[nabs-l] study suggestions

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi Ashley,

Writing and reading my notes again is big for me.  I also read my
textbook before a test so I can double-check the information.  I also
do something similar to what Sophie described, although instead of
marking passages with a symbol for later I just copy and past
important information into another file to make a truncated version of
my notes.  This serves as a study guide for all the big stuff I need
to know.  I also love studying in groups.

Here's how I've made flash cards in the past, just using braille paper
and a brailler.
Cut the piece of braille paper into quarters and fold each quarter in half.
With the fold of the crease facing up and alligned perpendicular to
you, load the paper into the brailler.  Write your vocab word below
the crease, between it and the brailler.
Take it out and flip the paper so that the fold of the crease faces
down.  Your word you just wrote should be on the part of the paper
that is furthest away from you on the back.  Load the paper in again
and write the definition between the crease and the brailler.  Take
out the paper and make sure the fold is nice and clean.  Now you have
"flip flash cards."  You can read the term on the front, then flip up
the flap and check your definition.

Hope this helps.

On 4/28/13, Josh Gregory <joshkart12 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hey why do these notes look so familiar, oh wait I'm studying the same thing
> for my finals. Or the same type of thing at least. In all seriousness though
> I just wanted to give the size of the card, I think you mean 3 x 5".
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 28, 2013, at 3:50 PM, Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Two things I do are:
>> 1. For vocabulary words or things I have to memorize the definition or
>> one or two characteristics of, I use Excel. In the first column, I put
>> the word or phrase. In the second column, I put the definition or
>> whatever I'm trying to memorize. For example, recently I had to
>> memorize the functions and locations of almost 60 different organs,
>> ducts, arteries and veins in the fetal pig. The first column was
>> labelled "Organ" (to make it simple), the second column was labelled
>> "function," and the third column was labelled "location."  Then, based
>> on notes I'd taken and research from my book, lecture recordings, and
>> the internet, I  put what the organ/duct/artery/vein does in the
>> second column, and where it is located in the third. When studying, I
>> went down the first column and made myself speak (out loud, because I
>> remember something better if I speak it) the function and location of
>> each. Then, I did the same with the second column, requiring myself to
>> speak the name of the organ and its location. Finally, I did the same
>> with the third column. For more study, you can also sort
>> alphabetically to mix it up a bit.
>>
>> The other technique I use is flash cards. I read in your post that you
>> can't do this with Braille. I'm sorry, but that's not true at all.
>> There is a special slate called a Jannus slate, which allows you to
>> insert an index card (the smaller size, I forget dimensions), and
>> write in interpoint. So, you can put the word on one side and the
>> definition on the other. I do this when I have only a few vocabulary
>> words to study (20 or less), since it does take me quite a lot of time
>> to make the flash cards, but I find that I learn the words and
>> definitions just by making the flash cards, and reviewing them is just
>> extra practice.
>>
>> If a professor provides a study guide, I always use it in studying. I
>> find that if the professor put the effort into making a study guide,
>> it's worth my time to use it.
>>
>> Also, when I'm reading a chapter or listening to a lecture, I write my
>> notes like this:
>> Primary Topic
>> *Secondary Topic and basic information like definition
>> -points about the secondary topic, such as examples
>> --any further details about the point that should be listed, rather
>> than written out.
>>
>> I'll give an example. Here is a portion of my notes from Biology on
>> chapter 56: Population Ecology:
>>
>> Ecology: study of interactions of organisms and their environments
>> *biotic: interactions between living organisms
>> *abiotic: interaction between living and nonliving L
>>
>> Levels of study in ecology:
>> *organismal
>> -physiological
>> -behavioural
>> *population
>> *community
>> *ecosystem
>>
>> Population ecology: The study of what factors affect population size
>> and how these factors change over time and space *demography: the
>> study of birth rates, death rates, age distributions, and the sizes of
>> populations
>> ...
>> The carrying capacity is difficult to identify.
>> *Logistic growth difficult to measure accurately because of range of
>> factors; K can vary temporally  *Density-dependent factors: Impact is
>> correlated with the size of the population -With a bigger population,
