10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory

10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory

What’s the name of your daughter’s teacher, and where did you put your keys again? If you’ve ever wished you could do some simple things to sharpen your memory skills, you can. We’ve talked to the experts and compiled the latest thinking on improving the muscles in your brain associated with memory.

Google Tips for Students

100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time in School | Online Colleges

If you’re a student with classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for you, so why not latch onto the wide world that Google has to offer? From super-effective search tricks to Google hacks specifically for education to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time.

Technology through the Blog "Open Thinking"

90+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy : open thinking

90+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy
by Alec

Update December 3/09: There has been much interest in this list so I have transferred this resource to a wiki. This post will remain, but I would be happy if others contributed to the wiki version found here. Thanks for your interest in media education.

Over the past few years, I have been collecting interesting Internet videos that would be appropriate for lessons and presentations, or personal research, related to technological and media literacy. Here are 70+ videos organized into various sub-categories. These videos are of varying quality, cross several genres, and are of varied suitability for classroom use.

New Thinking About Study Habits

Mind - Research Upends Traditional Thinking on Study Habits - NYTimes.com

Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 6, 2010

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Every September, millions of parents try a kind of psychological witchcraft, to transform their summer-glazed campers into fall students, their video-bugs into bookworms. Advice is cheap and all too familiar: Clear a quiet work space. Stick to a homework schedule. Set goals. Set boundaries. Do not bribe (except in emergencies).
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Well

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And check out the classroom. Does Junior’s learning style match the new teacher’s approach? Or the school’s philosophy? Maybe the child isn’t “a good fit” for the school.

Such theories have developed in part because of sketchy education research that doesn’t offer clear guidance. Student traits and teaching styles surely interact; so do personalities and at-home rules. The trouble is, no one can predict how.

Yet there are effective approaches to learning, at least for those who are motivated. In recent years, cognitive scientists have shown that a few simple techniques can reliably improve what matters most: how much a student learns from studying.

The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on.

For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing.

Guide to Online Schools

Study Help: Study Tips, Test Anxiety, and Note-Taking

An In-Depth List of Online Study Help Resources

Need help getting the grades you want on tests and quizzes? We've scoured the web and compiled the most comprehensive list of online resources on study help available on the Web. These guides, all published from reputable sources, will help you achieve your personal best, both in and out of the classroom. From note-taking to overcoming test anxiety, the following resources will improve your academic record and your study technique.

General Study Tips - Beating Test Anxiety - The Ins and Outs of Note-Taking

Students can learn computer programming

4 Tools for Teaching Kids to Code

4 Tools for Teaching Kids to Code
By Audrey Watters / August 18, 2010 6:30 PM / 27 Comments
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scratch1aug10.jpgIn a recent PC Pro article, Professor Steven Furber, developer of the ARM microprocessor, laments the sharp decline in interest in computer science classes in the UK. And although the U.S. hasn't seen that same drop in enrollment, a recent survey of some 14,000 U.S. high school teachers by the Computer Science Teachers Association found that only 65% of respondents taught in a school that offered some sort of introductory computer science course.

As our world becomes more tech-oriented, educators are faced with not just teaching children how to use computers, but how to build and program them as well.

ReadWriteWeb's Back to School Coverage:

* Teachers Pick Their Top 5 Back-To-School Tech Tools

"We need to get students interested in computer science and that has to be done at an early age before they decide (incorrectly) that they can't do computer science or that it is dull and boring," says Alfred Thompson, Microsoft's K-12 Computer Science Academic Relations Manager. "Teaching computer science in an interesting fashion while students are young and impressionable and searching for interesting things they can do with their lives can potentially lead to more diversity in the field. And we need more diversity in the field."

Fortunately, there are a number of great tools to teach programming to K-12 students, along with a lot of resources for computer science teachers:

Brainstorming - forensic scientist blog

100 Online Brainstorming Tools to Help You Think Outside the Box - Forensic Science Technician : Online Schools Guide

A lateral thinking process, brainstorming demands that people come up with ideas and thoughts that can seem shocking or crazy. By using these ideas as a starting point, you can then change and improve them into something useful and original. Below are the top 100 tools, tips, guides, and resources to help you think outside the box and maximize your ideas.

18 Memory Tricks

18 Memory Tricks You Need to Know on Shine

Can't remember where you put your glasses? Blanked on your new colleague's name? "Forgetting these types of things is a sign of how busy we are," says Zaldy S. Tan, MD, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "When we're not paying good attention, the memories we form aren't very robust, and we have a problem retrieving the information later."

