With the easy accessibility of the internet in campus, it’s not surprising to see many of you using internet as the primary source for research and learning. After all, one just needs to key in a search term in any search engine of one’s preference and the information will be found. While online research looks useful, there is one pitfall that most of us are unaware of, which is the lack of structure in our learning.

Let’s consider an example. When we want to learn more about communication skills, it’s easy for us to type in “Communication skills” as the search terms in a search engine, and we get the information that we want. However, the information that the search engine pulls out for us comes from all types of sources. Lack of credibility aside, we also face the issue of having to define what it is that we really want to know about communication skills. And without a structure for learning, it is easy for us to get lost in the tons of information and data that is prevalent in the internet. This is the reason why textbooks still exist in the face of the internet, for they provide the structure that is so crucial to our learning.

Textbook acts as a precursor to our learning, providing the basic structures that guide our learning. Of course, one textbook is insufficient to cover a subject matter that we wish to learn. So, we should source for several textbooks. By providing a structure for learning, textbooks adds depth to learners’ learning. This means that books often enable learners to learn more about a particular subject matter than any online articles can hope to achieve. However, online information adds breadth to learners’ learning, in the sense that online information often provides more perspective on a particular subject matter than any single textbook can hope to accomplish (after all, it is impossible for the author(s) of a textbook to cover the entire scope of a subject matter as compared to countless information sources on the internet, no matter how wide-ranging their knowledge is).

So, how do we combine the use of textbooks and the internet for learning?

I propose that we start with a few textbooks and based on the topics of interests in these texts, we can proceed to source for information on the internet. In this way, we are learning through a properly defined structure (with depth) while enhancing our understanding with information on the internet (thus increasing the breadth of our study).

All of you are fortunate to have a library and internet access in campus, so the abovementioned approach is one approach that you might like to consider when it comes to enhancing your learning experience.

Take for instance, your class discussion session. As a member of your team, will it be better if you simply issue instructions or take the time to explain your choice? Often, you gain the respect of your peers when you explain rather than simply giving directions.

Try this technique the next time you collaborate with your team mates and feel the difference.

If one were to focus all the time and effort on one’s strengths, one’s weaknesses will at times affect performance. Take for instance, if one is strong in writing and focus all the energy in this endeavour, then there will not be any space left to improve on one’s presentation skills. Not to mention listening or reading skills, of which all four components are essential when it comes to mastering a language.  On the other hand, if one were to focus entirely on the weaknesses, we will have no opportunity to use our strengths to achieve what we set out to do.  

Therefore,  I feel that one should strike a balance. This means both focusing on our strengths and improving on our weaknesses at the same time.  However, the time allocated for doing both should not be the same. More time should be spent on using your strengths to achieve your goals. While less time is allocated towards developing your weaknesses, you should be able to improve them by consistently making the effort to improve yourselves.

Over time, we will achieve our goals and at the same time, improve ourselves.

 However, as students, it will be good if you are able to use technology for your studies as well. 

Consider the following:

• Are there any ways that you can use technology to facilitate your learning process?
• Are there any aspects of technology that you can utilise to embrace your learning experience?
• How can you be more efficient in your learning experiences?
• Are you able to use any programs to save records of your learning experience that you can reflect on later?
• Think of all the programs that you have available. Are there any innovative ways that you can use to your advantage in terms of learning?
• Are there any specific websites that you find useful and are able to bookmark for repeated references?
• Blogs are good tools for improving your writing skills, and is a good channel for self-reflection. Do you think that blogs are good tools to you in your study? There are many ways to express yourself in the blog. It need not be the daily happenings in your life. For example, penning film reviews or writing your travelling experiences are two examples of how you can align the use of your blog to your interest.
• Information is now readily available but is often disorganised and at times incomplete. What can you do to improve this situation? Are you able to use technology to resolve this issue?

I hope that the abovementioned points have given you some insight on using technology to enhance your learning experience.  

I will encourage all of you to keep a personal journal. Since all of you own a laptop, you can simply type your thoughts into a Microsoft Word document and save it, using the date as the filename and it will be good if you can keep them within a folder, and name it as “My Personal Journal”. You can then pen your journal at the end of each day at home.

Some of you might be wondering about the reasons for penning an additional journal alongside your journal for the lesson. This is because the journal for the lesson reflects your understanding of what you have learnt in class. However, this personal journal goes beyond your understanding of the lesson. In fact, it will enable you to understand yourself, especially when it comes to your communication and working style. 

Some questions that you might like to explore will be:

• Have you encountered any special incident (such as a remarkable achievement or a sudden insight) during the lesson?
• Do you happen to take on a different responsibility or role (such as a coordinator) for the lesson? What difference does it make? Do you have any difficulty coping with this change? If so, how are you going to adapt to such changes?
• Have you met some team mates who have different viewpoints from yourself? How did you resolve these differences in opinion?
• In your discussion with your friends, how is the progress like? Can you identify the different working styles of your team mates? How did you reconcile the differences and strike a consensus when you disagree with any of them?
• At the end of the lesson, do you have any sudden insight with regards to the lesson? Write them down if there are.
• How do you usually manage your time? Is it efficient? If not, what can you do about it?

Review what you have written on a regular basis (weekly, fortnightly, monthly etc) to enhance your own understanding of yourself.

The list of areas that you can explore is indeed inexhaustible. Nevertheless, I hope that all of you are able to explore any uncharted terrain to the best of your abilities. This is one of the few ways that you can improve through self-understanding.

The abovementioned video illustrates the importance of teamwork both in the classroom and in the workplace. In life, we have to work as a team to achieve more through collaboration. It’s amazing that the more you give, the more you receive.  And you will often be assisted by others in times of need when you are someone who gives without expecting any form of reciprocity.

I hope that all of you will work strongly as a team and I believe that success will always belongs to you.

When you are exploring issues during the lessons, you are encouraged to use the 5Ws and 1H to explore possibilities and areas for analysis. The 5 Ws and 1 H are:

• Who
• Where
• What
• When
• Why
• How

The 5 Ws and 1H are frequently used by journalists in news reports and they tried to use as many of them as necessary for their introduction paragraphs in news articles. The purpose is to condense the news content for the news reader soonest possible.

However, there is a different reason why you are encouraged to use it in class. While the purpose of journalist is to summarise content for the reader, the reason that you are encouraged to use them is because you need more ground for exploration. And the 5 Ws and 1 H enable you to achieve that since they provide you with open-ended questions, especially the “what”, “why”, and “how”.

I hope that through the use of the 5 Ws and 1 H, you will be able to better examine the issues in class and enhance your learning experiences at the same time. 

In addition, I have found that some students have frequently used “Pros and Cons” as well as “Cause / Effects” to explore issues during the class discussion. You can consider using these in your team discussion as well.