About Carol Whittington Expertise Ask me questions about creating training for adults. As an Instructional Designer, I have experience in eLearning, instructional systems design, instructor-led training, adult learning theory, instructional design, using new technologies, such as web 2.0 technology, for training, and synchronous online training, such as webinars.
Experience Over 11 years expertise in instructional design including not only formal instructor-led training and eLearning, but also applying Web 2.0 technologies to informal, social, and mobile learning programs. This includes developing community management best practices, blogging, and including social features such as ratings and comments within courses. I have designed instructor-led training and eLearning for both biotech and high tech corporations. I have also designed and developed online tutorials and led online webinars on various topics and currently run my own business designing and developing learning solutions.
Organizations ASTD, eLearning Guild, Women in Consulting, Phi Kappa Phi
Education/Credentials MA Education, Instructional Technology
BA Biology
Past/Present Clients Partial list includes Cisco and Google as well as several biotech firms.
My name is Julian and I have a learning disability. I've always been a good
student, but I struggled at certain subjects like math and reading
comprehension, although I was always stronger in the language arts courses
than math. Despite these difficulities, I prevailed. Plus, I'm a visual learner
and I understand that this skill is essential for achieving excellent grades. I've
overcomed many difficulties and even attended college. Now, I want to go
back to college to earn another degree, but I first would like to know how I
can be a great student and accelerate my study abilities. In short, I would like
to know how to study better by adopting better studying habits. Any ideas or
suggestions?
regards,
Julian
Answer Hi Julian,
First, congratulations on succeeding in your education in spite of your learning disabilities. You had an additional burden to overcome and did so in spite of the way our current educational system is designed.
That being said, learning disabilities are not my specialty. However, because I design learning, and am a very visual learner myself, I might be able to give you some ideas for study habits that may help you do better in studying for your next degree.
One of my study tricks is to take lots of notes because I can see the notes later and tend to remember better what I have written and can look over. That might not be the best choice with your disability, so you'll have to decide on that. Having a small laptop that you can take notes on might make it easier that trying to hand write everything. It will also help you with your spelling and grammar. If you can, make simple stick drawings (on paper notes, to go along with wherever your written notes are, paper or computer) for concepts that you want to remember. Whether you can do that depends on the subject matter of your courses.
Many students find audio recording the lectures to help. Since you are a visual learner, you might consider getting permission from the professors to video tape the classes for your personal use. There are small video recorders that retail for around $100 and might be an excellent investment in helping you with your education. Just make sure you get their permission and don't publish it to YouTube or something else public (probably against school policy).
If you aren't allowed to video tape recordings, ask if you can take pictures of the presentation (most cell phones have cameras now, and you can get a small digital camera for around $100. Again, if it helps you to get through your degree program, it will be well worth the investment). Use those pictures as part of your study notes. Having the visual image along with whatever notes you can take will greatly improve your ability to learn the information.
The other thing that I did was review everything visual that I had, including: handouts, websites, notes, etc. By reviewing things visually, I was better able to remember them.
Finally, depending on what subject your new college degree path is in, you may be able to do projects that put your new information to work, giving you a visual record of your work and helping you put the information you are learning together that way. Any degree program where you put together a portfolio of work as part of your degree will give you a chance to practice what you have been taught and make those important visual connections to the information.
As I said, there may be other professionals that are more familiar with specific learning disabilities and might be able to offer better ideas to help you out. I don't know if I've been able to help you at all, but I hope that you are able to continue with your studies.
