October 2009
19 posts
Make Time For Time: 2. Personal Strengths &... →
Make Time for Time: 1. Introduction →
Five mistakes to beat…before they beat you →
“Advice Needs to Mean Something. Advice needs to have the possibility of being...”
– Scott H Young, Why I Hate Self-Help Platitudes
Students: Stand Up to Climate Change! →
Taylor Garrett describes how coal power works and explains that everything we buy and use has some cost to the environment.
“we cannot claim to be fulfilling our responsibility to develop graduates capable...”
– Mary Malcolm at University of Abertay Dundee on nurturing critical minds.
“No one has ever told [students] that study at undergraduate level is basically a...”
– Brandon Robshaw explains that plagiarism would happen less if students realised how good it is to reference and quote from other sources. From The Independent, 15 October 2009
“A single-bedroom London flat with no bath and a cupboard-sized kitchen is being...”
– From Times Higher Education, 15 October 2009
Should recycling be part of your everyday routine? →
Why even your independence goes through a... →
“Universities are going to have to reconsider the whole function of HE, how we...”
– Malcolm Grant, president and provost of UCL, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
Create a good impression in a presentation →
WatchStudents at the University of Quebec in Montreal do a great job of creating a one-take video to the Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling”.
Create Your Own Luck →
Academia and Web 2.0: More work needed?
An article in Research Information suggests that academia hasn’t taken hold of the opportunities available from Web 2.0 tools (social network sites, blogging, wikis, and so on):
“Unfortunately there are few signs that academics are really embracing the new opportunities offered by Web 2.0. Many academics’ idea of online collaboration is still emailing the findings they have arrived...
Make your work rock and get your creative juices... →
Get ahead and become futureproof →
“The National Union of Students’ vice president for higher education, Aaron...”
– From BBC report on universities being warned against “complacency” over standards.
“PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that for every £1 spent by the Arts and...”
– Ann Mroz in the Times Higher Education Leader piece (1 October 2009).
September 2009
18 posts
Can you get a debt-free degree? (BBC) →
This BBC article suggests ways of keeping your debt to a minimum whilst enjoying a uni education.
Some of the advice here misses the point of living independently, away from the family home, but there’s enough info on stuff you may not have thought about.
And not everyone lives away from the home anyway. If you’re at home, you could be saving on rent and even food expense. ...
Ah, life! →
Sometimes you just can’t win. :)
Higher Tuition Fees? No Thanks!
A YouGov poll for the University and College Union (UCU) has found that 85% of under-24s oppose higher tuition fees.
We shouldn’t face increasing fees. It needn’t be an inevitable fact. The political parties should show more involvement in the debate surrounding this. Let’s see more readiness to discuss and suggest reasonable alternatives to spiralling fees. Sally Hunt,...
What it means to “Just Be Yourself” →
Advice For Freshers: Posters →
Does ‘balance’ exist? →
Higher Education funding? Get the students to do... →
10 Solid Tips to Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy →
Use Facebook? Then make sure the right info goes to the right people. And only those people!
WatchStuart Johnson (@stujohnson on Twitter) presents a quick and easy to follow tutorial on what it means to be a ‘critical student’. Critical thinking in your study is so important and many new students find the concept tough to grasp at first.
If you’re not sure what critical thinking is all about, this video is well worth five minutes of your time.
Review: A Guide To Uni Life →
Take a job during term? →
Better feedback & more use of technology: Notes... →
Controlling ‘valid disruptions’ →
How to Improve Your Life - The Change Blog →
All worthy suggestions from Mr. Self Development. If you aren’t doing these already, it would be good to start! You should:
Become an Eclectic Reader
Meditate and/or Schedule Quiet Time
Start Working Out
Spend Quality Time with the People Who Mean Most to You
Enhance Your Diet
It’s good advice.
The return of 'Freshers' - The Yorker →
“Welcome Week” or “Freshers’ Week”? Does it matter? Do returning students feel excluded by a “Freshers’ Week” or do they get involved without even thinking about it?
Creative talent…help me choose! →
I’m 10:10, Are You? →
What is the point of studying a degree? →
August 2009
20 posts
Free EBook – Fresher Success →
Read with speed
I love speed reading. When I first learned speed reading techniques as a child, it was the most amazing discovery. It’s one of the best things I’ve learned so far in life.
Daniel at Daily Blog Tips found a video that helped him boost his reading speed and he kindly shared it on his site:
One Speed Reading Trick That Does Work
It’s true that a change in reading style can help...
WatchAt TED, Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation.
Amen.
Graduate recruitment during tough times →
In this audio interview, the Guardian’s Ashley Seager says that students aren’t “um-ing and ah-ing” at the moment when it comes to jobs. If they are offered a position, they’ll take it.
He adds that with applications up by around 30-40% and many smaller employers cutting back on graduate schemes, it’s a difficult - though not impossible - time to find a job.
BBC - Multitaskers bad at multitasking →
I don’t believe in the true sense of ‘multitasking’, but this still makes for interesting reading. The unanswered question, according to one of the authors of the Stanford University study, is this:
“Are those people with a dearth of multitasking skills drawn to multitasking lifestyles, or do the lifestyles dull the skills?”
“Would the universal requirement for a set of common and predetermined levels of...”
– Martin Hall - Vice-Chancellor of Salford, on his blog, writing about standards at university (and asking some relevant questions).
Don’t let Clearing fill you with dread →
A-Level results: Links, hotlines, forums (BIS) →
Top Tips For New Uni Students →
Users of the MoneySavingExpert Forums have been asked to give their top tips to help out Freshers who’ll soon be starting at uni. At time of writing, the thread has been going less than a whole day and there’s a lot of help. Happy reading!
Never Underestimate Time →
Guardian - A-level winners won't get a better... →
Perhaps this wasn’t the best year to introduce a system of trading up to a different university.
Hidden costs, heavy debts…at least there may be... →
Volunteer for the NUS →