ferrousland.com - study news
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October 01, 2007
a studious environment - 06:33 PM
it really does make a difference studying at the library instead of at home. the quiet, clean, and studious environment is much more conducive to study than my (currently) cluttered & messy house, full of distractions.
even though it's a bit of a pain to come out here from home, i actually get stuff done. when i've tried to save the travel & petrol by staying at home, i've become distracted too easily & haven't studied as much as i should have.
i think i'll try to keep up this habit for the next few weeks to help me complete the major assessment that's due in about four week's time. rudi & audrey, & mum & bill have been really helpful with taking smiley while i've come here to study.
i'm at the uq library now, taking a short sanity break.
September 26, 2007
studying at the library - 04:28 PM
i've left smiley at mum & bill's place for the afternoon & am at the uni library to do some study for my exam next week. you have to be quite organised to make a trip to the library when you're on your own. at least, if you're carrying bags & books & a laptop, you do. if you need to go to the toilet, or get thirsty or hungry, there's not much you can do about it.
with everything set up on the table, books spread out, bags unpacked, if you want to leave you have to pack it all back up again or risk having it nicked. when i was here the other day, they broadcast a warning over the libray p.a. about thieving. it must be a real problem, or perhaps they're trying to avoid it being a real problem by putting up signs & warning people regularly.
if you're here with a friend it wouldn't be so bad because you could just get your friend to mind your stuff while you pop out. no such luck when you're on your own, though.
i have to make sure i've eaten so i don't get hungry, gone to the toilet so i don't sit here busting, & make sure my water bottle is filled so i don't get thirsty. the other day i forgot to bring my jumper with me from the car & i couldn't stay very long because it was freezing cold in here. it's like being the mother of a young child: you have to be prepared & plan ahead for a few eventualities. except there's no child. lol!
September 24, 2007
fourth edition?! how dated! - 12:04 PM
i put an order in a few days ago at the bookshop to get a concise oxford english dictionary. i needed one anyway (one of the many things which i used to have before we got rid of 95% of our belongings to go to bahrain), but i need it particularly soon for the exam i have coming up in just under a week.
i remembered when the lady ordered it for me, she said that it was the something-or-other edition which was on order. i couldn't remember which one, but when i looked it up online now, the latest one is the eleventh edition. i rang just now to find out what edition it was that they'd ordered & she said it's the fourth edition. what the?! how on earth can they be that far behind? that ridiculous. they were ordering it directly from oxford university press.maybe they're trying to get rid of old stock or something, but you'd think that of all 'people' they'd be interested in the public getting the latest edition.
anyway, it turns out i can get an ebook version not only for about $10 cheaper, but it also weighs a hell of a lot less (like nothing), so i'm going to get that one. i also want a concise macquarie dictionary, for comparison, & they don't have that one as en ebook, so i'll buy that one in hard copy format instead.
August 28, 2007
one subject at a time - 09:28 AM
i'm so glad i went with the advice that the lecturer, roslyn, gave me when i spoke to her about doing this course. she advised that i do just the one subject to see how i go with it. that was based mainly on the fact that it's a postgraduate course & that in the past, some who haven't experienced university level study previously but have jumped straight into a full postgrad have had trouble keeping up.
there's no way i would have been able to handle doing more than one subject at a time. my reasons are different from ros's though, i think. it's not necessarily the actual type of study (although it has been a fairly steep learning curve there) but the fact that it's been really hard to find the time to do it around smiley.
i'm the type that needs to be able to focus on one thing at a time & so i have great respect for people who can work & study, & those who can study full time or part time (more than just one subject, i mean) while looking after kids. mum did it with us. she did her teacher training when monica & i were only young. in fact, i remember going with mum to the uni (the same one i'm going to, in fact, the university of queensland) when i wasn't even school age. they must have had a kindy there or something, because i recall one time when i asked mum if i could come into the lecture with her instead & i promised, "i won't ignore you!" (of course, i meant to say that i wouldn't annoy her, not ignore her.)
