Pre-Exam People

As you probably know, this week is my exam week at school. As such, long posts like these are not going to be as frequent due to the time I need for studying. So do not be surprised if you see another short post either on Tuesday or Wednesday (Thursday is my last day of exams). Today, however, was my first exam and it was for VCE Maths Methods Unit 2. Needless to say, I have been studying very hard for this subject (and my other ones as well) over the past few weeks and so am very pleased to finally have this exam over with. However, right before the exam during the last-minute studying time I noticed a few different types of people that appeared prominently all around me. These types occur every time there is an exam and so in this post I am going to walk you through these different types of people.

Source: http://www.zpsb.szczecin.pl/en/international-business-studies/learning-at-wpbs/photo-gallery/ibs-photo-gallery/

The first type of people you see are the focused study-ers. These are the people who you see just sitting quietly going through review questions or re-reading notes or sections of the text books. They are generally calm and not overly stressed about the exam. However, they are at the right level of stress to motivate study while not allowing it to overcome them. The next group of people are the late-night study-ers. You can generally tell who these people are by the way they are seated at a table. If they are lying across the table with their head in their arms then you know that they are sleeping. They generally have a higher-than-average level of stress as they were silly enough to stay up late the night before without thinking about getting enough sleep. The next group of people are the over-thinkers. These are the people who get hung up over one question that they did not understand. Their stress levels are very high and so they take everything out of proportion. They are generally the people who look worried, are rushing around or appear to be playing a game of twenty questions where the questions just never stop. Other people fall under the category of nervous wrecks. These are the people who have prepared for so long that when the day finally arrives the stress and pressure has built up. Sometimes though, this same type of person may not have studied for that long. Maybe they only studied for a little while and it is only right before the exam that they realise the mistake they made in doing this. This group of people display very similar symptoms to those of the "over-thinking" group. Finally, you have the socialisers. These are the students who do not seem to care about the exam and are only worried about catching up with their friends. Friends who are busy studying and not wanting to be distracted. These are the people who make you wonder if they even realise they are about to sit an exam. Their stress levels are very low and while this can be a good thing, it is always good to be mindful of others. Just because you are sure of yourself and what is going to be on the exam, others may not be.

There are quite the number of different groups out there, see you tomorrow!

School is Back

Yes, you heard it here first, well, read at least. Term 4 of School is now back in session and students across Victoria are struggling to get out of Holiday mode. Seriously, arriving at school this morning you would expect to see fresh-faced students. Sure, there were some who were like this but the rest were either no different to their usual selves or looked like they had not slept all holidays. Then there was all the homework issues with people not paying enough attention on the last week of term as to what homework was due over the holidays. At least today was an easy day so it was a nice start to Term 4.

Source: http://www.db18.com/graphics/back-to-school/

We began the day with what was meant to be a double theoretical Physical Education and Health class. Luckily, our assignment was on coaching and so we had to hand in a lesson plan to teach a skill before the end of term three and then today we carried out our lesson plans. It was a great way to start back to Term 4. By third and fourth period English people just seemed really tired and not with the program as when the teacher would ask questions it would be like we were all asleep. Granted, context is not exactly the most interesting of topics but still, this was worse than usual. Then we finished the day with Humanities where we worked on writing up the first draft of our written report for the individual research project we have been working on all semester. So that was basically individual work where most people talked while working (who would not?) and it was another good double period. So the first day of the last term of the year was a relaxing one but I know that this will all change very soon when we get back into the swing of things. I wish the rest of the term was like today but then it would probably be really boring.

This year has appeared to pass by pretty quickly, before we know it the year will be over and it will be holidays again. See you tomorrow!

End of Exams

The time of Exams is over, finally! It just feels so good to come home and know that you don't have any homework for the whole weekend. If this were twitter I would write #Paradise. My schoolwork right now is like the square root of a negative number; it's imaginary! This is really good because now I have a weekend where I can watch some Doctor Who and just relax after a frantic few weeks of studying. It just feels so exhilarating to be able to just relax for once in such a busy year.

Image Search: http://www.last.fm/music/Relaxation

So what's my plans for the weekend? Well I don't know past tomorrow morning when I have my Piano Lesson. I'll probably relax for once and watch some Doctor Who, possibly do some studying for Methods (just because I like Maths). Though Doctor Who is a certainty and right now I just bought Season 4 and my brother bought Season 5 so we are set for a while. Can I just say that the ending for Season 3 is so good. It's almost as good as the ending of Season 2 which I may have enjoyed more if my good friend Xavier hadn't ruined it for me. So Doctor Who is my new obsession (nothing new on the Catching Fire front except for a few posters) for the next few weeks so you may hear even more about it. So basically this weekend is time for a Doctor Who marathon and relaxation, I cannot wait!

