The Learner

BLITZ first opened its doors in 2002 as a UK online centre in the Blackbird Leys area of Oxford, one of the South East’s most deprived wards. Since then, BLITZ has enjoyed high levels of engagement in a community where nearly 40% of men and 30% of women lack formal qualifications.

The launch of a pilot e-government scheme in 2004 proved a welcome addition to the centre’s services. Outreach work and community advertising helped to attract over 350 participants to the project, which promoted the use of local and central government websites in UK online centres.

Centre staff at BLITZ helped users to access services offered through e-government websites such as the Inland Revenue, Department of Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and NHS Direct as well as local authority pages. The Inland Revenue site was of particular interest to older centre users, many of whom are classed as ‘employers’ of carers and support workers, and are frequently isolated.

In some cases, delivering e-government alongside workshop sessions proved a winning combination. One participant in a Working Families Tax Credit workshop managed to claim back more than £2000 in overpaid tax. BLITZ’s centre manager commented: ‘Word-of-mouth stories like this are as good as free advertising for BLITZ. The news spread quickly and we received a lot of subsequent interest from other people coming to the centre.’

NHS Direct also turned out to be a hit with project participants, as it enabled them to find out information about health services in their local area. One participant even got a job as a care assistant with NHS Direct, after 20 years of unemployment.

There’s no doubt that the community benefits of UK online’s e-government initiative continue to be felt far and wide in the pilot areas. Nowhere more so than in Blackbird Leys, where e-government has empowered a few hundred more citizens, thanks to BLITZ’s sterling work.

Over the period 2000 to 2003, DfES has invested £10m from the Capital Modernisation Fund in the Wired up Communities initiative (WuC) to pilot the connection of around 12,000 homes in seven disadvantaged communities to the internet. The objective was to assess how individual access to the internet can transform opportunities for people living in these communities by developing new ways of accessing learning, work and leisure services.

The initiative used a variety of technologies (e.g. standard telephone lines, broadband technology, digital TV) to link households to the internet and in turn enable them to access a wide range of information and local and national services.

An additional £5m of DfES funding was invested (via the national e-learning foundation) to improve individual access to ICT for pupils attending schools in the WuC areas. In turn households and communities were encouraged to develop links with local schools to discover how the internet could help to deliver the national curriculum and to develop more general home/school links.

Work on the initiative has now been concluded and the Department has no plans for it to be extended. However, to ensure we get best value from our investment in the pilot projects, we commissioned consultants to draw together best practice and lessons learned.

The main vehicle for communicating this information is the Wired up Communities Practitioner’s Toolkit. The toolkit is a useful guide to planning, setting up and running a community based ICT project, whether it is in a deprived inner city area or a remote and isolated rural community. Aimed at community practitioners, local authorities, researchers and governmental policy makers, the toolkit draws upon the experience of the seven Wired up Community pilots.

In addition copies of a two CD video pack – one with a community and the other with a policy perspective have been produced. A free copy is available while stocks last. Details at http://www.intelligentcommunities.org.uk.

You can visit the individual Project websites below, or go in via the Toolkit.

Blackburn East WuC Internet Site:
http://www.beonline.org.uk

East Manchester WuC Internet Site:
http://www.eastserve.com

Framlingham WuC Internet Site:
http://www.suffolkonline.net

Alston WuC Internet Site:
http://www.cybermoor.org.uk/

Brampton WuC Internet Site:
http://www.pit2net.com

Newham WuC Internet site:
http://www.newham.org.uk/wired/

Introduction
William Knaus, a psychologist, estimated that 90% of college students procrastinate. Of these students, 25% are chronic procrastinators and they are usually the ones who end up dropping out of college.

What is Procrastination?
Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task which needs to be accomplished. This can lead to feelings of guilt, inadequacy, depression and self-doubt among students. Procrastination has a high potential for painful consequences. It interferes with the academic and personal success of students.

Why do Students Procrastinate?

