Video: What Grinds My Gears At Macquarie Uni

So here it is...A few examples of what really grinds our gears at Macquarie University. Thank you Peter Griffin from Family Guy for the inspiration! From overpriced textbooks to idiots who drive the wrong way in the car park to steal your spot... and from back to back classes in Y3A and E6A to getting accumulated parking fines costing more than a permit would have.
The last one is for you, Matt :P

NB: We also hate PDA from couples around campus and people who decide that summertime means its a chance to suddenly strip down into slut-wear (girls) and show off gains (and nipples!) in spaghetti strap singlets (boys). You know who you are. But for your sake we did not publish you.

Enjoy!

The Uni Students

Family Guy: What Grinds My Gears - UNI VERSION

YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY GRINDS OUR GEARS? And I mean EVERY UNI STUDENT BREATHING ON THIS EARTH.

Here you can find a list of all the outrageous things you can find at uni which is nothing but a pain in the ass when you see it! We will try to be a little more classy than Peter Griffin and ensure our status within the blog life is not tarnished.

For those of you who haven't actually seen Family Guy's What Really Grinds my Gears - Here it is! If you know Family Guy, you'll understand their opinion of humour, is very nasty, slapstick humour. And probably not for the faint-hearted.

• couples making out on campus. PDA: MQ UNI students say no!
• Textbook prices. Are you seriously going to expect students to hand you money for 500 pages of IRRELEVANCE IN LIFE for a fortnights pay? 

• Walking from Y3A to E6A for back-to-back classes. If you seriously want us to be on time for classes maybe you should create a TELEPORTING MACHINE.
• The volunteer workers outside MQU station. You couldn't have picked a better spot to make everyone late for the trains and buses. Thank you guys. 

• Hippies and religious evangelicals on campus.
• Lack of free parking on campus.
• Getting in group assignments with ghosts (i.e the people who turn up first class of semester and are never to be seen or heard of again)
• Law Students.

• The students who travel before they started studying who have dreadlocks, a ton of stories from around the world and to top it off they wear tattered clothes and thongs around campus. I am sorry but it does not say you are 'organic' it screams that you have a trust fund.
• Hippies in general
• Un-involved lecturers and tutors...
• The library monitors who yell at you when you get too loud - and then make you feel bad for speaking at all in the first place
• "I didnt even study for the exam"
  *Gets 95%*
  "what a fluke"
  - I CALL BULLSHIT

And you're late for the uni class you actually need to go to

Procrastinating: Tips of the Trade!

You’re an avid procrastinator. That is why your reading this post when your assignment is due in few hours with 1000 words to go. Welcome to the club. There are no two ways around it, its boring, its hard, its painfully, its not on an Xbox, its not directed by Zach Snyder and it does not even involve sex. You promised yourself you would do it today, and like any true procrastinator you want to study without doing the work. So here are a few ways to procrastinate guilt free.

Phantom Impulses

Its time to study and all of a sudden you realise you need to level up on Destiny, or you realise yeah, you are really pumped to go to the gym. You don’t want to push it, if you study too much you may forget the material you already learnt from that time you did study. Which was the first time you studied, and the last time you are going to study. The best thing you can do is embrace these impulses and compromise. Pick up the Xbox controller, why not play Xbox for what you think will be only half an hour, you will study after, right? Sure.

The Feeling Ain’t Right

You need to be impossibly ready to study. For you to successfully study, everything in the universe needs to be just right. If you can convince yourself that even one little thing is off, it is best not to force it. Yep, just as you sit down you realise that it is the vernal equinox. Better leave it for another time.

The Hunger Games

You finally convince yourself to sit down and begin but you realise that you have not consumed nearly enough calories to carry you through this one-way trip through Hell. If you are going to study, which is a big IF, you’re going to go need to eat to last as long as a Christmas ham, a month or two.

Gone in 60 seconds

You sit down and you realise that your Adobe is updating on your laptop or that you left your lecture notes in the car. Don’t even consider amending the situation because you know it will take the rest of your day to fix. You didn’t come here to sit around, you came here to study and you weren’t even 100% on that, just let bygones be bygones and accept that you won’t get any work done and turn the Xbox on.

Yawning

You just yawned once, there is no way you are finishing this assignment tonight. The best thing you can do is accept that sleep is needed then just curl up in your doona cover. Don’t bother setting an alarm you know how long you need to leave to finish it off in the morning.