Image Source: http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Series_1_(Doctor_Who)

The real question is how I manage to keep up this blog sometimes. The truth is that I do not even know how I do it. Sometimes I come home from school and start work straight away and continue this until I go to bed. I take breaks for shower and dinner but that is about it when I am really busy with study and school work. Sometimes I worry I will miss a day but it turns out I find time in the end. I do not even know how I come up with some of these topics although they are all related to something that has happened to me recently. These topics don't come out of nowhere. For example, my blog on Faith was scheduled for release on the day of my cousin's Confirmation (for which she chose me to be her sponsor [conceitedness level risen]). I say scheduled because I did not know when I would be able to get home so I wrote it the night before and scheduled it for release. It was actually the first post that I actually scheduled for release. I guess I just see this blog as another thing to do every day and I know it may not be as intricately researched as my friend Xavier's Current Affairs Blog but it is all my thoughts. I just want to say that if you do want to contact me for any reason about this blog or something else you can email me at legolukeytutorials@gmail.com which is the account I use for my YouTube contacts (not my account email) and stuff like that. Don't forget that you can always comment as well. So that is all for today and I look forward to a relaxing weekend!

Image Source: http://people.highline.edu/cmckenney/

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Exam Logic

As you all will know if you have been reading my posts recently, this week is exam week. I just have to say that during exams people have some really messed up logic. I am terming such logic "Exam Logic" as it only happens when there is an exam. During the past two days I have experienced people doing some really illogical things. It is like full-moon madness except with exams, I guess you could call it Exam-Madness or something. If I miss anything be sure to comment down below on any weird "Exam Logic" you may have experienced.

Image Source: http://www.ivoryresearch.com/custom-exam-notes-writing/

One of the worst examples of "Exam Logic" I can think of right now happens before you even sit the exam. This is the logic where people think they will be able to get by without studying. I do not know how people even manage to do this when I still get stressed out with exams even after I have studied all night for them. I had a friend who claims (I say "claims" because I don't believe he could do that) to not have done any studying for his exams today and when I arrived to school he was playing a game on his laptop. The weird part is that when it comes to tests and assignments these people will study but when it comes to exams which is really just a big test they do not even get stressed when they don't study. How can you not study for exams? I would be a mess if I didn't study for any exams. "Exam Logic" can be really illogical at times.

Image Source: http://www.vrkmphoto.com/interesting/more-study-more-confusion-no-study-no-confusion/

"Exam Logic" really comes into play during the actual exam. The first part is when people get out all their pens and pencils but forget to bring out the most important part they'll need like a rubber or ruler. Halfway through they realise and they have to move their chairs to reach what they need and so they do what I talked about yesterday with the chair. They'll start out quick and then realise the noise it makes. From here they'll go extra slow to drag out the noise instead of going fast to get rid of the noise (oh the logic). Then there are the people who turn up on the day of a Maths exam without a calculator. Who would not think of bringing a calculator to their Maths exam? Then they go running around everywhere trying to find a spare calculator. It is even worse when they just assume they'll be able to borrow the calculator off the person nearest them. Like I said in yesterday's post they'll act like they're doing you a big favour in letting you use it until they need it. Excuse me, it's a Maths exam, you are more likely than not going to need the calculator most of the time. I just do not know how these people actually think anymore. Sometimes I think people just automatically switch off when exams come around. I really hope "Exam Logic" isn't contagious. Yes, I know the person in the picture is playing Pokemon, if you don't like it then email me at legolukeytutorials@gmail.com I'll be happy to reply. So I know this isn't all the "Exam Logic" that is going around these days so if I've missed out anything you have thought of then comment it down below or email me (see above).

Image Source: 

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/ti-nspire-cx-cas-calculator-lets-you-play-pokemon-in-full-color-during-class

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Annoying Things People do During Exams

Well exam week officially started this week for Years 9 and 10 at my school and so today we had an English Exam and a Rio Tinto Big Science Competition (not an exam). Today I am not going to talk about the exam itself but rather the annoying things people do during the exam. We have all experienced one exam or test that had someone doing something incredibly annoying and distracting. If you have experienced something annoying during one of your exams/tests don't be afraid to comment down below!

