GED Study Tip: Take Note!

Getting ready for the GED? Whether you're attending local classes, taking an online GED course or managing a self-study program at home, you'll want to ensure that your study time is effective.

Make a Note! Here's one surefire study tip that has proven successful for adults working toward the General Education Development credential, the 'diploma' awarded for passing the GED Test.

Take Notes

For many GED students and adult learners, taking notes seems boring or tedious, or they can't see the relevance of taking notes. Perhaps they have an abundance of GED study materials and don't feel a need to add more to the pile. And for some GED students, taking notes is new -- they're reluctant because they've never done it, or never learned the skill.

Taking notes is easy -- it's highly effective and ensures learning when it's a three-part process. And taking notes is a critical way to shift new information that's learned from the brain's short-term memory bank to the brain's knowledge vault.

1. Initially, many people feel like they're copying or jotting material just for the sake of it. It's difficult for them to see how taking notes helps them learn. And it may seem like a mindless activity. Still, it's important -- just write down information as you move through material on your own, or during GED classes. The act of taking notes engages you with the study material beyond just hearing information, reading or seeing it.

Just as note-taking improves with practice, so does learning. As notes are taken more frequently and regularly, students begin to recognize key information and main points more easily and more often. Note-taking becomes more logical since the act of taking notes engages the logical processing of the brain. When the logical brain becomes engaged, the learning process is activated and information is better retained.

2. The second part of taking notes is organizing them; do it soon after taking them. How do you organize notes? Put them in logical order -- or an order that makes the most sense to you. Highlight, circle or underline important information. As notes are reviewed and organized, the information from the notes is refreshed in the mind and organized mentally. Again, the logical brain is engaged.

3. You reinforce this part of the learning process by processing your notes again. Fill in any missing information. Make a list of the key words from your notes. List any problems you're having with the material, or identify sections in your notes where the material seems unclear. Make an outline of the information so that you see the relationship of ideas and facts to each other. Make another list or outline that includes all the information you feel you've really learned. Determine how you can use this new knowledge in real-life situations. Now, review sections or the list that identified unclear information and you'll probably discover that it's clearer.

Taking notes is neither an art nor a science. But the learning process is both. Learning isn't really about remembering, and knowledge isn't about memorization. Real learning and real knowledge are about activating, using and engaging higher brain processes, which is exactly what happens during the three-step process of taking notes.

At GED test time, taking notes will prove to be an excellent skill to have learned. Processing information logically, and identifying key words and main ideas are major parts of the GED test. So taking notes is an important skill and practice for study time and test time.

Career Education and Planning Your Future

You may or may not have had a career education course in your grade school, high school or even college years. This can be a great tool to help individuals discover the available career choices to them. But, even as a young or middle-aged adult you may have questions about your career path and you may want additional career education. You may be unhappy in your chosen profession, or you may want to update your knowledge and skills but you are not sure how.

The internet is one of the most beneficial tools available to people who need career education. You can find personality, skill, and knowledge assessments; there are online courses designed to give you continuing education, and even universities which offer very type of degree from an associate's to a doctorate. Once you have gotten the career education, training and skills you need, you can even find a new job online.

Assessments can help you to narrow down your career choices. Many career education courses provide them for students. Online you will find assessments such as the Myers-Briggs Personality profile, conflict resolution style, negotiation style, and so on and so on. Once you have found out what your strengths and weaknesses are, you will be better able to choose a career. Some government agencies even offer career education and job counseling for individuals who are looking for a career.

It may be a helpful step to you, as you embark on your career education path, to set up a plan. You should think about your skills, your values, your interests, and your personality. Decide on a career and then outline exactly what you will need to do to get there. Update and change your plan as necessary-then comes the real career education.

You will be amazed at the number of online universities and training programs available. Some are offered as an extension of traditional universities as a distance learning program. Whether you are looking for a degree program or just a recertification or training program, you will need to make sure that the university or organization offering the courses or program is accredited or recognized by those in your field of choice. You can usually take the courses at your own speed. You can often find financing, grants and scholarships, to assist you if you need it. As you take classes, evaluate yourself from time to time to make sure that this is still your career of choice.

Now you are ready to look for a job. There are online classifieds and job search services for nearly every profession. Many are free and allow you to personalize your search as needed.

Keep Your Driving Record Clean - Online Traffic School

No one wants to go to traffic school - after all, eight hours in a stuffy room, sitting on uncomfortable chairs and watching outdated, gory videos of the devastating results of reckless drivers isn't exactly an ideal way of spending a Saturday afternoon. Sure, sometimes an instructor is fun and witty, making the experience bearable, maybe even enjoyable. But, most people aren't willing to relinquish a whole day. Time is simply too precious a commodity.

Mike P. Welch knows all too well the realities of some walk-in traffic school experiences, having completed traffic school in August of 2005. In addition to an uncomfortable facility, Welch had to contend with disinterested fellow students and grossly outdated course materials.

"The instructor had us watch a video that was from the 1970s and a big segment was on call boxes, which I felt was irrelevant, considering the majority of the population now has cell phones," he says.