Priority Principle

You think to yourself, I could go some KFC then you think ‘if I don’t have enough energy how will I remember all of this material?’ Apply the priority principle, your stomach is always full of food but your brain is never full knowledge. You must go to KFC and realign this imbalance. Obviously ordering a meal with a mountain dew. Trust me.

The Buddy System

Its time to study and you hit up your buddy to see if they will study with you. They have already gone over the material, however you agree to meet up anyway. Next thing you know you're drunk in a taxi about to hit the club. You may not be getting your work done or tomorrow morning for that matter, but was it worth the 10% late penalty? Yes, it was the best night of your life.

And there you have it, that’s how the Uni student procrastinate guilt free.

- Josh

For my method on how to study go to this link - http://howtheunistudentsdo.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/my-method-for-studying-at-uni.html

Organising For Beginners

Organisation skills – Studying Part TWO!

Ever since Year 11 onwards, I (Karen) have found studying a bore. It is painful and the more you try to learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know. But bear with me! From my experience, maybe you just aren't organising yourself as best as you can.

With University comes debt, paperwork and more paperwork. Deadlines and receipts where if you don’t keep organised, you’ll seriously lose your place in it all.
I've had to learn the hard way about being organised and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone to go through the same thing! So it’s time to help you get organised!

Tips to help you get organised:

1. Clean your room. Spring clean it.

Yes I said it! No I’m not your mother. Cleaning your room isn't a chore. It’s the opportunity for you to get rid of years of collecting dust, toys, and old clothes you’ll never wear.

Benefits:
A. You get to find money you forgot about (saving point)
B. You get a decent workout (no gym for today yay!)
C. All the clothes/items you don’t want can be donated (You’re a role model, Jim!)
D. You feel better once it’s done. You probably won’t have to do it again for quite a while!

2. Think about how your brain works.

Tricky twister isn’t it? Use your brain, to think about your brain. I did a workshop in year 10 that told me there are different learning modalities which means your brain responds to different kinds of learning settings (e.g.  you learn more by listening or doing something over reading). These settings can be applied to everyday life and will help you understand why you always forget your doctor appointment or that yearly visit to the vet for your pet.

A. Auditory- Learn better by listening to content > Discussion lectures that allow you to listen and respond

B. Visual – Take better notice through visual illustrations > Diagrams, Textbooks, Overheads.

C. Kinesthetic/Tactile – Like to take a more physical approach to learning > where movement is involved, games, internet etc.

Many people are a mixture of these, but there will be one that you are most predominant in. Here is a link to find out which one you are. (This won’t make you pay for anything or make you wait. We’re not mean people) BUT you have to do some addition to find your final result. So maybe I am a little bit mean after all. I’m sorry!
http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/m/mentors0708kechiawilliams/learningstylesruvey.pdf

Once you know how your brain ticks, you can choose different methods to fully use this ability of yours. For information on other modalities, visit: https://tpri.wikispaces.com/Incorporating+Learning+Modalities+in+Writing
(they have other types of modalities I have not heard of, feel free to attach and mix yourselves within the groups).


3. Set allocated spaces for different things.

Don’t study where you sleep. Don’t sleep and study where you eat. This (no joke) will confuse your brain and when you study, you’ll get bored and hungry, or when you want to sleep, you’ll feel as if you need something to eat #firsthandexperience.
This goes the same for organising your books and files you need to keep. It is best to buy some cheap folders/clear slips to put these away and whenever you need them, just pull them out of a drawer or a box. 

Benefits: (Because you won’t consider it if you think there’s nothing good about it)

A. Tidiness. (Unless you’re a grub, then move along)
B. You won’t lose important papers.
C. If you put it away in a safe place, the robbers are less likely to steal it if it is hidden.
D. You can prioritize your space for more important things
E. When you need to file away something EXTRA important, you already have a designated space/folder to place that extra important item.

Some More Helpful Hints:

• Look at Josh's post down below in the Study section where he mentions REALLY helpful tips on how to get down to business in your student life
• Don't procrastinate on important things to do e.g. your 40% REPORT THAT IS DUE NEXT WEEK. You'll hate yourself for it and if you fail the unit you have another $3600 of debt to your name! 
• Don't give up! Lame, but true. 
• Find an inspiration/role model to help you through. It can even be your mother. On that note,
• Be nice to your parents. They love you and if sh** hits the fan, they can always pick you up off your feet.
• Don't Hoard unnecessary items. It will bit you in the butt if you do!
• Focus on one important thing at a time
• Give yourself time to relax and enjoy the life you live. 
• Ask friends & teachers for advice
• Don't think about the chore - JUST DO IT!