• Poor Time Management. Procrastination means not managing time wisely. You may be uncertain of your priorities, goals and objectives. You may also be overwhelmed with the task. As a result, you keep putting off your academic assignments for a later date, or spending a great deal of time with your friends and social activities, or worrying about your upcoming examination, class project and papers rather than completing them.
• Difficulty Concentrating. When you sit at your desk you find yourself daydreaming, staring into space, looking at pictures of your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc., instead of doing the task. Your environment is distracting and noisy. You keep running back and forth for equipment such as pencils, erasers, dictionary, etc. Your desk is cluttered and unorganized and sometimes you sit/lay on your bed to study or do your assignments. You probably notice that all of the examples that you have just read promote time wasting and frustration.
• Fear and Anxiety. You may be overwhelmed with the task and afraid of getting a failing grade. As a result, you spend a great deal of time worrying about your upcoming exams, papers and projects, rather than completing them.
• Negative Beliefs such as; “I cannot succeed in anything” and “I lack the necessary skills to perform the task” may allow you to stop yourself from getting work done.
• Personal problems. For example, financial difficulties, problems with your boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.
• Finding the Task Boring.
• Unrealistic Expectations and Perfectionism. You may believe that you MUST read everything ever written on a subject before you can begin to write your paper. You may think that you haven’t done the best you possibly could do, so it’s not good enough to hand in.
• Fear of Failure. You may think that if you don’t get an ‘A’, you are failure. Or that if you fail an exam, you, as a person, are a failure, rather than that you are a perfectly ok person who has failed an exam.

How to Overcome Procrastination

• Recognize self-defeating problems such as; fear and anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor time management, indecisiveness and perfectionism.
• Identify your own goals, strengths and weaknesses, values and priorities.
• Compare your actions with the values you feel you have. Are your values consistent with your actions?
• Discipline yourself to use time wisely: Set priorities.
• Study in small blocks instead of long time periods. For example, you will accomplish more if you study/work in 60 minute blocks and take frequent 10 minute breaks in between, than if you study/work for 2-3 hours straight, with no breaks. Reward yourself after you complete a task.
• Motivate yourself to study: Dwell on success, not on failure. Try to study in small groups. Break large assignments into small tasks. Keep a reminder schedule and checklist.
• Set realistic goals.
• Modify your environment: Eliminate or minimize noise/ distraction. Ensure adequate lighting. Have necessary equipment at hand. Don’t waste time going back and forth to get things. Don’t get too comfortable when studying. A desk and straight-backed chair is usually best (a bed is no place to study). Be neat! Take a few minutes to straighten your desk. This can help to reduce day-dreaming.

Your Preferred Learning Style

A learning style is a way of learning. YOUR preferred learning style is the way in which YOU learn best. Three learning styles that are often identified in students are the Auditory Learning Style, the Visual Learning Style, and the Tactile/Kinesthetic Learning Style. Read about each of these learning styles to identify YOUR preferred learning style.

Are you an Auditory Learner?

Auditory Learners learn best when information is presented in an auditory language format. Do you seem to learn best in classes that emphasize teacher lectures and class discussions? Does listening to audio tapes help you learn better? Do you find yourself reading aloud or talking things out to gain better understanding? If YES, you are probably an Auditory Learner.

Are you a Visual Learner?

Visual Learners learn best when information is presented in a written language format or in another visual format such as pictures or diagrams. Do you do best in classes in which teachers do a lot of writing at the chalkboard, provide clear handouts, and make extensive use of an overhead projector? Do you try to remember information by creating pictures in your mind? Do you take detailed written notes from your textbooks and in class? If YES, you are probably a Visual Learner.

Are you a Tactile/Kinesthetic Learner?

Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners learn best in hands-on learning settings in which they can physically manipulate something in order to learn about it. Do you learn best when you can move about and handle things? Do you do well in classes in which there is a lab component? Do you learn better when you have an actual object in your hands rather than a picture of the object or a verbal or written description of it? If YES, you are probably a Tactile/Kinesthetic Learner.

Your learning style is your strength. Go with it whenever you can. When you can choose a class, try to choose one that draws heaviest on your learning style. When you can choose a teacher, try to choose one who’s teaching method best matches your learning style. When you choose a major and future career, keep your learning style firmly in mind.