>> there is a bigger impact.
>> --competition
>> --food supply
>> --habitat for living and breathing
>> --predation
>> --parasites
>> --disease
>> *Density-independent factors: Forces that impact a population
>> regardless of size
>> --weather (usually)
>> --drought
>> --fire
>>
>> I hope that wasn't too long, but I wanted to show you a good example
>> of how I write my notes. If I read the chapter before class (which I
>> confess, I don't always do), I will make the notes based on the
>> chapter, then add points with * and - from the lecture. This makes it
>> really easy to study, since I don't have to re-read the chapter,
>> re-listen to the lecture, or review the powerpoint. I often find that
>> the answers for the study guide are easy to find with this note-taking
>> format.
>>
>> I hope that helps!
>> ~~Jewel
>>
>> On 4/28/13, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
>>> Yes, you can read more at:
>>> http://q-continuum.net/qread/
>>>
>>> \At 01:01 AM 4/27/2013, you wrote:
>>>> Is QRead a program for the pc/ -----Original
>>>> Message----- From: nabs-l
>>>> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>>> blackbyrdfly at gmail.com Sent: Sunday, April 28,
>>>> 2013 1:57 AM To: National Association of Blind
>>>> Students mailing list Subject: Re: [nabs-l]
>>>> study suggestions I use a program called QRead
>>>> which allows me to open just about any textbook
>>>> format and save unlimited bookmarks, like
>>>> leaving post it notes on pages. I also use the
>>>> Kindle app on my iPad and use the highlight
>>>> feature and zoom feature a lot. I still type my
>>>> own notes of course, in class and while reading.
>>>> And for subjects like Math, which I'm actually
>>>> getting really good at these days, in lifht of
>>>> the events rhat took place at my old university
>>>> in Florida, nothing beats lots of practice!
>>>> -Jamie Principato Sent from my iPhone On Apr 27,
>>>> 2013, at 11:49 PM, "Ashley Bramlett"
>>>> <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote: > Hi all, > >
>>>> So how do you all like to study? Some techniques
>>>> to review material such as reading highlighted
>>>> text are not available to us. Same with marking
>>>> passages with post-it notes. I do take notes
>>>> while reading which is an integral part of
>>>> studying for tests. > I often find my notes
>>>> though are too lengthy from chapters, so I take
>>>> shorter notes from those original notes or I
>>>> summarize the chapter. > I use a vr stream or my
>>>> vr stratus. Do you all use the book mark
>>>> feature? I’ve tried but the thing is I cannot
>>>> remember what number I assigned to each passage.
>>>> How does that highlight book mark feature work?
>>>> This may help in marking key words or concepts
>>>> such as theories defined for sociology. > > How
>>>> do you memorize vocabulary? For religion, we are
>>>> tested on vocab and definitions and it’s a lot
>>>> to memorize. > I struggled with that in foreign
>>>> languages too. > > So far I simply write the
>>>> definition and read it and say it aloud; > then
>>>> state it from memory without my notes. Many
>>>> students use flash cards they say. But I cannot
>>>> do that with braille. I wish I had a way to mix
>>>> up the words and definitions like you would do
>>>> with flash cards. So far, what I’ve done is
>>>> just mix up the order of words as I study them
>>>> on hard copy braille. Instead of reading from
>>>> top to bottom of the page, I’ll start in the
>>>> middle or some random point. > > Also, has
>>>> looking up information been a challenge? It is
>>>> for me. The braille note does not search across
>>>> files for wordds. I cannot skim for words and
>>>> key things as sighted people do. I usually end
>>>> up asking my reader to assist me in looking it
>>>> up in the book. I write down what the book says;
>>>> often in my own words and make note of the page.
>>>> If I have the book through learning ally, I can
>>>> go back to the page if needed then. > A good
>>>> reader will check the index for key terms and
>>>> words that resemble key terms. > > If its not
>>>> there, I go back to my notes and search. I put
>>>> the topic for the class on the top of my notes
>>>> which often helps me in finding the right area
>>>> or file to look in. I will write the date as
>>>> well on the top of my electronic page. I create
>>>> a file in my braille note with key items for
>>>> review. I find it helpful to have a study guide
>>>> from the professor and follow that if we have
>>>> one. > > I’d use the practice tests on the
>>>> online websites if they were accessible; but
>>>> often they’re not. > Sometimes the textbook
>>>> itself has review questions and I might use
>>>> those to review if it looks helpful. > If I’m
>>>> totally stuck on some concepts and know its on
>>>> the final, I ask my professors. I find that
>>>> usually they’re helpful in office hours. > >
>>>> Ashley > >
>>>> _______________________________________________ >
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-- 
Kaiti