I can lecture you about how to get organised and tell you everything you should do (IMO), but everyone is different. 

These few tips will help you start your short journey of getting organised, once you've done it, the rest is easy! Or is it.......




Nah it really is! 


Until next time,

Karen

Secrets of a last-minute student

I know you're out there. Too many of you. Don't worry, I must be #1 perpetrator on the hit list. We are the ones who either cram in all our study the night before and are going through wk 13 lecture notes one minute before walking into an exam, hand in assignments literally one minute before submission or on a bad day where you are lacking motivation we get slapped on the wrist with a late penalty. I'll let you in on a little insight into how to do last-minute study.

“Punctual”. What does this word even mean. And while I'm at it..what's a better, more socially acceptable term for “cheating?” “Unethical?” Eh..so here goes...

If you need to buy some more time in submitting an assignment, why not be sneaky and “accidentally” send in a corrupt file on time, keep working on your assignment and send in the real one once your teacher has notified you that there was a “problem” with the formatting/uploading of your file and requests you to try sending again. Corrupted-Files.com offers a service that sells students (for a fee of around $5) intentionally corrupted files with the following instructions. "Step 1: After purchasing a file with the appropriate number of pages, rename the file e.g. Mike_Final-Paper. Step 2: E-mail the file to your professor along with your 'here's my assignment' e-mail. Step 3: It will take your professor several hours if not days to notice your file is 'unfortunately' corrupted. Use the time this website just bought you wisely and finish that paper!!!." I don't like to think of myself as a person promoting cheating. You are still doing the work yourself. Think about it this way if it makes you feel any better: would your professor rather you make up an excuse and hand in your own work a bit late or submit someone else's work on time?

*Warning: you may not fool a switched-on teacher but it's better than “the dog ate my homework” excuse.

*Disclaimer: I have not been smart enough to try this... or dumb enough to :P

Now I want to make sure we don't have any misunderstandings about the claim that winding your computer clock back can avoid a turnitin late penalty. Let me tell you loud and clear that this myth is busted. You can't fool the system in any way, as has been mentioned in an earlier blog. Turnitin's timestamp is based on your the university's settings when they set it up (usually by default it is the local timezone).

Now the most logical thing for me to say now is to not be late in the first place – to tell you not to leave things to the last minute.. but what a hypocrite I would be. It's not always because we're lazy, I swear!

So in terms of how to cram and chuck an all-nighter, buy yourself epic amounts of study food, sit down wrapped in a blanket, and chuck your phone away. Seriously!

You can even get your significant other to help you out with motivation by treating you at milestones (I.e. every 500 words) if you know what I mean.. ;) I'll leave it there.

Good luck in exams and any assignments to still be submitted!

Over and out,

The Uni Students.

How to Beat TURNITIN

Wad up cheats, liars and drunks, you read the title so lets do this!

As an increasing amount of universities around the world employ and use TURNITIN I decided to delve into the world of how to beat it.

While researching for this blog I consulted many of my tutors and fellow students at Uni and I found that similar methods kept coming up in conversation, firstly I would like to address these.

Replacing common English charters (e) with non-English (è) characters that look similar to confuse TURNITIN. This method is flawed as TURNITIN will recognise these and change them back to English and then check its database. Furthermore, it will then check the original copy with the non-English characters against its database. So it you use this, you're screwed.

Another method I heard was replacing spaces with white colored font characters to keep the word count down as well as masking copied material. TURNITIN checks for abnormal word lengths so if you use this you better believe you are screwed!

The other method I heard has the best possibility of working, only if the marker is honestly fucking stupid, is to place copied material in quotation marks.  In theory this works because it will recognise the material as a direct quote and therefore skip it. WRONG. TURNITIN will still check this. However, the person marking can turn this feature off but if there are large sections still in quotation marks they will be notified.

