Plugged In

Soon, most of you will be sitting exams. There are a few things you can do to help yourself and make this time easier. I always did what I could to make the exam as calm an experience as possible. The two main ways I did this were:

When sitting exams in unfamiliar locations, I always went to the venue a day or two beforehand to find the room my exam was in. This meant that, on the day of the exam, I was confident I would find my room in time because I already knew where to go.

Allowing plenty of travel time to get to the exam venue. This allows time to find parking, for slow travel if you are driving, for trains to be delayed if you are taking a train, or for any other unexpected event. This way, I felt assured that if I was held up in any way, I could still make it to the exam on time and without feeling rushed.

Additional things I did were:

• Getting a good night of sleep the night before the exam. (Even if I found it difficult to get to sleep I was still resting).
• Wearing layers to exams. When I sat exams, I found the temperature of the rooms could vary. Wearing layers meant I could be comfortable in any temperature which helped me be focused.
• Thinking positively. Self-talk is an important way we can affirm ourselves and increase our confidence. If anxiety starts to creep up short phrases such as 'I can do this' or 'I am well prepared for this' can help.

Other suggestions that may help:

• During the exam, or as you are waiting to enter, take deep and slow breaths. Think positive thoughts.
• If anxiety is distracting you during the exam, refocus yourself. Count the number of people outside the window, look at an object in the room and look for something interesting about it. If taking a few seconds to do this helps you to refocus it is time well spent.

Some reminders:

• Check and double check when and where your exams are.
• Make sure you do not have any notes on you in the exam room.
• If you experience any extraordinary event outside your control and need to apply for special consideration, you must submit this application, together with documentation, no later than 5.00pm on the third working day after the exam.

Exams are now one month away. Yesterday the faculty held an exam preparation workshop to support students' preparation. For those who were unable to make it, here is a summary of information presented at the workshop yesterday:

Be organised:

• Where and when are your exams?
• Make a plan. How much time do you have to prepare? What do you need to prepare? When are you going to study? Draw up a plan to cover what you need to fit in within the time available.

Use your time wisely:

• This is a busy time of year. As well as assignments to finish and exams to prepare for, you may have other commitments. Make sure all units get enough time. Don't get 'stuck' on the more difficult unit(s) only.

Plan your exam strategy:

• You might like to tackle the parts you find easiest, can do quickly and are worth the most marks first.
• Then do the parts you can do reasonably quickly and have some confidence with.
• Leave the difficult questions, or those worth few marks, till last. This gives you confidence early in the exam and allows more time for working on the more challenging questions.

Key things to remember:

• Put your name and I.D. on the paper.
• Write as clearly as you can.
• Carefully read the question. Answer the question that has been asked, not the question you wish you had been asked.

Practice:

• If available, use previous exams.
• Review the assignments and projects done. What have you been asked to do?
• Review lectures, labs and tutorials.

Ask for help if needed:

• Your tutor: Feedback on assignments/tests and difficulty with material.
• Unit convenor: Exam topics and format. Practice exam questions.
• Student Administration: Exam timetable problems, special consideration applications.

Finally, one piece of advice I was given and have applied throughout my university studies: never leave an exam early. If you have finished the exam, go back and check your answers. Then check them again. Don't stop going over your work until time is up and you need to put your pen down. You might just find an error you didn't realise was there the first time or another point might come to mind that will earn you extra marks.

At this busy time of the semester, here are some tips to help keep you motivated:

Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. It's good to have high standards for yourself but don't expect perfection at all times. If you do your best, and accept that sometimes things may not go as well as you'd hoped, it's easier to keep going.

Plan your time. Set times when you will study and work on assignments. Having a 'plan of attack' that will lead you to your goal makes a task seem do-able and less stressful.

Break big tasks into smaller ones. If the task you are working on now seems overwhelming, or you don't know how to start, break it down into smaller parts. Focus on what you can do, not on what you think you can't do. Maybe you don't feel able to tackle the body of your report right now but you can do the introduction.

Reward yourself. Finished your assignment? Take a moment to do something you enjoy. If you've been putting off reading a book or spending time in the garden, for example, you might like to spend some time doing that before beginning the next task.

Take some time for fun. Balance is important. Watch TV for half an hour, go for a walk or run, meet up with friends. Taking time out can clear your head and make you more efficient when you get back to work.

Finally, focus on why you are studying. By working steadily you are making progress towards reaching your goals.

