Module 4 - Using the Infosphere: Taking & Organising

At last I found some toys, perhaps useful ones at that! Just as a matter of interest - before plunging into the tasks - I went into the control panel just to see what I've got already, recalling I just downloading some massive updates for adobe acrobat. Here's a little list:

• Adobe Flash Player 9 Active X
• Adobe Reader 7.0.8
• Adobe Shockwave Player
• A-tool bar
• Core FTP
• InterActual Player
• Intervideo WinDVD
• J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0
• Macromedia Flash Player
• Quicktime

As can be seen whilst I do a bit of reading and I watch a lot of TV. Frankly, prior to resuming studies my management and methods of locating information was pretty much restricted to what used to be available in the office. Emails stored in outlook folders, bookmarks stored in favourites with a couple of folder relevant to subject matter and so on.

My personal life did not require much organisation of information beyond a fridge magnet, a small white board and marker pen. Since starting this unit I've collected probably close to one hundred bookmarks that are now broken into various folders and sub-folders. So I'm going to be interested in anything that can help me, as the collection will be sure to grow as I progress through my degree. I'll also be on the lookout for any tools that may assist with my studies beyond the scope of this unit.

One of the greatest difficulties I found in my studies is being able to locate information relevant to the subject matter, once you started delving into concepts rather than physical facts. For example, whilst it would be a relatively simple matter to restate a piece of criminal legislation in a factual context, having to explain the underlying moral and economic concepts gets a little more difficult. Part of this is working on good practice, such as breaking down what you have been asked to do, reflect on the key elements etc. but also it means a lot of time browsing. In fact, in the past I have probably spent about 80-85% of my time researching, the rest writing and editing. Is this usual? I don't know, but I do know if I can cut down the time researching, then I become more efficient, less stress and I get a chance to watch more tv!