While researching this I found an interesting blog by a uni professor about this exact topic.  (http://blog.unemployedprofessors.com/how-to-beat-turnitin-com/). He goes onto say…

“Let me tell you a bit about what TURNITIN looks like from the inside, and why you can’t beat it. When I open TURNITIN, I see the names of all the students in my class. The filenames that they uploaded are next to their names, followed by an originality measure, and a bar that’s either green, yellow, or red. (DUDE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT TURNS RED? THAT’S SOME OMINIOUS STUFF). That’s TURNITIN matching the text that you submitted (forget about the macros – I’ve tried it myself – it does not work) with everything in its database.”

- Professor Rogue, 2012

Moreover he said that any copied text is shown to the marker when you are using TURNITIN because the program has the ability to breakdown a word document and idenitfy copied and pasted material. But even if you think, ‘oh if I delete a few words and replace them I can get around it.’ NOPE, you better believe TURNITIN will be onto your arse.

However, in saying all of this, I had to find a way around TURNITIN. So I fired up Tor and started surfing the deep web, browsing a lot of forums and found a few methods. Yes, they exist but they are so extravagant that it just makes me think that if you know how to reference properly writing your own material is honestly a lot easier.

so guys and gals, that’s how the Uni student warn you about getting caught by TURNITIN…

-Josh

My Method for Studying at Uni!

What up Peeps,

Studying tends to take up a fairly large component of your free time when living a Uni lifestyle. In recognition of this I thought, why not discuss it? I view studying as three broad areas, and like a Venn diagram, where these overlap evenly, this is where you will be most productive. I will discuss each area in the hope that you will become an efficient studying machine!

Mindset

As an ex-semi-professional swimmer the power of a positive mindset became apparent to me very quickly. As I took a step back from my swimming career I wanted to apply this in a similar way to my studies. The best way to describe and to help you apply a positive mindset is shown by research from Carol Dwek. She shows that there are two different mindsets especially when applied to learning. One being a ‘fixed mindset’ and the other being a ‘growth mindset.’ Dwek’s study shows that some people see intelligence as fixed (fixed mindset) while other people see intelligence as qualities that can be developed (growth mindset).  More importantly the study shows that these both lead to different behaviours and results. Students who relate towards a growth mindset see intelligence as something that can change over time while those with a fixed mindset do not. The study shows no matter how hard a student tries fundamentally the mindset needs to change to see significant results. Henceforth, a growth mindset is beneficial for studying.

Switching from a fixed mindset can be as simple as thinking to yourself, “I don’t know calculus” to “I haven’t learnt calculus yet”. The first thought suggests that you do not know calculus now and that you will not know calculus in the future. However, the second thought implies that calculus is not known because you have not been taught and further implies the possibility to learn calculus.

Use a growth mindset to your advantage it’s a powerful tool.

Goals

While tackling your mindset and changing you attitude is great there needs to be a direction for your attention. This is where goals are needed. Goals, in accordance with a growth mindset are dynamic however, there also needs to be rigidity too. For example, rigidity (in a Uni scenario) the degree you are studying, but flexibility as to what subjects you choose to make up your degree.

It is important to recognise that goals come in three different areas, each just as important as the other:

1.     Long term – years in length, example, what direction you want to go in after you graduate.

2.     Mid term – a period comprising of a semester or the length of your degree.

3.     Sort term – a period of a week long to a month long at a time

Each type of goal is as important as the other. Each type of goal has flexibility and rigidity and I will lay using my own goals:

1.     Long Term: Rigidity - I want to be a geologist. Flexibility I am not sure if I want to go into industry or research yet.

2.     Mid Term: Rigidity – I want to finish this semester with no grades under a distinction to ultimately graduate my Science/Arts degree with a good GPA. Flexibility – I want my degree average to be a distinction, the occasions credit will not jeopardise this.

3.     Short Term: Rigidity – I need to start assignments this week that are due next week or in a few weeks. I need to revise what I have already covered this semester to start studying for final exams. Flexibility – Allowing to go to the gym, spend to with my girlfriend and friends. Oh and time to work. Yuck.

As you can see with my example I started with an ultimate long-term goal and everything else cascades into something constructive to build upon and to help myself grow into this goal. It is important to have structured goals in this way.

Study Execution

Now you have worked out your mindset and why you want to apply it through goals, the next step is to actually apply yourself. The first barrier you encounter when studying is motivation. To help combat this surround yourself with like minded people with similar goals. This will create a positive environment with people encouraging good work ethics to fully exploit your brainpower. This method is very useful and whenever I can I try to surround myself with people who are smarter than me to learn for them.

