Studying with YouTube and Google+
October 25th, 2011 | Published in Google Student Blog, Uncategorized, Youtube
Introduction: Taylor is a Google Student Ambassador at Boise State University. He is currently pursuing a double major in Communication and Computer Science, and loves exploring new study methods, one of which he shares with you here.
Fall is in full swing, and for many students (like me), that means midterms. Luckily for us, Google provides tools that make studying a breeze!
One subject I spend lots of time studying is math. Sometimes it’s hard to catch everything in class, so I started looking up each topic we cover on YouTube. Being able to see lots of different people explain how different problems are solved really helps me understand the material. In order to keep track of the videos that help me the most, I create playlists that correspond to the chapters in our textbook. With the midterm coming up, I merged each video in my playlists into one mega midterm playlist. When I study now, I shuffle the playlist, pause the video to work out the problem, then hit play to see the process used to solve. After the video is done, another topic is chosen randomly, and I repeat the process!
To take this study technique to the next level, I organized a Hangout on Google+ with friends from math class. In order to make sure I would stay on task, I made a Circle for my math class friends, and set my availability to hang out to just them. We weren’t all on at the same time, but that’s what’s cool about Hangouts-- people can mingle, just like at school. Being able to watch YouTube videos together and talk about our interpretations of problem solving processes along with that of the video’s creator was awesome (and it will be even better when we aren’t working on homework!). I’m looking forward to trying out Hangouts with Extras when we move into more topics that have to do with graphing. Having a shared sketchpad with a full revision history will be a great study tool!
Being able to use Google+ Hangouts instead of making time to head to campus is awesome! I can’t wait to see how this will change the face of online classes and office hours, as well as providing more ways to interact with fellow students!
Posted by Taylor Bell, Google Student Ambassador, Boise State University
Fall is in full swing, and for many students (like me), that means midterms. Luckily for us, Google provides tools that make studying a breeze!
One subject I spend lots of time studying is math. Sometimes it’s hard to catch everything in class, so I started looking up each topic we cover on YouTube. Being able to see lots of different people explain how different problems are solved really helps me understand the material. In order to keep track of the videos that help me the most, I create playlists that correspond to the chapters in our textbook. With the midterm coming up, I merged each video in my playlists into one mega midterm playlist. When I study now, I shuffle the playlist, pause the video to work out the problem, then hit play to see the process used to solve. After the video is done, another topic is chosen randomly, and I repeat the process!
To take this study technique to the next level, I organized a Hangout on Google+ with friends from math class. In order to make sure I would stay on task, I made a Circle for my math class friends, and set my availability to hang out to just them. We weren’t all on at the same time, but that’s what’s cool about Hangouts-- people can mingle, just like at school. Being able to watch YouTube videos together and talk about our interpretations of problem solving processes along with that of the video’s creator was awesome (and it will be even better when we aren’t working on homework!). I’m looking forward to trying out Hangouts with Extras when we move into more topics that have to do with graphing. Having a shared sketchpad with a full revision history will be a great study tool!
Being able to use Google+ Hangouts instead of making time to head to campus is awesome! I can’t wait to see how this will change the face of online classes and office hours, as well as providing more ways to interact with fellow students!
Posted by Taylor Bell, Google Student Ambassador, Boise State University