The key, says Harry Lorayne, author of Ageless Memory: Simple Secrets for Keeping Your Brain Young, is to get your brain in shape. "We exercise our bodies, but what good is that great body if you don't have the mental capabilities to go with it?" Sure, you could write everything down, keep organized lists and leave electronic notes on your BlackBerry, cell phone or PDA. But when you don't have access to those aids, or if you want to strengthen your brain, try these expert-recommended strategies to help you remember.

Directions for Study Skills

Study Skills Library - Academic Skills Center - Cal Poly

Directions for Study Skills Make-Up Essay:

* Download and read any study skills topic that interests you.
* Using the Make-Up Form, write a 500-600 word essay, answering these two points:
o Summarize the study skills topic;
o Describe how you will use the information to improve your study habits.
* Your essay should be in 12 point type and single-spaced. Consider the quality of your work because what you submit will be placed in your advisor's file. Proofread.
* Email your essay to your academic advisor or advising center. Do not send it to the Academic Skills Center.

Lecture Notes

Geek to Live: Take study-worthy lecture notes

Geek to Live: Take study-worthy lecture notes

by Gina Trapani

Copying class notes after the fact is a time-consuming way to study for an exam, but it was the only thing that truly worked for me back in college. But next week I'll be in a classroom again for the first time in 8 years, pen poised over notebook, and this time I'm going to perfect a strategy that gets my notes right the first time: the Cornell Note-taking method.

We've mentioned the Cornell method in passing here and there, but today we'll dive deep into how to transcribe a lecture in a way that makes studying and cross-references a breeze throughout the semester - no copying involved.
Lay out your page for the Cornell Method

Using the Cornell method, you split your notes page into three sections, as shown below.

cornell-layout.jpg

* Notes column (right) Record the lecture here during class using short sentences and fragments that transcribe the facts you'll need. Eliminate all unnecessary words. Use bulleted lists for easy skimming, and as much shorthand as possible (without sacrificing readability.) Develop a vocabulary of abbreviations you always use, like "ex" for "for example," "v." for "very," "tho" for "though," "1st" and "2nd" for "first and second." Finally, leave lots of whitespace between points and paragraphs so you can go back and fill in sections later.
* Cues column (left) After class, review your notes and jot questions and memory joggers in this narrow column that help connect ideas listed in the notes section. When you're studying, you will look at these cues to help you recall the salient facts in your notes, so keep that in mind when you create your cues.
* Summary area (bottom) After class while you create your cues, sum up the notes on each page in one or two sentences that encapsulate the main ideas in the bottom area. You'll use the summary section to skim through your notes and find information later.

How to Study

HOW TO STUDY

# Introduction
# Manage your time
# Take notes in class & rewrite them at home
# Study hard subjects first & study in a quiet place
# Read texts actively & slowly, before & after class
# Do your homework
# Study for exams
# Take Exams
# Do research & write essays
# Do I really have to do all this?
# Are there other websites that give study hints?

Study Guides and Strategies

Study Guides and Strategies

Time management, problem solving, learning, learning with others, studying effectively, classroom participation, and learning to communicate.  These are the tools students need to better themselves, and achieve success in the classroom.

Text and HTML editor

License | CKEditor

CKEditor is distributed under the GPL, LGPL and MPL open source licenses. This triple copyleft licensing model avoids incompatibility with other open source licenses. These Open Source licenses are specially indicated for:

* Integrating CKEditor into Open Source software;
* Personal and educational use of CKEditor;
* Integrating CKEditor in commercial software, taking care of satisfying the Open Source licenses terms, while not able or interested on supporting CKEditor and its development.

Spell and Grammar Checker

After the Deadline for Firefox – Installed! « Firefox Spell and Grammar Checker

If After the Deadline for Firefox helps you, then tell a friend. If you don’t have any friends, you will soon. People naturally love those who write with proper grammar and spell well. Also, consider writing a review on addons.mozilla.org. Nice reviews make us feel good about our work and let others know they can trust this add-on.

Work Smart, Not Hard

How to Work Smart, Not Hard - wikiHow

Working smarter, not harder, is an age-old adage, and if you master the concept, your entire working life will be easier. There are simple techniques that you can employ to save steps and tedium from almost any task.

Mondofacto

mondofacto | study skills | writing

writing skills
Topics to help you write better assignments, including advice on planning, structuring, proofreading and editing.

Bullying

kickbully - where your fight begins

Are you being bullied at work?
Would you like to fight back?
Bullies, backstabbers and manipulators

Is there someone at your workplace who makes you feel anxious, frustrated or angry? Does that person seem intent on controlling your behavior against your will? Does he belittle, embarrass or even humiliate you?

With most people, if you make the effort, you can usually get along. Problems arise and are solved. But what if your boss, or one of your co-workers, resists any attempt to have a normal, mutually respectful working relationship?