If you're familiar with the fables of Aesop you probably know the story of the hare and the tortoise. The hare decided to put as little effort as he could into winning a race while the tortoise plodded along at a steady, regular pace and ultimately won the race. The moral of the story is 'slow and steady wins the race'.  

I'm working on an assignment at the moment and, as I read this story to my daughter yesterday, I found the moral of the story an encouragement to remember that pacing myself and steadily working will get me to my goal of completion.  At this time of year when we're half way through the semester, well into assignments and starting to move towards the exam preparation period, I hoped this story might encourage you too. Keep going, one step at a time, and you will arrive at the finish line.

'Volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience'. ~Harriet Naylor.

The Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies has a fantastic group of volunteers who mentor other students, help with events such as orientation and initiate activities like workshops and social occasions. Our volunteers also have some special opportunities open to them such as our recent visit to Deloitte where we enjoyed a tour, learned about the company and heard about their exciting graduate programs. Volunteers respond to opportunities as they are able and receive an official certificate at the end of the semester.

Why should you consider volunteering? Volunteering is a great way to gain experience, develop skills and meet new people. Skills gained while volunteering show potential employers that you have some experience and employment skills. It is also personally rewarding to use your talents and know you made a difference. If you think being a FICT volunteer could be something you are interested in please get in touch. I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you further. http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/students/student-volunteer-form.php

Working in groups - we all have to do it at work, university, in the family or any other place we are involved. Group assignments are good practice for the workplace when you will almost certainly be required to work with a diverse range of people with different skills, abilities and personalities. So how do ensure your group runs well?

Defining expectations and goals is a good place to start. If these are clear, everyone knows what is expected of them in terms of communication and their role in the group. Every member has a valuable contribution to make so give everyone a chance to share and do your best to meet your group commitments. Different members' strengths and abilities will help each member of the group develop their own skills and understandings. If problems arise, discuss this with the person or people involved and see what can be done to resolve the situation. Most problems can be resolved when people work co-operatively to find a solution.

At the end of the semester, you will have developed some experience that will carry you well into your future career and can look back at the group experience as a time of valuable learning.

Not passing an assessment is disappointing, especially if you are surprised by your result. So what can you do if this happens to you? The best approach is to consider how you can use this experience as an opportunity to learn so you can improve your result in future. Ask yourself what it was that didn't go so well for you this time. The answer to this might be in your assignment comments or could be one of the following:

•  You didn't answer the question.
• You didn't spend enough time on the assignment.
• You need to look at your study habits or develop study skills.
• You need to ask for support with the material.
• You might have personal problems that have interfered with your studies that you might like support with.
• Something else.

If you don't clearly understand why you didn't pass, or would like some feedback on how you can do better next time, talk to your lecturer. There are also a number of different support services to help you. These include study skills workshops, a programming help desk, study groups, mentors or student advisors who can help you plan your study time. There are services and resources to help with personal difficulties. Most of these services you can self-refer to or, if you aren't sure where to go, talk to your student advisor.  

Whatever you do, don't treat this as a defeat. You can overcome this and go on to improve next time.

Yesterday we had the first workshop in our four part 'On Track' series - 'How to be a Successful FICT Student'. Students enjoyed an interactive session on time management and understanding assessment requirements and heard from another student how he successfully managed his studies. A brief overview was also given of support available to students within the university and what to do when problems occur. The feedback I've got from students has been positive. These workshops are designed to encourage and support students in studies and, while they can be attended individually, they are intended to build on each other as a progressive program. The next workshop will briefly review time management and provide ideas for staying on track or catching up on work if you don't feel you are where you should be. I hope you'll consider joining us for the next workshop:

We all need help at some point in our lives yet sometimes it can seem difficult to ask for. I asked someone why they thought people sometimes found it hard to ask for help. Their response was, "I guess people don't want to look stupid or like they don't know what they're doing".

How do you feel when people ask you for help? I believe most people would answer that question positively. I know it can take a lot of courage to ask for help and I really respect anyone who comes forward and says they need support. There are times I've had to ask for help over the years and, as far as looking like I don?t know what I'm doing - well, sometimes I don't! But I can learn. Yesterday I was having trouble with a program and asked for help. Five minutes later I understood how to fix the problem and now I have a new skill and I'll know what to do next time. I can also now share that knowledge with someone else who may need it in the future.

Please don't hestitate to ask for help if you need it. That's what we are here for. J We have many different ways to help you with personal or academic issues and the sooner help is asked for, the more support we can offer you.