Image Source: https://www.dkit.ie/examinations/timetables

One of the most annoying things a person can do right at the start of the exam is to maneuver their chair into a position that is comfortable for them. I'm not saying that I get annoyed when people feel comfortable (oh the injustice) but it is the way they go about getting comfortable that is annoying. They start out fast but then they realise it makes a really loud noise. So what do they do? Maybe move it fast so that the noise doesn't last as long? No, that would be too simple. What they do is slowly move their chairs so the noise just goes on forever. Then they finally get comfortable and they start work and you think you can relax but no, they move it that little bit further so they are even more comfortable. Has anyone else had this experience? It is really annoying and why wouldn't you get the noise done quickly rather than drag it out so you distract everyone in the examination hall? Sometimes I lose faith in the future of humanity.

Image Source: http://empirefurniture.com.au/Ergostack-Classroom-Chair.aspx?p38783

Then there are the people who think it is alright to communicate during exams. These are the people who think it is okay to play the game where you have to repeat a certain word (for the decency of this blog I won't say it) one after another getting louder each time. I mean, where is the fun in that? Oh, I said a bad word, hehehe. See how lame and immature that is? When you're trying to relax at the end of an exam it's even worse. Then there are the people who think it okay to borrow someone's ruler, or calculator during an exam. Sometimes they have the audacity to say "I'll give it to you if you need it" as if they are doing you a massive favour. That is so annoying when it happens and it has happened to me quite a few times. There are also the people who think there is nothing wrong with looking over to someone else's answers. This is incredibly annoying when, during the exam, they ask you how you did that or that it's wrong (even when you've checked it on CAS and it's correct). It's annoying because they can end up getting you into trouble for doing nothing. These people are really infuriating and really ruin your exam time because you might be thinking "well, this is alright" and then they annoy you and you just wish you could leave. Does any of this happen to you guys? Good luck with exams everybody!

Image Source:

http://www.123rf.com/photo_16079543_student-sitting-and-talking-at-desk-in-empty-exam-hall.html

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

P.S. It's also annoying when your stupid brother comes into the room and starts listening to stuff on his phone (without headphones) and just stands there when you're trying to study! #Frustrating

Internet Censorship is Wrong

Imagine a world where sites like YouTube and Facebook did not exist. A world where one could not share their thoughts through the click of a mouse, or the touch of a button. This is a world where everything online is censored and the only way to share what you’re really thinking is through word of mouth. We should not be controlling what is posted online. If we do what are we really losing? Culture? Social networks? Jobs?

We live in an age where the online world has become part of our global culture and ingrained into our everyday lives. We can see our culture everyday online; YouTube is a prime example. There are over half a billion channels on YouTube with over 70 hours of video uploaded every minute and it is available in over 60 languages. All the users and videos from all over the world create a vibrant global culture online. The censoring of this site and those like it would mean censoring of the global culture.

What democratic country censors a culture? Such an abhorrent act seems impossible of the western world yet if we were to regulate what people post online this would become a reality. We would lose our global culture due to the possibility of causing offence or alienation. Our Internet would be reduced to something devoid of entertainment. The internet would be the laughing stock of the modern world and our global culture would be lost forever. What do we really stand to lose when we control what is posted online?

The beginning of the control of what is posted online marks the end of Social Networks as we know them.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter would cease to exist. The sheer task of censoring the billion monthly active users on Facebook would mean it would take days for a post to actually go out to friends. People are not going to wait days to tell people what is happening right now. They will begin to stop using these sites and the companies like Facebook and Twitter will not be able to keep up with running costs and will have to shut down. Thousands of jobs would be lost for what?

What do we really stand to gain through controlling what is posted online? Is this insignificant gain important enough to cost thousands their jobs? Can we really bare the guilt associated with mass job loss just to protect our feelings? Thousands of people will have to go home one night and have to explain to their families why they will be no longer working. Thousands of families will struggle to make ends meet. Thousands of relationships will be put under stress, hundreds doomed to end. These jobs not only include the companies like Twitter and Facebook but also the local petrol station and café which rely on the workers coming in for breaks or to refill their cars on the way home from work. What about the local shopping centre that will lose customers? What about the children who will grow up in strained families where tension is always waiting around the corner? How will they cope when their families can no longer afford to pay for their school, hobbies or interests? How is a five or eight year old going to understand why they cannot have what their friends have and the concepts of unemployment? Controlling what is posted online will lead to pointless loss of jobs and will cause an emotional ripple effect.

The censoring of what is posted online will become one of the modern tragedies of our time. If we let this happen what do we stand to lose? Our global culture is surely doomed for extinction and the internet would be set to become the laughing stock of our generation. Then there are the social media networks that would no longer exist and the jobs they caused becoming redundant. Our entire economy would suffer just to protect our fragile feelings. Thousands of families will stand to lose so much more than their feelings if we begin to monitor what is posted online. We should not monitor what is posted online because we stand to lose so much more than hurt feelings if we do.

