How to write a email to your professor in an online class?
Being respectful, kind, and compassionate towards your professor when in an online environment is essential to your success in the class. (Talk about online etiquette!)
Even when they do not treat you with the same respect, doing so demonstrates maturity and a strong character.
Here is the simplest way to write emails to your professor when in an online course:
1. Dear Mr, Ms, Mrs, Dr, ________,
Start with the correct title of the professor.
It may earn you some extra points with the teacher.
2. Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening
Include the time of day.
When you see your friends you greet them with a “hello” or “hi”.
In a professional email, you can say “good morning”, “good afternoon”, or “good evening”.
3. Body of email
Concision, concision. Keep your sentences short and easy to understand.
Proofread the email 2-3 times in order to correct your spelling and grammar.
4. End with a thank you and a greeting
The last sentence should be a “thank you” of some sort. You may say “I appreciate your help” or “thank you for your time” or simply “thank you”.
Your trademark greeting should be your own.
Some teachers of mine have ended with “have fun” or “best” signed by their name.
Conclusion
The easy-as-cake way to write emails to your professor!:
1. Dear Mr, Ms, Mrs, Dr, ________,
2. Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening
3. Body of email (be concise, proofread 2-3 times, check for grammar and spelling, and be respectful even if they aren’t!)
4. End with a thank you and a greeting
The Back to the Basics series encompasses a simpler way of living for college students under the current pandemic. This series focuses on creating guides for success in online independent learning. It additionally caters to mental and physical health through exploring various mediums of food, art, literature, and writing.
Crafting your own daily routine can increase your productivity and decrease stress. A plan for the day helps you visualize your goals and keep track of the fun things you want to do.
Here are four steps to organize your agenda for the day.
1. Decide your priorities
First, think of the most important classes to you. These are the classes you want to spend time on the most.
Write or create a spreadsheet of 30 or 45 minute time blocks of your schedule.
The 45 minute time block is a method of time blocking in which you dedicate 45 minutes to accomplish a task then take a 15 minute break after.
The 30 minute time block is for shorter goals. For example, you can break up a larger chapter reading into part one and two. This way you can divide larger tasks into more manageable chunks.
The 30 minute method can help you in writing. You can begin a draft for 30 minutes, take a walk or do something else and work on it again after. This method helps decrease writing fatigue.
Make sure to commit to your daily to-dos and always keep in mind your semester and long term goals. By focusing on long term goals you have a purpose and motivation to stick to your daily goals.
For example, if you want a 4.0 GPA by the end of the semester, you need to commit yourself to doing the class’ daily readings and assignments.
The last thing to remember is to enjoy the present and not worry about the future. Set yourself up for success today and don’t worry about tomorrow.
Most importantly, find the fun in seemingly boring tasks.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Conclusion
Decide your priorities – family, school, personal
Pick a time – time blocking 30 or 45 minutes for a task
Write it out – write goals and to-do lists in a planner or print it out.
Stick to it – commit yourself everyday to your goals and have fun!
Photo by u0410u043du043du0430 u0413u0430u043bu0430u0448u0435u0432u0430 on Pexels.com
When he read, Bruce Lee would write a ton of notes, annotate, and carefully underlined sentences (sometimes with a ruler!) and write his favorite passages and quotes into a notebook. Source: The Art of Manliness: The Libraries of Famous Men: Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee, arguably the greatest Marital Artist of the century. Whose success and mastery of his craft has won him countless awards, titles, and Hall of Fames.
Bruce owned about 2,500 books. Philosophy, American self help, and Martial Arts were his top three biggest genres.
In a study entitled,Beyond Books: The Extended Academic Benefits of Library Use for First-Year College Students researchers investigated whether “first-year college students’ use of academic libraries” affected four academic outcomes: academic engagement, engagement in scholarly activities, academic skills development, and grade point average.
Here are 3 of their conclusions:
Students who used academic sources, journals, and references (collection loans, e-books, and inter-library loans, and web-based services, database, journal, and library website logins) had the most positive and significant relationships with academic outcomes.
Enrollment in library courses was positively associated with grade point averages.
This study supports the ongoing importance of students’ use of academic libraries and the critical roles that libraries play in students’ academic development, engagement, skills, and achievement.
Reading fiction can help us understand and empathize with the viewpoints of other people.
If books connect and not divide us, how would issues such as racism and discrimination change if we all picked up a book and learned about each others’ cultures and perspectives?
Wrestling with poetry may even foster creativeness.
According to Professor Philip Davis, Director of the Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society at the University of Liverpool, through reading poetry people can better “adapt thoughts and behaviors” to novel circumstances. Source:South African College of Applied Psychology
It’s been drilled in my minds as a student that reading 20 mins per day can significantly increase “vocabulary for fluency and comprehension”. Source: Phoenix Academy
Students who scored 90% better than their peers on reading tests, read for more than 20 minutes a day – exposing them to 1.8 million words a year.Source: Phoenix Academy
Recipe 1 box cooked whole wheat rotini basil pesto sauce 1/2 red onion diced baby spinach cherry tomatoes red bell pepper sliced Directions Cook rotini according to package directions. Drain and mix with pesto. Combine all vegetables and pesto. Serve pesto salad hot or cold. Notes Add more vegetables and pesto to the salad if … Read More
The secret antidote to forgetting dates, homework, and tests is a planner.
