Tips for Studying With a Computer
Why use a computer? Is it useful for me?
I suffer from attention problems and learning disabilities. Writing things on paper is not suitable for my thought process. Rather, I jump around and write different things at a time, then continue a previous thought process. On paper, this might involve a lot of erasing, re-writing, and arrows, and I end up with a very difficult-to-navigate mess. Typing it out allows me to write out my thoughts while maintaining a sense of coherency.
It’s very fast once you get going. With a good typing speed, knowledge of keyboard shortcuts, and a relatively fast computer, it’s a lot faster and easier to format than writing things down.
As a very visual/artistic person, I spend a lot of time trying to make my notes and handwriting neat. I also can spend a lot of time drawing diagrams, especially studying biology. On a computer, I can easily create tables and copy and paste diagrams (or sometimes create diagrams) with little effort.
These are just my personal reasons, and if you can relate, I highly suggest trying to use a computer. It’s important to have proficiency in computers, so you can Google tutorials, take a class, or ask around. This guide assumes you have reasonable proficiency in computers.
OneNote is my program of choice due to its versatility and automatic syncing across many devices. Here is my post on using OneNote for university.
Evernote is also a great note-taking program and comes with a built-in document scanner camera which I frequently use.
OpenOffice is a free alternative writing program very similar to Microsoft Office.
Organization & Time Management
Google Calendar / Google Keep
Research notes: If your university/institution offers a paid research citation program for free (Mendeley, Refworks, EndNote, etc.), use it. Otherwise you can use a spreadsheet program like Excel.
Take advantage of study playlists / ambient sounds.
Your teacher may discourage against Wikipedia, but use it to gain a broad overview of a topic you may be unfamiliar about and check its sources when doing research.
Google topics. Don’t use them as sources, but they’re great when you have a quick question. Google can also function as a calculator.
Educational YouTube channels
@study-well: Biology / Chemistry
Undergraduate Mathematics
Learn keyboard shortcuts. If you’re going to be typing a lot, you can save yourself a lot of time by memorizing certain keyboard shortcuts.
The very basics you should learn is Ctrl+C / Cmd+C for copy, Ctrl+V / Cmd+V for paste, Ctrl+X / Cmd+X for cut, and Ctrl+A / Cmd + A for selecting all text.
In browsers, Ctrl+W / Cmd+W closes a tab, Ctrl+T / Cmd+T opens a new tab, Ctrl+Shift+T opens a previously closed tab.
In Windows, Alt+F4 closes a program and Alt+Tab switches through your open tabs.
In many text-editing programs Ctrl+B / Cmd+B is to bold text, Ctrl+I / Cmd+I is to italicize text, Ctrl+U / Cmd+U is to underline text, Ctrl+- is to strikethrough text, Ctrl+Shift++ superscripts text, and Ctrl++ subscripts text.
Look it up in your program/OS, as each has its own set of keyboard shortcuts.
Google efficiently. Here is an article about Google tips for students.
Sync across multiple devices. Use software that is available online and across multiple platforms to sync files on your laptop, on your phone, and online.
Symbols can be tedious to copy-and-paste if they cannot be typed on a keyboard. If you have a numpad, on Windows you can memorize certain codes to quickly type symbols. On Word, under Insert > Symbols, you can find symbols and recently-used symbols to insert.
However, I suggest in work that requires a lot of symbols (mathematics and physics, chemistry, computer science, etc.) handwriting in this case is the superior option.
Use a drawing tablet (personally, I use Wacom and it has lasted me years) or a tablet with a pen such as the Apple Pencil or Microsoft Surface to handwrite notes in programs and back them up automatically. Of course, these require money and it’s up to you if it’s worth the investment.
Limit yourself to certain symbols based on what your keyboard provides for you.
Instead of an arrow symbol, I use a dash and a less than or greater than symbol like -> or <-.
Instead of a degrees symbol, I use a superscript o.
Write a placeholder for symbols (such as (d) for delta) and replace with symbols after taking notes.
Write out your notes and type them out later when you have time, ensuring you write down symbols.
Cut the distractions. The biggest fault I find when using a computer for school is the endless possibility for distraction.
Create an alternate account on your computer that doesn’t have administrator privileges purely for study. This can limit your access on the computer and hopefully to distracting programs.
StayFocusd on Chrome to block distracting websites after a certain allowed time. (Protip: enable it in incognito mode and block “chrome://extensions” to prevent temptation to circumvent it.)
Cold Turkey (PC) / Self-Control (Mac) to block distracting programs and websites.
Ommwriter for writing in a distraction-free interface.
10 Websites to Stop That Will Help You Stop Procrastinating For Good
Do not stare at the screen for too long and right before bedtime. Computer screens disrupt your sleeping cycles. Turn off your computer 1 - 2 hours before you go to sleep.
Change your writing program background to a pale colour, rather than white.
Use f.lux, which changes the blue-light of your computer screen to orange light.
Stop staring at your screen and take a break from it.
Suffering from Carpal tunnel? Look at these exercises.
Maintain your computer’s health.
Keep it on hard, flat surfaces as much as possible and avoid keeping it on your bed for proper ventilation. Try to turn it off every night.
Security-wise, ensure your data is backed up, encrypt your sensitive data, keep your passwords strong, and ensure you have an antivirus and firewall. + more basic security tips
My rule of thumb is that when my computer runs into a problem, it is more likely I will break my computer further by trying to fix it. Unless you absolutely know what you’re doing, take it to get repaired, whether at a Best Buy/GeekSquad, Apple/Genius Bar, computer mechanic, etc. Do not touch it and save yourself some grief.
Back up your files! I cannot stress enough the importance of backing up notes and assignments on a regular basis. It’s safe to use at least two or three methods of backup to ensure you won’t lost your files.
Email attachments to yourself. Depending on your storage space for your email, this could be very useful. Main advantages include it being very easy, universal, and the ability to sort versions of a document by data.
Use online services such as MediaFire. Mediafire comes with 10 GB free.
Use Dropbox. You start with 2 GB and can earn more space on a free account, which is plenty for me for a semester of work. Dropbox syncs files across multiple devices. This works for most students aside for those working with large files, such as media studies.
Use Google Drive. Google Drive comes with 15 GB space free, which makes it more advantageous than Dropbox for free users. Furthermore, it comes with browser built-in text editor/spreadsheet tool/presentation tool that you can collaborate with others on. It’s a very useful tool for group projects.
Use OneDrive. You get 5 GB free and comes with every Microsoft Office copy.
A USB key is very handy and portable, if easy to lose. I suggest tying it to a lanyard or attaching it with your keys. Put your name on it and email in case someone finds it.
Use a portable hard drive.
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