Smoking influences IQ

Smoking is dumb: Young men who smoke have lower IQs, study finds

A study led by Prof. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychiatry and the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital has determined that young men who smoke are likely to have lower IQs than their non-smoking peers. Tracking 18- to 21-year-old men enlisted in the Israeli army in the largest ever study of its kind, he has been able to demonstrate an important connection between the number of cigarettes young males smoke and their IQ.

The average IQ for a non-smoker was about 101, while the smokers' average was more than seven IQ points lower at about 94, the study determined. The IQs of young men who smoked more than a pack a day were lower still, at about 90. An IQ score in a healthy population of such young men, with no mental disorders, falls within the range of 84 to 116.

Daily Assessment Tools

Daily Assessment Tools

You are responsible for progressing in your research every day. One or more of the following tools may be used by your teacher to assess your daily progress during research time.

Search Engine

Your How To Study Search Engine swicki - powered by eurekster

Study Guides and Strategies

Study Guides and Strategies

A public service helping learners to succeed since 1996.

"For the past fifteen years I have researched, authored, maintained and supported the Study Guides Web site as an independent educational public service. We have enjoyed collaborative projects across institutional, cultural and national boundaries. I resist registration and distracting graphics or features that may interfere with maximizing learner access and success. I hope you find the resource helpful"

Multiple Positives

Increase Personal Productivity with the Top 11 Multiple Positives - PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

Multiple positives — activities that benefit you in multiple ways — are a powerful productivity tool. These activities maximize your time by combining necessities like education, exercise, money making, and fun into a single, super productive action. The more multiple positives you use, the easier it is to get everything you want done without feeling stressed. They also free up loads of time and create a pleasant feeling of satisfaction and efficiency.

77 Ways to Leaarn Faster, Deeper, and Better

Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better | OEDb

If someone granted you one wish, what do you imagine you would want out of life that you haven't gotten yet? For many people, it would be self-improvement and knowledge. New knowledge is the backbone of society's progress. Great thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and others' quests for knowledge have led society to many of the marvels we enjoy today. Your quest for knowledge doesn't have to be as Earth-changing as Einstein's, but it can be an important part of your life, leading to a new job, better pay, a new hobby, or simply knowledge for knowledge's sake — whatever is important to you as an end goal.

Life-changing knowledge does typically require advanced learning techniques. In fact, it's been said that the average adult only uses 10% of his/her brain. Imagine what we may be capable of with more advanced learning techniques. Here are 77 tips related to knowledge and learning to help you on your quest. A few are specifically for students in traditional learning institutions; the rest for self-starters, or those learning on their own. Happy learning.

Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow

Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow - PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement

Is work slowly suffocating you? To-do lists, projects and random chores all piling up until they surround you? When this happens, your best strategy is to get ahead. Get on top of all your work and go beyond completing today’s tasks, complete more than you need to so you can have room to breathe.

How do you do this? When I face this problem, my answer is to take on what I like to call a Project-Kill Day. This is a day where I am at my most productive state. I set aside large amounts of time to kill off the projects on my to-do list and get ahead. I’ve found, if you plan it properly, you can make tomorrow up to 3 times as productive as ordinary days.

Big Rocks

Big Rocks First: Double Your Productivity This Week | Zen Habits

Every Monday is Productivity & Organization Day at Zen Habits.
If your week is seven buckets, and you go into each bucket without planning ahead, and you fill it up with little pebbles and grains of sand and whatever other debris comes your way … soon there will be no room for the Big Rocks. Your [...]

Keep Learning Lists

Keeping To-Learn Lists « Scott H Young

Over 700 articles devoted to one idea: how to get more from life. Whether that involves doubling your reading rate, learning more with less studying, beating procrastination or just understanding other people—and yourself.

Cram for An Exam

How to Cram for an Exam

Ideally, you would have kept up with your semester classwork, but if you have fallen behind, or have waited until the last moment to get prepared, this page will give you step-by-step instructions and tips on how to kick start your studying and cram for an exam.

Retrain Your Brain

Retrain Your Brain - Memory Tricks: Give Your Brain a Boost | Mind & Body | Reader's Digest

Give Your Brain a Boost
Can't remember where you put your glasses? Blanked on your new colleague's name? "Forgetting these types of things is a sign of how busy we are," says Zaldy S. Tan, MD, director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "When we're not paying good attention, the memories we form aren't very robust, and we have a problem retrieving the information later."

Quizlet

Flash cards, vocabulary memorization, and studying games | Quizlet

# Study vocabulary or almost anything
# Create your own flashcards - sign up free
# Share flashcards with your friends
# View the quick guide or watch the video tour

Memorize Now

Memorize Now - Home

A quick easy way to memorize anything.