Page 131 - Keys to College Success

■ Textbooks with associated websites through which you complete and email assignments
■ Online research that takes you from website to website as you follow links
■ Projects where students create media such as a YouTube video or social media
campaign
Technology has profoundly affected how we get information and share it with oth-
ers. According to the Pew Research Center, it “is producing a fundamentally new kind
of learner, one that is self-directed, better equipped to capture information, more reli-
ant on feedback from peers, [and] more inclined to collaborate.” These “new learners”
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are more likely to research online, share content through social media sites, and create
media content.
For some students, technology tools such as search engines and GoogleDocs come
1 4 easily, but others may struggle. Knowing your learning preferences can help you fit
CHAPTER CHAPTER technology tools to your assignment and use online resources effectively. Are you strong

in the logical-mathematical intelligence or Thinker dimension? Working with an online
tutorial may be a good choice. Are you an interpersonal learner? Find a tech savvy
classmate to help you get the hang of it. An Adventurer may try out the features of a
book or course website randomly, according to what looks interesting, whereas an
Organizer may click through features in their listed order.
If you’re having trouble with a particular type of technology, find a teaching assistant,
instructor, or skilled classmate to help you understand how to use it. Finally, remember
that technology cannot make you learn—it can simply make information accessible to
you. Your job is to evaluate it carefully and use it in a way that works for you.

Improve Career Planning and Job Performance
Knowing how you learn and interact with others will help you work more effectively
and take more targeted and productive career planning risks. How can an employee or
job candidate benefit from self-awareness?

Better performance and teamwork. When you understand your strengths, you can
find ways to use them on the job more readily, as well as determine how to compensate
for tasks that take you out of your areas of strength. In addition, you will be better able
to work with others. For example, a team leader might offer an intrapersonal team
member the chance to take material home to think about before attending a meeting;
an Adventurer might find ways to spearhead new projects, while delegating the detailed
research to a Thinker on the team.

talk risk and reward . . .

Risk asking tough questions to be rewarded with new insights. Use the following ques-
tions to inspire discussion with classmates, either in person or online.
■ When you have trouble doing something, what is your first reaction—to risk trying
again, or to give up? Do you say “I need a different approach” or “I’m no good at
this”?
■ Do people perceive their own strengths accurately, or do you often see strengths in
others that they don’t believe they have?
CONSIDER THE CASE: Imagine that you acted out in school as John Loblack did. If your
mother had called you out at school in front of everyone, would that risk have had a good
result for you? If that type of intervention doesn’t motivate you, what does? When has a
parent or friend found an effective way to get you going when you were down, and how
did he or she do it?

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