

Case study: conducting literature searches for projects 56

Evaluating material on YouTube for study 57

Using YouTube for study 58

Making YouTube videos for assignments 59

Summary 60

4 Podcasts 61

Introduction 61

What are podcasts? 62

Finding and subscribing to podcasts 63

Evaluating quality for academic purposes 64

Selecting podcasts for academic use 65

Podcasts made specially for your course 66

Organisational skills for using podcasts 67

Making notes when using podcasts 68

Applying critical thinking to podcasts 69

Referencing podcasts in your work 70

Using podcasts for exam preparation and recall 71

How helpful are podcasts? 72

Good podcast design 73

Producing your own podcasts 74

Summary 76

5 Blogs 77

Introduction 77

What is a blog? 78

What students say about blogs 79

Reasons for creating a blog 80

Creating a blog 82

Blog design: what works? 84

Good blog design 85

Writing blogs for an audience 86

Sharing and publicising your blog 87

Comments in blogs 88

Constructive commenting 89

Creating blogs for academic assignments 90

Using blogs for academic reflection 91

Blogs to support project development 92

Blogs to support professional development 93

Checklist: creating blogs for academic study 94

Case study: blog to support a student project 95

Case study: work placement blog 96

Using other people's blogs for academic study 97

Applying critical thinking to blogs 98

Thinking critically for academic blogs 99

Summary 100

6 Wikis 101

Introduction 101

What is a wiki? 102

Wikipedia: the five principles or 'pillars' 103

Searching on Wikipedia 104

Understanding the Wikipedia layout 105

Finding good quality material on Wikipedia 106

Using Wikipedia as a source of information 107

The accuracy of Wikipedia for student work 108

Student assignment: edit a live wiki page 109

Editing the content of a live wiki page 110

How to edit a wiki page 111

Creating a wiki page or article 112

Collaborative writing assignments using wikis 113

Checklist for writing and editing wikis 117

How useful are wikis for students? 118

Student reflections on using wikis in their studies 119

Summary 120

7 Social media 121

Introduction 121

Social networks and social networking sites 122

Features of key social networking sites 123

Understanding Facebook 124

Using Facebook to support academic study 125

Using Facebook for peer support 126

Making Facebook work for group projects 127

Facebook: wider considerations for study 128

Micro-blogging and Twitter 129

Getting started with Twitter 130

Using Twitter for academic purposes 131

Students' use of Twitter: Sarah 132

Students' use of Twitter: Imran 133

Linkedln: build your professional community 134

Linkedln: features of interest to students 135

Linkedln: for entrepreneurial students 136

Case study: a student's use of social networking tools 137

Referencing social networking sites 138

Summary 140

8 Classroom and communication technologies 141

Introduction 141

Exploring the terrain 142

Student voting handsets 143

Making use of voting handset opportunities 144

Lecture capture 145

Lecture capture: chat 146

Preparing to use collaborative learning tools 147

Using collaborative learning tools in class 148

Case study: collaborative tutorial 149

Video conferencing tools 150

Using video conferencing as a student 151

Case study: video conferencing for research project interviews 152

Case study: video conferencing for support on placement 153

Mobile devices 154

Mobile devices: tablets and e-readers 155

Using mobile devices for study 156

Apps to support your studies 157

Apps for study: Android and BlackBerry 158

Mobile devices in practical study settings 159

Summary 160

9 Drawing it together 161

Case study: combining the technologies (1) 162

Case study: combining the technologies (2) 163

Case study: combining the technologies (3) 164

Using technology to resolve study difficulties 165

Self-evaluation: how well do I use the technologies available to me? 166

Self-evaluation: achievements to date and future priorities 167

Technologies not covered in this book 171

Closing comments 172

Glossary 173

Useful resources 177

References and further reading 180

Feedback on activities 181

Index 183

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The beauty of this book is its accessibility and clarity and that it is primarily about how to apply study skills when using technology and online content – I don't know of any accessible online material that does this.' - Jeanne Godfrey, formerly Principal Lecturer in Learning and Teaching, University of Westminster, UK

'The topics are thorough. The author takes us through various aspects from e.g. learning what a podcast is, to how to find and cite them, to learning with them, and finally how to create them.' - Janey Flanagan, Director of E-Learning, Borough of Manhattan Community College, US 'Engaging content, written in a very appropriate tone and style for the modern audience.' - Tony Ward, Head of Psychology, UWE, UK

'This book gives the student the opportunity to see how technologies can be used in carrying out core academic tasks.' - Kate Williams, Study Advice Centre, Oxford Brookes University, UK