Instead of fostering an atmosphere of learning, "half of the students didn't want to be there and were distracting to the learning process," Welch says. "I didn't appreciate the social stigma of having to reveal my violation in front of a classroom of people. I felt like I was there to be punished, instead of improving my knowledge of traffic laws."

Fortunately, those who are ordered to traffic school or to a defensive driving course, in exchange for wiping points off their driving records, have an alternative to a long day of traffic school. Online traffic and defensive driving schools are becoming exceedingly popular, particularly in California (including among Los Angeles traffic school and San Diego traffic school), Florida and Texas.

Skeptical? Those who have never taken an online course will quickly find it's a fast, easy and effective way to complete traffic school. In fact, statistics prove that online traffic school works. In 2004, more than a third of the 500,000 people ordered to complete traffic school in Florida did so online. Ninety perfect of those who completed the online traffic course passed the final exam.

Compared to Welch's experience with walk-in traffic school, Travis' experience with online traffic school was so effective and so inspiring that he founded Ticket Relief Traffic School (TicketRelief.com). "Not only was the course a breeze, but I actually refreshed my knowledge of California driving and learned a couple new driving laws I didn't know about," he says.

As he researched and learned more about online traffic schools, his belief in the effectiveness of online traffic school was only reinforced. "I found several studies that showed students were able to concentrate better with an online class versus a traditional walk-in school. The studies showed that students who used a computer to take an online traffic school course exhibited a smaller amount of distractions compared to a classroom setting. The students using the computers produced a higher level of concentration and higher test scores than the students in a classroom setting."

Indeed, more and more people are discovering the vast advantages of fulfilling their court requirements by completing online traffic school:

o It's easy. Simply register, pay for the course and get started.

o It's safe. Many online traffic schools, such as Ticket Relief, offer 128bit encryption to ensure safe credit card transactions.

o Save time. Students can complete their online course in as little as six hours, sometimes less.

o Finish the course at leisure. With online traffic schools like Ticket Relief, students can save their work and return to it at a later time, unlike traditional traffic school when all work is completed in one session. Of course, those who want to complete the course in one sitting are welcome to do so. In fact, with Ticket Relief, students have access to the course for 160 days from the time they register.

o Use any computer. Start the exam on the library's computer and finish it on a home computer. The course for traffic school, with Ticket Relief for example, requires only a computer with an Internet connection.

o Save money. Online traffic schools are typically much cheaper with rates ranging from $17 to $50.

o Discounts. Ticket Relief offers discounts to senior citizens, students, members of the military and AAA members.

o Consistency. Online traffic schools such as Ticket Relief promise students each time they take the course they receive only the highest quality reading material, quizzes and final exam. Ticket Relief ensures all course material is updated yearly.

o It's comprehensive. Students will receive a refresher course, covering traffic laws and other pertinent information. Ticket Relief's comprehensive course includes five sections, each ending with a quiz that allows students to gauge their level of comprehension of the course material. The quizzes also help students prepare for the final exam.

o Worry-free. Students who fail the final exam needn't worry. Ticket Relief allows for unlimited taking of the final exam for no extra charge, as long as it's taken within the 160 day time limit.

Students who have never taken an online course needn't worry. Most traffic schools provide customer service either via a toll-free number or email, or both.

Learning Styles: Beginning the Process of Education

In schools today, many teachers face many obstacles which impede learning. Items such as unavailability of materials to home situations which teachers have no control over and the fact that learning is usually one of the last things on children's minds when they come to school. However, a vast majority of teachers who face behavior problems in the classroom overlook one of the most valuable facets of educational knowledge they learn in teacher education programs, Learning Styles. In the following article we will examine three different types of learning styles and how teachers can use these styles to better control and serve their classrooms.

The first style is auditory learning. Auditory learning occurs by children listening to information which is conveyed by teachers. Typically, a teacher may stand in front of the classroom or walk around the classroom, all the while speaking the information which they intend their students to learn. This style is good for those students who like to listen to an explanation of information and follow along with it as teacher explains a body of knowledge. Teachers can use this style to be most effective in establishing a classroom environment in which the teacher is the ruler. The teacher's authority is seldom challenged because the teacher leaves very little room for students to voice their thoughts on the information.

The second style is that of visual learning. Visual learning occurs by children learning through what they see. Usually, a teacher will draw diagrams on a board, use posters or other items such as an overhead projector to display information. While the teacher may speak about the information presented, the primary method of learning is by seeing the information which is to be learned. Teachers may use this type of learning to stimulate discussion between the teacher and students giving students something to refer to when initiating a discussion.

The final style is tactile/kinesthetic learning. This type of learning occurs when students take part in classroom activities. Teachers will construct directions and allow students to form groups or using preformed groups, will have students complete an activity. The main objective is to have students learn the desired information by doing an exercise which contains the information to be conveyed. Teachers can use this style as a means to control a very active group of students. With the structured activities, teachers can use this type of learning to give students a chance to expend some pent up energy while learning is still taking place.

