HOW DO I USE THE INTERNET ?
Just having access to the Internet isn't enough. That's one reason we put this Page out here. You need to know where to go and what to use. On our Links page you will find quite a few links to places that will accelerate your search. These sources come in two types: SEARCH ENGINES and LINKS.
SEARCH ENGINES take key words or a phrase that you enter and search the internet for a match. You are limited by the accuracy of your request and the quality of the search engine. So define clearly in your mind what you are looking for. We have tried to select high quality search engines. Each has strengths. Your own experience will give you the best feel for them, so use them liberally. One tip: Use Boolean logic operators such a AND,OR & NOT to refine your search. As an example: "study AND hall OR the AND study AND hall NOT studyhall"
LINKS are great ways to use someone else's work and select from sites they have already visited and evaluated. Practice and experience will make you better and better at this. When you go to other pages that relate to what you're searching for, ALWAYS check the links they have. It's a terrific way to focus your search and gather more information.
Once you get to sites that have an interest, be sure and use your BOOKMARKS to record the URL.
HOW SHOULD I REALLY RESEARCH?
When you research, you must distinguish between two modes of thought. First you are SEARCHING:
Now stage two where you SELECT:
All of this sounds obvious, but too many students try to search and select at the same time. They are two different modes of thought. You can only do your best at one at a time.
HOW CAN I DO BETTER IN SCHOOL?
In many ways we call this our DUH section. This is information that you've been told to do in order to be successful at school. There's a good reason for that. This stuff works! It takes time and effort though, so all too often students blow it off and keep setting themselves up to lose. Now, after saying all that, read these suggestions and think them over, maybe even give them a try. You'll actually find it's much, much easier to do it right rather than playing catch up or doing everything the night (or class period) before.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY READING SPEED?
GO TO OUR SPEED READING PROGRAM, or.........Speed reading is about 10% technique and 90% practice. The technique is really pretty easy and intuitive. When we read we usually read too slow, having been told at an early age to "Read slowly and carefully." Wrong! The slower you read, the more bored your mind (which is used to a lot of stimulation) gets and then it wanders. Then you have to reread what you just read. That's the #1 problem - backskipping - or going back over what you read.
How do you stop? You read faster. Take a pen, a pencil, or your finger. Use it as a pointer and move it quickly across the page. Your eyes will focus on that and move with it. Read faster and faster. When practicing, read at such a speed that you can barely understand what you're reading. If you understand everything perfectly (when practicing), you are reading too slow.
Also remember that you can shift speeds while you are reading. When the information, or what you need isn't crucial, speed read, almost skimming. When the information is important, or dense, read a little (not a lot) slower.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY VOCABULARY?
GO TO OUR VOCABULARY NOVELLA, or............Read. Read. Read. That sounds like an oversimplification, but it's the truth. We've seen thousands of students and can identify a reader immediately. Their ability with words is dramatically better than anyone else's. You can also work on vocabulary with lists, flash cards, computer programs, or videos that are available. Two points: review and rehearse (see Memory suggestions below) the words so you'll remember them. Use the words once you learn them. Use them or lose them.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY MEMORY?
GO TO OUR MEMORY PROGRAM, or.....................There are a load of memory courses out there. Regardless of what they say, they are the same. You get better memory through associations and through repetition (or review or rehearsal - all the terms mean the same thing).
Associate words or names with something you know. Associate lists of things with something you are familiar with like parts of the body (toe, foot, knee, etc. - put an orange on your toe, bread on your foot, and attach a pack of drinks to your knee - then you can remember what to get at the store).
If you want to remember a list of people or terms, take the first initial and arrange them in an order that creates a sentence. ("Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally" for the order of operations in math - Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply & Divide, Add & Subtract).
To make an association really stick, make it extreme, vivid, or outlandish.
Once you have any type of association or acronym locked in, rehearse or review it. A good sequence: make your initial memorization, review it moments later, then review it after a couple of hours, then the next day, then two days later. You'll have it forever.
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