26 August 2012

Sunday Salon: My Textbook Troubles




The video above is just a little bookish silliness from my daughter's YouTube channel.

I've just gotten through my first official week of school. Both of my classes are online, but not all online classes are created equal. My Intro to Computers class uses a physical textbook, but there is also a supplemental website with games and flashcards to help me study the important terms in each chapter. My American Music class, on the other hand, is just the textbook. Now, I was a child of the 70s and 80s, so I grew up with cramming knowledge into my brain through rote memorization and what sometimes felt like brute force. However, I have embraced technology in the intervening years and am finding it difficult to make myself stare at the page and will the information to implant itself into my head. I've got to learn how to study again. I didn't think it would be this tough.

CURRENTLY READING:  The Guinea Pig Diaries by A. J. Jacobs. Previously I expressed my doubts as to whether I would like this book since his previous books have been hit-or-miss with me. So far it is enjoyable. Instead of chronicling one large experiment, this book is a collection of essays detailing various adventures Jacobs has embarked upon, some of which were previously published in Esquire. Because of this, Jacobs does not drag on the way I felt he did in The Know-It-All

UPCOMING: I think I may have overestimated how much leisure reading I will be able to get done while taking classes. However, I will not be taking schoolwork with me when we go on vacation in a few weeks. I tend to get a lot of reading done on vacation, but my choices will be limited by what ebooks my library has available when I'm ready to go. Last year I read two nonfiction books, but this year I will probably go for more traditional beach reads. A nice frothy romance will be perfect while I'm relaxing in a deck chair!

1 comment:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

How to study has certainly changed over the years...I can remember studying notes from class and highlighting textbooks.

Enjoy your reading.

Here's MY SUNDAY SALON POST