While many teachers today grapple with the troubles of everyday school life, their students suffer. Teachers are faced with many factors which are beyond their control, the influences of home life and the streets. Yet, when faced with these challenges in the school setting, many teachers give up and let their classrooms become just as chaotic as the environments students are trying to escape. If teachers wish to understand their students and best capture their interest, it has to begin first by addressing the way children best receive the information teachers provide them. These learning styles are the way to get into a child's world. So I ask, "How do you learn best?"

Abandoning Bogus Academic Theories

We have many theories in science that we teach our college students, that we know to not be entirely correct. This is rather odd of academia in that science is about seeking answers and truths to those things around us we observe. If we teach bogus academic theory and do not rid our High School and College textbooks of these bogus academic theories we are doing a disservice to our future generations. Such methodology will lead to fewer discoveries and slow the forward progression of the species entirely.

Academia must come clean on the bogus theories and claims it purports. If something cannot be proved then it must not be taught as fact, no matter which brilliant genius of which past period claimed it. If we fail to understand this basic principle in science then no meaningful forward progression of the species can be achieved. Luckily today we have many who are challenging the experts and will not settle for; "because I told you so" or because; "it says so in your text book" and for those minds who challenge the status quo, I salute you.

We must review all the old textbooks to make sure what we are teaching is correct. For instance old history books; we know history is written by the winners, not the losers so the information is automatically perception based skewed. Physics books are also full of old garbage.

The Value of Education and Finishing Something You Started

The value of education sometimes is highly underrated. Although school can be boring at times, important social structures can be made while attending either high school or college. These support systems are able to help one during time of excess stress, crisis or even personal problems that plague a person. School not only offers this benefit but allows one to be around others that are seeking something greater in life, and have a desire to achieve and reach for higher goals. If one can fit into the right social environment, rewards can be reaped that will last way beyond that of graduating and even up until retirement years.

After high school, many people seek a life for themselves if they do not choose to go to college. This life can be very hard with out a degree. It is not so much the paper, but when people see a college degree, it shows that the person is qualified to stick to a job and take it until completion; something that "learned laziness" prevents people from doing.

People learn to be lazy when they stop pursuing their goals, or worse yet, do not make any goals or have dreams that make them want to wake up to everyday. It is important to make a goal, and keep this goal until it has been reached. This is the art of finishing something. Again, completion of a college exemplifies this.

Another benefit of a structured institution is interaction with teachers. It is not a secret that teachers are highly underpaid, however, this can work in the students favor. Those who want to be there are there because of their inner desire to teach and get fulfillment from seeing students grasp onto information and apply it. The author does realize this is a Polly Anna way of looking the school system, however, it holds much truth. There are always those ill tempered teachers, but for the most part, teachers are there because they want to see you learn.

Finally, upon completion of a degree, self esteem and inner self-importance can rise to healthy levels. There are many roadblocks for those without a degree, but with this under your belt...The World is Yours!

Why Study Math? The Ellipse

In continuation of the "Why Study Math" series of articles, here we look at another conic section: the ellipse. The four conic sections, in order from most popularly known to least, are the circle, the ellipse, the parabola, and the hyperbola. Remember that these shapes can all be obtained by slicing a right circular double-napped cone with a plane. As a visual exercise, picture an ice cream cone-without the ice cream-upside down standing on a table. This is a single-napped right circular cone. (To get a double-napped cone, add another cone on top, right-side up, balanced at the point.) To get the circle, take an imaginary plane (picture a piece of paper) and intersect the cone parallel to the base. The plane has just cut out a circle on the cone. Similarly, to get the ellipse tilt the plane slightly up or down and intersect it with the cone. What you have then is an elongated circle, or ellipse.

Probably the most famous application of the mathematical curve called an ellipse is in the description of planetary orbits. Johannes Kepler, the famous German mathematician and astronomer, used the position of the planet Mars and the sun to work out the orbit of the earth. After twenty years of painstaking work and analysis, Kepler was finally able to put forth his three planetary laws of motion. The first of these laws states correctly that the planets move about the sun in elliptical orbits. This was a revolutionary breakthrough which finally put an end to the Copernican idea of circular orbits.

Even though some might know that the planets revolve in elliptical orbits about the sun, a far less common application of this conic section is in machinery. The ellipse finds itself intricately involved in the manufacture of cams, which are rotating pieces of machinery that serve to transform rotating motion into up-and-down or back-and-forth motion. Examples of this are seen in the sewing machine, which uses the cam to generate up-and-down motion of the sewing needle. The punch press is another example that utilizes the cam. This machine is used in generating dies for the manufacture of metal objects. Because of the features of the ellipse, the punch press can function to produce all kinds of intricate metal objects running the gamut from rifle barrels to triggers to nuts and bolts to wire.

Of course, let us not forget the use of the cam in the automobile engine. The car engine has to be one of the most important inventions of all time. Because of knowledge of the ellipse, man was able to design the engine, relying on the cam and camshaft to generate the up-and-down motion from the elliptical cams moving in a rotary manner. This up-and-down motion is intricately involved in the complicated tasks of the internal combustion engine. Not bad for a simple mathematical idea such as the ellipse!

So the next time you hop in that new spit-shined Mercedes of yours and start to rev the engine, remember that had it not been for the study and application of the ellipse, you might be picking up your sexy date in a horse and buggy. Till next time...