A planner will keep you organized, efficient, and on track to your short or long term goals.
Before you start the day, sit behind your work desk, grab your morning coffee or tea, and start planning your day’s goals; events; and to-dos.
How to level up your planner game to skyrocket your productivity and grades?
1. Write all due dates in your planner
When you receive your syllabus from your college professor, make sure to jot down all the tests, projects, and assignments so you don’t skip a major grade.
This will also see how much time you need to study and prepare everyday for that next big test or project.
2. Jot down all class details
In a blank section of your planner or a sticky note, make sure to write down your:
professor’s name
email and or phone #
location of class
time of class
office hours
the days of the week you have that class
This way you have a quick reference on how to contact your professor or when you can drop by to ask a quick question on that anatomy homework.
3. Grade Tracker
As Ruby from Lavish Life says, make sure to have a section in your planner comparing the grade breakdown of your class on the left side and what you actually received on the right side. At the end of the semester, you can calculate your grades to see if you met your A+ goals!
The University of Michigan Flint also recommends this:
“Rule of Thumb: 2 hours of study per 1 hour of class; if going full time (12 hours), that equals 24 hours of studying per week ” source: University of Michigan Flint
I have 17 credit hours on my schedule which means I have to study for about 34 hours per week. (17 credit hours x 2 hours of studying)
College is overwhelming.
Stay organized, aim for your daily goals, and plan your study time.
Conclusion
How to Level Up Your Planner Game:
1. Write all due dates in your planner
2. Jot down all class details
3. Grade Tracker.
4. Schedule study hours
How do you use your planner?
Do you have any tips or tricks to share that works for you when planning your college and personal life?
Here are some tips on organizing and decorating your binder
How to decorate your binder?
add name & class
pick a color theme
design collages
add calligraphy
1. Create collages
Design collages with photographs and quotes.
I chose a sophisticated black and white theme for Anatomy and Art:
photo by Bianca Soriano
2. Organize your subjects by color
It is easier for you to know which notebook is for what subject when you have different colors.
For example, I have blue for anatomy and green for art:
photo by Bianca Soriano
3. Calligraphy is trending right now
You can use Crayola markers like the one below or a calligraphy pen.
photo by Bianca Soriano
How to organize your binder?
1. Add tabs and dividers
keep quizzes, tests, or reviewers in divider pockets
or add tabs per unit
Keeping summarized papers of units like quizzes, tests, or reviewers in divider pockets helps you to visualize all the main ideas of your subject.
Sticking tabs helps to mark the location of a new unit on your binder.
2. Order your notes
syllabus
powerpoint/printed notes
handwritten lecture notes
order from oldest to newest
The first page in your binder is the syllabus.
It is an easy reference to your teacher’s contact info when you need help this semester. Remember to reference to the weight of tests and assignments to help you meet your academic goals.
Next is your notes.
Put powerpoint and printed notes first along with any handwritten notes you took during a lecture. That way all notes relevant to a concept is in one place.
To stay organized, keep your notes in order from oldest to newest.
Pro tip: Use sticky notes for questions you have and don’t forget to ask your professor.
My Lola (grandmother) and I prepared tropical and spirited flower bouquet assortments on all Souls Day to honor our deceased family members.
She cut thick green stems of mighty and blood red anthuriums as she carefully placed them into the wet green foam. Next to the alluring anthuriums were a different beauty: the most subtle, pure, and virtuous flower of Baby’s Breath (gypsophila) filled the space like beautiful angels.
Our preservation of memories are acts of love. Preserving flowers symbolize memories of our loved ones.
Here are the 3 best ways to preserve flowers:
1. Dry Hang Flowers
How to dry hang your flowers?
Bundle about 5 stems together.
Tie them with a rubber band, cotton string, or embroidery thread.
Hang them from a high place that is dark yet airy to prevent discoloration from light
Wait about a week to dry
After a week, you can use the preserved flowers as decoration by displaying them in glass bottles.
2. Book Press Flowers
How to book press your fauna?
grab a book or sketchbook
arrange flowers between pages
close book and put heavy books on top
Wait 1 week and don’t touch
After waiting a week, the flowers should be flat and dry ready for your next art project.
You can put book pressed flowers in collages and bullet journals or even as decoration in your room.
3. Flower Bottles and Herbariums
How to display flowers in bottles?
1. Petal bottle:
photo taken by Bianca Soriano
leave petals to dry
and after a few days, put them in a small bottle
You use small glass vials or any clear container.
The bottled flowers can be given away as gifts or souvenirs at parties or events.
Pro tip: add a tag or thin ribbon around the neck of the bottle.
2. Herbarium:
Herbariums are the same as flower bottles but with filled with oil.
arrange a small bottle with assorted flowers and foliage
Fill with herbarium oil (mineral/baby oil)
Seal with cork or top
You can even put scented herbs like rosemary and lavender to use as essential oils.
These herbarium bottles can be used as gifts and decoration for your home.
Pro-tip: Use your favorite pressed flowers as decoration in your art or bullet journal.
B I A N C A S O R I A N O 