let’s fix eddy!

The Dance Dance Revolution King is on fire! This dude's name is Eddy Jones, Syracuse University freshman, found at the Carousel Mall studying for his biology test. Eddy became frustrated with the poor quality of his notes and decided to play a round of Dance Dance Revolution to release his stress. Eddy's mission at the mall was to find a study environment that is: quiet, clean, convenient and free of distraction. Little does he know that on campus there are several study areas that fit his needs.

problem: Ineffective Notes

solution: PowerPoint Notes

Professors post PowerPoint slides on blackboard for the students to print and bring to class. This is a sneak peak of the lecture and an opportunity to earn participation points. This is what you do: 1) Print the slides using the handout option. 2) Before class, read the slides and write two questions that you would like answered in class. 3) During class, take notes on the lines next to the correct slide. DO NOT COPY THE SAME INFORMATION FOUND ON THE SLIDE. 4)Check if your questions where answered by the professor. Note: Participate in class, by asking your questions. 5) Reread your notes and the slides. 6)Make index cards for important concepts presented in class.

SAMPLE OF POWERPOINT NOTES:

The PowerPoint Notes technique prevents you from wasting time rewriting the same material. Instead, you can use your powerpoint slides as a skeletal of your notes and just add extra information from lecture. Reviewing the notes before class shows positive benefits. You can formulate questions and have a better understanding of the information being presented by your professor. This technique proved to be effective in the course NSD 225: nutrition in health. This class is three hours long:5:30PM-8:30PM. My major concern is that too much information is presented at once, but this technique helped me focused on listening for new information.

problem: Ineffective Notes

solution: Jeopardy Note-Taking

The Jeopardy Note-Taking system is recommended for writing intensive courses or courses that require essay exams and papers. UTENSILS NEEDED: A notebook or a binder with loose leaf paper & a pen/pencil. This is what you do: 1)Write your notes ONLY on the right-hand side of the notebook or binder/loose leaf paper, but don't forget to skip a line to separate important points.Leave the left-hand side blank. 2) After class, reread tour notes. 3) Create a question that you think might be on the exam and write on the left-hand side directly across from the answer found on the right-hand side. 4)Use the questions as a study guide. Before the next lecture, review the questions and recite the answers.

SAMPLE OF JEOPARDY NOTE-TAKING:

The Jeopardy Note-Taking method was the reason why I received an 85% on a quiz. NOTE #1 I crammed the night before. NOTE #2 Cramming is NOT recommended. I learned that this technique can serve as a tool for last minute studying or if I am crunched on time.

ADVICE TO ALL THE EDDYS' OUT THERE: PICK A NOTE-TAKING METHOD AND CHECK OUT A CUBICLE AT BIRD LIBARY, THE BRIGHT ROOM IN THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LIBRARY OR GRAB A VANILLA LATTE AT STARBUCKS ON MARSHALL ST. AND READ A BOOK WHILE YOU SIP AWAY!