Your phone can instantly connect with friends all over the globe, find academic resources, and answer almost any question you have online. Technology can be distracting and inefficient, even though it facilitates so many things. How can technology be made to work for you?
Technology distractions should be limited.
- Set out a certain time of day that you will devote toward “fun with technology”–browsing the Internet, playing games, chatting with friends, or checking email. You won’t be distracted by these activities if you have time.
- When you are unable to focus on your studies, seek out quiet places and leave your phone, laptop, and other electronic devices at the house.
- Only check your email a few times per week and handle it once: reply, archive, and/or delete
- Limit the listservs that you use so you can limit the amount of junk mail you receive and have to sort through.
- Use occasional emails to stay in touch with friends at other schools and limit your time I Ming.
- If all else fails, unplug your Ethernet cable, turn off the wireless connection or work in an area that doesn’t have wireless. It is possible to make a habit of turning the computer off when it is not in use.
- Determine the technology that is really needed before you start studying. You often only need the papers and books you are familiar with to help you outline your paper, create a problem set, or practice conjugations. A well-written textbook that includes lots of examples and diagrams is a great resource.
Make the most of technology to your advantage.
- Go to the library homepage instead of searching Google for scholarly articles or resources. You can then narrow your search and find legit peer-reviewed articles. This will allow you to do a lot of research in a very short time.
- Use the Internet with clear goals. What information are you looking for? What information do you already have? It’s easy to get lost on the information highway. The more specific you are, the better.
- Limit the time you spend searching for information online. Talk to a professor or TA if you’ve searched at least three sites but are still not finding the answer.
- Monitor your computer with this program. There are many free programs available (e.g., S life Web, Personal Task Manager, and other programs can be used to track your computer usage. They will generate reports that show how much time you spend using your computer and what you are doing. It can be very informative.
- Take into account the source for online information. A professor’s web page is more valuable than one made by a high school class. Better pages are often more informative, more detailed and more intuitive.
- Use the Internet to read foreign language newspapers if you’re learning a foreign language. This is a great way to learn about the culture and practice your language.
- Slides, articles and other resources can be uploaded by professors to the class Canvas site.
- Printing several weeks of class materials at once is a better way to save time than printing multiple times per week.