The Office of Learning Skills, Directed by Marni Jones, is located on the first floor of Biddle House, and is a part of Academic Advising. Learning Skills services are available to any Dickinson student seeking extra support in the areas of time management, study skills, note-taking and review strategies, faculty communications skills, active reading strategies, memory-enhancing techniques, and test-preparation. FREE STUDY STRATEGIES WORKSHOPS (click for the schedule) in each of these areas are offered in the first six weeks of each semester. After this time, students can call Academic Advising at 717-245-1080 to request 1:1 time management and learning skills meetings with trained Peer Advisors, available weekdays from 12:00 – 4:30. Faculty who would like to recommend to students to meet with Marni Jones, are encouraged to copy her on such messages to students at jonesmar@dickinson.edu.
WRITING SUPPORT
Students can receive support with any type of writing assignment by scheduling appointments with Writing Center tutors. On the Writing Center website, you can also access a wealth of Resources for Writers --from professor's guidance, to citation help, to powerpoints and entertaining podcasts that offer support for all aspects of writing.
Although there is no "one right way" to write, and the writing process is not alway linear, another helpful online tool to assist writers is an Assignment Calculator. There are many available online. You simply enter the due date of your assignment and it will break down for you a manageable action plan for the research and writing with specific due dates for each phase. It even has links to help you understand the components of your assignment and of course finish it on time!
This sample Assignment Calculator was created by Rochester Institute of Technology. Enter the class and due date of your assignment. Just skip where it asks you to enter your "RIT Username and Password." Note that this website contains links that will direct users to RIT-related resources, which may not be accessibly to non-RIT students. Please consider this a starting piont for calculating all the steps involved in long-term assignments with proposed deadlines for each of those steps. Want help planning your steps? Call the Writing Center at (717)245-1620!
Scroll down to see many more resources for learning and study skills!
Here are a number of WEBSITE RESOURCES to help students to achieve academic success:
Habit ForgeLooking to form a new habit? Experts say it takes 21 days to do so. Habit Forge enables you to enter a task that you would like to do consistently and will send you an email every day asking you if you did and offering reminders when you want them.
Evernote--Downloading Evernote enables you to save every website, document, picture, etc. to your Evernote collection and organize them with tags. Use Evernote to save your course syllabus, articles, notes, and power points so that you can access all that you may need for a given course in one location.
Evernote Clearly: Ever feel distracted by having too many items on your screen? When you download Evernote Clearly in Google Chrome or Firefox, you can eliminate from the screen all but that which you need to read and focus on.
Khan Academy Looking for a little extra guidance with understanding a concept, stratategy, or equations? Khan Academy features a library of over 3,000 learning videos covering everything from math to physics to finance to history.
Brightstorm: A collection of video explanations of math and science concepts presented by teachers and professors skilled at taking that which is complex and breaking it down to provide clarity.
Quizlet: A great substitute for flashcards, you can make your own sets—vocab & definitions, foreign words & their English translation, musicians & their compositions, artists & their paintings, etc. It will then generate digital flashcards (which you can print out or have the computer read aloud), memory games, and even practice tests. It will read and spell foreign words in the language you indicate. You can even share sets you create with friends. It'll change the way you study!
Wolfram/Alpha: An answer engine whose answers are computed based on data, rather than linking to other web pages. It can answer specific questions such as "How old was Barack Obama in 1972?" and can also assist with math and science equations.
Udacity: Free online learning with such courses as: Intro to Physics and Intro to Statistics: Making Decisions Based on Data
Anki: A downloadable flashcard program that will re-test users at predetermined intervals based on comfort with the information.
Bubbl: A free site for creating your own mind maps almost effortlessly. Create an account and store all that you make.
The following sites help with formatting of citations and bibliography entries: EasyBib.com. KnightCite. NoodleTools. Citation Creation. EndNote.
For users of Apple products (Mac, iPad, iPhone):
iStudiez Pro, Erudio, and iHomework are all scheduling/assignment planner apps where you can enter your schedule, assignments, exams, course info, etc. and use your iPhone as an interactive planner. Here is a review that describes and compares all three. (Looks like iStudiezPro--which costs $.99 and syncs with iCal) comes out on top.
Note that any online program that assists students with problem-solving, whether it be related to calculation, translation, or citation, will be of no value to you if you let it do the work for you. Such tools should be used as a reference or reinforcement; but if they substitute for your own efforts, it will only hinder your ability to learn the information independently. Let learning tools help you to study smarter!
HANDOUTS AND POWER POINTS:
Time Management
Time Management Words of Wisdom
Dickinson College Weekly Planner
How to use the Weekly Planner
Spring Semester Calendar (2 pages)
Spring Semester Calendar (1 page)
Grade Tracker
How to use the Grade Tracker
Goals and Action Plans
Goal and Action Plan Development
Sample Completed Goal and Action Plan Development
Weekly Goals and Actions Planner
Study Strategies
When and Where You Study
"Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits" Article
Note Taking
Top Ten Note Taking Tips
Improving Understanding By Taking Effective Notes
3 Stages of Note Taking + Cornell Notes and Mind Maps
Test Taking
Test-Taking Anxiety-Reducing Skills
Essay, True/False, Multiple Choice and Short-Answer Test-Taking Tips
Top 10—no, 11 Test-Taking Tips
Test-Taking Jeopardy
Questions about any of these? Email Marni Jones at jonesmar@dickinson.edu
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Academic Advising
Dickinson College
P. O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013-2896
717-245-1080
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