i'm having trouble enough this week just working around smiley to get my assignment done ready to hand in tonight. i've had some opportunites to work on it & i'm very close to finishing it, but only thanks to rudi & audrey being incredibly available & helpful. they really are amazing.
this morning, smiley woke up quite early & was in fine form from the word go. i tried several ways to get him to cooperate, even having a serious talk to him about allowing me some time (& space) to study, but it was to no avail. there are times when he'll sit & do something quietly, such as draw a picture or watch a dvd, but this morning wasn't one of those times.
i was planning to take smiley there in the early afternoon when i had to go to uni anyway, but i was forced to call & ask them if they minded me bringing him over early. there was simply no way that i was going to be able to get the last of my assignment finished if he was in the house.
there are other single mums out there who've been able to do it, i'm sure, but i don't think i'm one of them. when i've finished this subject, i think i'll be buying rudi & audrey a big bottle of something very nice as a huge thank you for helping out so much. they really do go above & beyond the call of duty for me, their ex-daughter-in-law. 
okay, now back to the assignment.
August 08, 2007
the 'gap' in my knowlege - 12:57 PM
the subject that i'm doing, professional communication, is one subject of a complete post-graduate course. although it was possible that i could enroll directly into the full post-grad course, the lecturer, roslyn, suggested that i do just the one subject to start with to ensure that i would be able to handle doing post-grad study when i'm not, in fact, a post-graduate.
it was good advice. i'm sometimes finding myself a bit lost when those around me are talking about infelicities, intesifiers, portmanteau words & heaps of other terms which i've possibly heard before, but never really had an idea what they meant. i have a good grasp of when something might not sound right, but i just can't say exactly why it's not right.
many of the people in the class have been working in the field of editing & proofreading for a number of years, so they already know the special ways to mark up a document to show where changes are to be made. that, in particular, is probably one of the things which was taught in the graduate course.
i'm rising to the challenge so far, but none of our assessments are due yet, so time will tell. i'm not worried, as such, just feeling a little stunned. there's a rather large learning curve happening.
conscious incompetent - 08:28 AM
i had a good time at my course last night. i seem to have had a shift in the way i'm thinking/worrying about it. let me explain.
years & years ago i did part of a business course at TAFE (Technical And Further Education, sort of a step up from school that can lead to other higher education or a trade. btw, that's an acronym, not an initialism. an initialism is said with just the letters, like CIA, but an acronym is pronounceable as a 'word'. see? i'm learning something. lol!) where one of the teachers told us about various stages of learning. he gave learning to drive as an example.
the first stage is unconscious incompetent. so, for the driving a car example, that's where you don't know what you don't know, i.e. you have no idea what's involved with driving a car & possibly no idea even where to start.
the second stage is conscious incompetent. this is where you do know what you don't know: you know that you have to learn how to change gears, how to use the accelerator & brake, that you must learn the road rules, etc, but you don't actually know these things yet.
the third stage, conscious competent, is where you now know what you need to know, but you still have to think about it to do it. you know what you need to know to drive a car & you can do it, but you still have to concentrate on it with some effort.
the fourth & last stage is unconscious competent. you don't think consciously about what you know. you can drive a car without having to think too hard about it. for instance, you can have a conversation with a passenger while you're driving or you can drive on 'autopilot' so to speak.
so with my studies, i'm now at the conscious incompetent stage. i know what i don't know. last week i knew what i didn't know & i was scared about it, but this week, after last night's class, i know what i don't know but i'm excited about it instead.
August 01, 2007
first 'real' lecture - 08:55 AM
last night was the first 'real' lecture at uni. last week there was no tutorial (or workshop) either, since the first class was simply going over what we'd be covering during the sememester.
so i still feel a little overwhelmed at what i don't know, but then again, i suppose if we knew it already, none of us would be there if the first place. lol! 
the tutorial was really good. we had a lady by the name of justine & about a quarter of the class in it, around ten to twelve of us. it was a very casual type of space where we could ask questions. another part of the group had our lecturer, roslyn, for their tutorial, but i'm sort of glad we got justine. since she's not the lecturer, i feel more comfortable asking 'stupid' questions. hehe.