Image Source: http://www.israeltrade.org.au/israel-eyes-next-generation-internet/

The above was my speech for an oral presentation on the prompt "should we be allowed to post whatever we want online?" I presented this speech yesterday in English. 

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Studying Tips

So it's that time of year again. Yes, it's time for exams! The time we all love to hate. The only really good thing about this is we only have to go to school for the exams which means really short school days. It's also good because the whole week before is just Revision Week where they can't teach us anything new. The downside of this is also that we can't have anything due that week and so all our assignments are due the week before (this week) meaning a very stressful time for students. At least once this week is over all that's left to do is study. In today's post I am going to discuss some study techniques that could help you do really well on your exams!

For Maths subjects I find starting my revision by reading through the chapters we have completed to be my first step in studying. From this reading I make summary notes on key concepts of the chapters. These may include formulas, graphs, rules and a few questions as examples. After this is completed I find it time to complete the chapter review just from the summary notes so you can see if you need to add something. Once this is done it is also useful to go back to the chapters and complete some more questions that you weren't on the layout that you completed the first time around. I have used this many times both in normal Maths and Maths Methods and it really has helped me a lot in remembering all that I need to. It is also useful to go online and do find some practice tests on Google. It is very helpful to complete these tests under exam conditions and without breaks as this will provide you with great practice. Remember, cramming the night before will do you no good as you will not retain what you just read. If this does work for you (and you get good marks), I am very jealous of you.

For subjects like Humanities and Science where there is a lot of information to remember I find the following study methods helpful. First, I create a summary sheet of all that I can remember about the topic (or topics) without looking at the text book or notebook and then I look through my textbook/notebook/workbook and write down any extra notes I may have forgotten in a different colour so that it stands out and I know what I need to work on remembering. After this I go online and search up online quizzes or tests about the topic that can help me revise. I also find the use of flashcards to be very helpful and I used it a lot (and to great effect) in the Semester 2 exams last year as there was a lot to remember with Health and Physical Education and Science. There is a great free app for android called StudyDroid  where you go online and make the flash cards (you can also create them on the phone) and you can sync the ones you create online with the ones on the phone so that you can study topics on the go. I also use this app in my Piano lessons for theory. I find it very helpful and there is bound to be a similar flash card app on the Apple App Store. Remember, trying a variety of study methods is best so you can find which one works best for you.

For LOTE subjects (such as French or Chinese) there are a number of tactics I use to revise. The first thing (and most favourite) I do is use Language Perfect to revise some old vocabulary that could come in handy as well as learn some new adjectives that might help in the written task. The next thing I do is read through my workbook and look at some of the activities we have completed and then do similar ones that I make up myself or search for online. This really helps with the application of different words and verbs because there is only so much you can do when you know what a word means. If there is a written component it is also very helpful to look over some of the previous topics you may have covered to gauge what sort of writing task it might be. If the teacher provides a Revision Sheet make sure you complete it as they are very useful. Then you can try your hand at several different writing activities to see how you do, the teacher will be happy to look through it with you to see where you could improve. Remember, just because you learnt something last year does not mean it will not be involved in the exam.

For English where there may be a text response essay there are ways you can study. First, the teacher will generally tell you what it is you will be responding to if it is a text, or the sort of topic (such as persuasive writing). If it is a text the first thing to do is to write a summary of each part of the text so you can gauge what you can remember about it. This way you know what parts of the book you may need to re-read if you cannot remember what it is about. From your summary look at some key themes and write down some good  quotes for each because there is more than likely going to be questions relating to some theme or something. From here it may also be useful to make up your own prompts based on previous ones you have worked on or other ones relating to major (or minor) themes in the text and then write a plan out for this. If you want, you could write out an essay and show it to your teacher for feedback but just a plan is enough so you can work out what sort of topics you might discuss. For something else, like a persuasive piece or text analysis, it is best to look at examples of these and use textbooks or notebooks for examples of how to write something like this. You might even do a Google search for some of these topics and practice things for you to work on. Just don't forget to practice, even if this just means writing out a plan. Some practice is better than none. Remember, just because you may not be allowed to bring in your text does not mean you do not use quotes.

May the odds be ever in your favour for Exams, see you tomorrow!

Homework

Finally! I just finished all my homework and assignments and I am feeling free to relax. I have had so much work with assignments and homework recently that I haven't even had a chance to enjoy some of my Birthday Presents yet (except for four episodes of Doctor Who). I've been lucky to even find the time to keep writing these posts. However, now it is over I can finally relax and catch up on all that I have missed out on. Hooray! It is is such a great feeling.