Moving forward, I like to think of studying as a three-part process, part one being attending Uni, part two completing assignments and part three is revising.

Part One – Attendance

Attendance – Attend everything! The ONLY exception is if you need extra time to finish assignments. If you are sick, watch lectures at home, do not attend pracs or tuts but get special consideration if your attendance is recorded.

While attending lectures I have devised my own way of note taking. This topic seems to divide Uni students, so why not talk about? There are two types of people, those who copy everything down and those who choose to listen in lectures and write hardly anything down. I am the latter. I feel as though notes of about lectures should be whatever is not on lecture slides. You can print off lecture slides but I do not. I write the title of the lecture at the top of the page, anything that isn’t on the slides and for anything that I want to revise I make note of it along with any slide titles that will help. Lecturers normally will point out what to study for an exam/assessment or go on important tangents that are to help you with assessments. Record these!! This method allows you to focus on what the lecturer is explain and for you to concentrate on learning concepts from an expert before you go home and revise it.

Part Two – Assignments

Firstly, time allocation for me goes something like this… Research should take at least 60% of your time, writing and constructing your arguments should take 30% while re-reading and referencing take up the remaining 10%.

Secondly, and most importantly finish assignments at least two days before they are due! To help plan for this, make your short-term goals steps towards completing your assignments. Create a mental plan and make this a priority.

Finally, my most efficient method is to do all of my research at night just before I go to bed, then immediately when I wake up I type out a plan (sometimes in bed before I gut up) then I have a shower, breakfast and then write my assignment. I have found this to be the most efficient way to write an assignment. Especially at the last minute, not like I would know but yeah… Trust me.

To wrap this part up I suggest aiming for 2-3hours before you go to sleep, do your research or revise. Then when you go to sleep your brain will process this information and committed it to memory. When you wake up, then either revise the material from the previous night or write the assignment you researched the night before. Repeat this over a few days and you will have a well-polished assignment or well-memorised notes.

Part Three – Revising

Okay, I am aware guys. This is this boring part. It takes the most time and nobody enjoys it, unless you have some sick twisted Uni fetish, then seek help. Anyway, I am a strong believer in a process I call ‘who, what, where and when.’ The name is self-explanatory and I have greatly maximised my studying efficiency using this method. I am now passing this method onto you. Pick it apart and take from it what you want but please you it wisely.

Who. Who you study with is very simple. So I won’t spend much time covering it. Do not study in groups often. Studying in groups is fun, so this should ring alarm bells because it seems makes studying fun and for that reason it means it does not work. It is nature’s way of balancing the universe. However, to break a dry pattern of revising by yourself, maybe organise a study group. It is also a great way to trade notes. Case in point, study by yourself, not only do you stay on topic a lot easier your grades will thank you in the long term.

What. Try to only study material that you will be assessed on. This is much like an arts student trying to find direction in life, so make assumptions, just like arts students with employment. When you attend lectures, try to pick up on what lectures spend the most time on, this will most likely be assessed at some stage during the semester. Most importantly, gather as much information as you can on the assessment or exam as you can. This should give you the best idea of how to revise for it. These sources come in the form of past papers, talking to past students who have sat the exam or finished the assessment (try to only talk to people who went well), lecture slide, tutorial and prac notes and finally one last tip, ask your tutors they are much easier to get information out of.

Where. Choosing a study location is probably the hardest to give advice on. Everybody is different in this facet and you will need to find an environment that suits you the best. However, I can tell you what not to do. Do not revise in bed, do not revise all the time with friends and not revise in an environment with a lot of white noise. I like to revise to music.

When. The time of day does impact on your performance so identify it wisely. I recommend studying for a few hours before you go to bed or just after you wake up. I try to study for an absolute maximum of 2hrs at once. This two hours includes a food/drink after 1hr. When you revise something just before you go to bed, try to revise either the same material or very similar material. This method has boosted my marks dramatically. It may not work for you so I advise you manipulate it for how you operate.

It is important to keep your options open when setting goals, try to keep as many open as possible during this process. It is not life and death if you mindset slips occasionally, all you can do is stay positive and get back on track. I hope these tips and explanations on what method I use. These skills are like a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly to grow and develop. Your time at Uni is short, it may seem long now but it will be over before you know it. Get studying!

and that is how this uni student do studying...