July 30, 2007
study mode - 07:21 PM
i'm really glad that i'm only doing the one subject (referred to by uq rather strangely - at least i think so - as a 'course') at uni. the readng for just this one subject isn't massive, but there's still a bit to do.
what with having a guest staying, a few friends over on sunday & starting my course all in the one week (as well as the usual household duties & looking after smiley), i felt a bit stressed about getting everything done in time for the first 'real' lecture tomorrow night. however, i've just finished reading four chapters of the required text which needed to completed before tomorrow night's leacture. they weren't too heavy-going, thankfully.
for some reason, probably my lack of previous university study & past experience with other types of training & workshops, i had in my mind that i'd sit in class & just have to listen & take notes, but when we had our first lecture last week, the lecturer went over the course profile with us, detailing the assessments. when i saw how much had to be done, combined with my busy week ahead, i felt kind of panicked & in over my head, reeling at the difference between what i had in my mind & the reality of studying at uni.
fortunately, in the light of a new week that's not quite as hectic as this past one, & having now read what i need to read, i'm not as worried as i was.
i'm still unfamiliar with this type of learning that's very different from anything i've done before, but i'm sure that with time (& in plenty of time), i'll move into the study mode that's required.
July 24, 2007
lack of proper case - 08:43 PM
since i decided to do the course at uq (uni of queensland) to lead to a career in proofreading, it's been in the back of my mind that i don't use proper case on my website. it's not lack of knowing how, it's simply a style choice .. but it still sort of concerned me.
i just now logged into the 'blackboard' area of the uq intranet relating to my course & have seen some entries there by the lecturer, a lady named roslyn. in those messages, she's typed in all lower case just as i do here. lol!!
July 20, 2007
how will i be a student? - 09:07 PM
today is the first chance i've had to read the paperwork that came in the mail the other day about uni & attending classes. unfortunately, it turns out that this whole past week was orientation week .. & i missed it. doh. there was nothing that's going to kill me, having not been to any of the (non-compulsory) orientation sessions, but since it's been such a long time that i've studied anything seriously (& school doesn't count, i 'properly' studied about three times during the whole course of my school years), i'm not even sure where to start!
i'll be seeing mum & monnie & family at mum's place tomorrow for mum's birthday which was today, so i might ask them for advice on what i should bring with me & what i should be prepared for. i did do some study at a private IT training place (& passed with flying colours!) & about a million years ago (okay, it was only about fifteen years ago) i did a year at TAFE but that's not the same as uni. both mum & mon went to university, so they'll have some advice for me, i'm sure.
mySI-net - 04:40 PM
i've just been using the internal uq (university of queensland) intranet to enter some details about myself that are needed & my goodness me .. what a dog of a system!!
i called the uni to ask a question about something else & mentioned the mySI-net intranet to the guy in the arts faculty who answered the phone. i said to him, "i logged into that mySI-net thing & it umm .." & i paused. he finished my sentence, saying, "sucks?" i laughed out loud & said, "well, yeah!"
apparently, it's new & there were lots of things about the old system which people really liked. these things were not carried across to the new system as often happens when IT are left to their own devices to design something they think is good, but which they don't actually use themselves.
we had a short discussion about it & he told me that the feedback link is very good & to please use it. i think he's hoping they'll make some vast improvements as soon as possible. i'm hoping i don't have to use it very often. it's just dreadful.
July 16, 2007
i'm almost a student! - 01:47 PM
guess what came in the mail today? the acceptance for my application to do the course (just the one subject, that is) at the uni of queensland! woohoo!
i'm almost (once it's been paid for, i guess) a student. very exciting.
June 13, 2007
almost a student - 12:21 PM
i'm really close to being a student!
yesterday, i mailed my application to the uni of queensland to do one subject - profession communication - which is part of a post graduate degree for writing & editing.
if i do well at this one subject & i feel that i can handle the study, i may continue on to do the full post grad course. either way, though, assuming my application is accepted, i'm on my way to starting a career in proofreading &/or editing. very exciting!
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