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Strategies for Online Learning—Week 4, Assignment 2

What test-taking techniques and methods outlined in Chapter 8 of the text do you think will prove helpful in your online education? Why or why not?

• Well organized notes will be beneficial for quickly finding material that I’ve learned about during reading or lectures. Since tests are usually timed, finding information quickly is important. I prefer my notes in outline form because it corresponds with the way I think.
• I’ve always known that I think best with a full tummy, so I try to eat before sitting down to take a test.
• With a 17-month-old, sleep at night is becoming rarer and broken. I need to make sure to get at least 8 hours each night, and possibly try to catch up on sleep when I know I have a test coming up.
• And probably the biggest problem I have is distractions. Whether it is because my daughter is vying for my attention, I get a call from work, or a new e-mail comes in, I tend to get distracted easily, especially when I don’t particularly like the topic of my studies. During tests, I need to take extra effort to avoid distractions while I’m taking a test.

What role do you think ethics and plagiarism play in completing your online courses? Is it a challenge NOT to plagiarize? Do you think there is more or less of an opportunity to plagiarize in an online course as opposed to an on-ground course? Why?

I do not plagiarize, but that is more a choice than it is simply following the rules. I like my work to be original and unique, and obviously plagiarism doesn’t cater to that end. I also think that plagiarism is wrong, and would not do it for that reason alone, but my primary reason for not copying someone else’s work is that I know it is not my own creation.

It is not a challenge for me to not plagiarize. I think the same opportunities to plagiarize exist in both online and on-grounds classrooms. One can use the Internet or a traditional library in either setting, so the ease or difficulty by which one might plagiarize is not affected by the type of school one attends.