So the assignments we've had is a DNA Extraction Practical Report on the experiment we did last week and that was due today. It wasn't as bad because it was completed in pairs but it was still a lot of work to do, even between two people. The next thing was an English Oral Presentation which started today on whether people should be allowed to post whatever they want online. From here we got our own issue and contentions to talk about and we started presenting today though we were really slow (even though the speeches only go for 3 to 5 minutes) and we only got three done today so I probably will not even have mine until next week. I just have to say that it takes me 20 minutes to 40 minutes to write one of these blog posts with pictures but for my Oral Presentation which is just a speech it took me nearly 2 hours to write when it was shorter than two of these blog posts. The logic in that... At least that's done now and I just have to keep practicing every night which isn't so bad because I have what I'm going to say down pat so I only have key words on the palm cards.

Another assignment we have which is due on Friday and which I just completed was a Humanities Macroeconomics Assignment on an economist which we had to choose from a list. Each different Economist has their own questions related and though it seems simple it is far from it and it may seem easy to get the information but it isn't. It's very deceptive and takes hours to complete. It's an assignment you wouldn't be able to complete the night before (and get a good mark). I'm doing mine on Milton and Rose Friedman and I actually find it very interesting, although it can get boring and tedious.

The final assignment is one for History of Western Medicine which we started in class and it's a case study on a topic of our choice to do with Medicine from the 1800s to the 2000s. I'm doing a case study on Cholera while focusing more on the history of it and comparing it to modern day cases. It isn't such a hard task as we have benchmark tasks to complete along the way that help us complete the assignment. Our first benchmark task was an opening paragraph outlining our topic (I may have wrote a very large topic) then a statement (I may have wrote a paragraph) on why we chose it and some research questions to focus our research. The second task is an annotated Bibliography of four preliminary resources (we can use more in our research stage) and the third benchmark task is a research table using our research questions and we write notes from our research and the source we got it from. Finally, we write it up in a report and then print it out ready to be handed in (next Thursday).

So that is all the assignments we had plus all the extra homework we get on top of that. Luckily next week is Revision Week before exams so we don't have any tests and we don't get much homework because it's all revision. Then it's exams and we won't have a lot of homework for the next few weeks. Finally, I can relax!

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Parent Teacher Interviews

So today was Parent Teacher Interviews at my school for students with surnames starting from A to M and next Wednesday (1st May) the other students (N-Z) have their interviews. That means we get two days off school (Hooray!) which is really good for us because this week we also have Thursday off for ANZAC day which means we only go to school Monday, Wednesday and Friday which means any homework we get that day can be done the next so we can relax. I still do the homework the night I get it though so I can relax the whole day and if something happens and I can't complete my homework (in case the TV turns itself on or  a DVD plays itself) I don't have to worry. Anyway, back to Parent Teacher Interviews.

So I get there early and so I go to my locker to get my books before going up to my first interview with my Science Teacher. When we get there we are still early which means we get to see the people before us go up and we notice how long she (the Science Teacher) talks for. I mean, she was talking for ages and always going overtime and we were lucky to get in just five minutes after our scheduled time but Mum was getting really worried even though I had left a five minute gap between each interview in case this happened. So when we got in to the interview Mum knew we only had five minutes until the next one so she was really asking questions that got to the point but it was all fine. My interviews are always good and the only problem the teacher had was that I had got a Very Good mark (somewhere above 75%) instead of an Excellent (somewhere above 80%) where the rest of my marks were. The science teacher being slow was actually a blessing because we got to the Maths teacher as she was finishing up with the previous student which was really good timing. The rest of the interviews went really well and were not as long as the Science teacher and they were all good [they never aren't ;) ]. My methods teacher was really quiet and it was funny because my Mum was doing a lot of the talking and when she asked "Is there anything Luke could improve on?" he just stared at his screen for a while and went "Uhmmm, no" and it was a little obvious that he wasn't a big fan of Parent Teacher Interviews. The other teachers were good and it was all good interviews (which I already said I think).

I really believe Parent Teacher Interviews are great because the parents/guardians get to hear straight from the teachers instead of a garbled version of what the student may tell them to make a bad mark seem better. I know some students who wait until the last minute to get their interviews so that they can't because of the teacher being booked out so they don't have to see them. So Parent Teacher Interviews, I really like them. Plus, I make all my interviews on the first day so I can see the teachers I (well, my Mum) wants to see at the times I want so I can leave enough space in between to prepare for teachers who talk too much (Science), talk too little (Maths Methods) or talk for the right amount of time (the rest). As long as its good reviews it can go for as long as they want.

May the odds be ever in your favour, goodbye