Mindmap software

At last after going thru mindmap softwares... I purchased the INSPIRATION software. Why?
1) Its cheap (the main reason, you can get student price)
2) The graphics are great
3) It provides other tools as well, and not just mindmap eg concept map, venn diagram.

Essay writing

I have not been writing in this blog lately....
I have been busy with assignments, and the next one is due in 2 days time.
But I found this great stuff on essay writing, and for visual learners like me.. it is just GREAT!!! Alhamdulillah.
CLICK HERE

Its not too late

I am almost towards the end of my first year of phd.... how come I still cannot make sense of my literature review? I have a system that looks ok... (I got this from one of the research methods book). Somehow, something was missing. As I was browsing in Amazon.com, I found this book. I read one of the comments... and I decided to order it. Now this book is in my hands, I am half way through... and yes I think it was worth it. I found the missing bits.... thats probably why I couldn't make sense of my lit review...

Ok, I am going to continue reading this... will summarize later.

Mindmap

Faculty International Unit

International Support Program
I think this is something that I would be needing soon.

Learning style

Hmmm, I found out something interesting yesterday...
My scores on learning style
Active & Reflective: active +3
Sensing & intuitive: +7 intuitive
Visual & Verbal: +11 visual
Sequential & Global: Global +9

These are the important links:
Index of learning styles
Description of learning styles

What should I do?
Need to compensate for my weaknesses, as my learning style is not balanced.
1) Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results.

2) If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.

3) If you are a global learner, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you. Fortunately, there are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, you might find it more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Above all, don't lose faith in yourself; you will eventually understand the new material, and once you do your understanding of how it connects to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential thinkers would never dream of.