Huh, so this is what university's like… (Rinaldho)
OK, well, let me just tell you, coming from an international school which had a total of 300 or so students, this past week has been a massive eye-openner for me. I mean, when I walked into lecture theatres and the people just kept pouring through the doors, that was the time when I realised that I used to be just a small fish in a tiny pond, but now that pond has grown into the freaking Atlantic Ocean! (A bit of an over-statement? Maybe)… But after my initial shock, I was able to actually pull out my laptop and start concentrating on the task at hand… I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but throughout the whole week, I was tossing and turning over what I should actually do during lectures; should I take notes as the lecturer does their spiel (which sometimes back-fires as occassionally while I’m typing what’s being shown on the projector, I am not really following what is being said, or the slide is to quickly taken away before I could take all the info down), or should I just listen and take notes after the lecture, when the slides are put up on the LMS. Even now, I’m still wondering what I should be doing… What have you guys found to be the best way of going about dealing with lectures?
Just a word on tutorials, I actually found that those were the things I really looked forward to from this whole week of uni. I know that may sound weird, but did I mention the size of my school? My whole grade consisted of 20 or so people, and so, I just couldn’t wait to meet students in a small group situation. And I really wasn’t disappointed when it came time to do the tutes, the tutors (?) were all pretty cool and rather than giving straight answers they actually made you think about what you were saying, and I felt the students were all pretty open to each other as well, I guess it’s because we are all in the same boat.
I actually just have one question from this whole week though, how do you get the whole wireless internet working? I mean, I heard that in the Union Lounge there is wireless internet, but everyone I asked didn’t know how to get onto it. I guess that’s another piece of homework I have, and I shall tell you when I eventually find out… Or, if you do know how to access the wireless at the uni, don’t hesitate to share, it would be MASSIVELY appreciated!
OK, so I guess I should wrap it up here since I have quite a bit of reading ahead of me, and the search for a job begins today (Lygon Street beware!)… But I would love to hear about your first week experiences, so feel free to leave a comment
Aldo
I’m pretty sure to get UniWireless we have to go to 2nd (or maybe 1st…) floor of Baillieu where there is some kind of IT help desk. It always seems abandoned, though! Good luck.
I went on the hunt for Wireless last week. My computer was being difficult, so I ended up at the ERC library. If you find the ERC, then take the stairs all the way to the bottom, there is a big room with heaps of computers and couches and an info desk where nice, albeit slightly nerdy, IT people can help you out with the dreaded UniWireless.
Trust me…I was sent to four different IT places and the ERC was by far the best help.
Good luck!
Oh, and in lectures I’ve found it best to take down what means something to me most, and to write down the things the lecturer says that isn’t on the slides, because it’s so transient. That way, I can always get anything on the slides I missed later on at the LMS! It’s worked so far. But I’ll keep you posted.
You can actually configure access to the wireless network yourself. Just follow the instructions in:
http://www.its.unimelb.edu.au/support/networks/wireless/uniwireless
The only tricky bit I run into is manually configuring the proxy (if you also end up doing this, rest assured that there is no typo in the proxy name). What I’m saying will probably make no sense unless you go to the website cited above.
If all else fails, just go to the help desk of any library. Btw, if you’re in Uni, you can basically connect from anywhere, not just the Union Lounge. The connection would be strongest at places where ‘students convene’ – libraries, lounges, South Lawn (haven’t tried it there)… Laptops can be borrowed in Baillieu and ERC too.
Good luck with your job hunting!
Coming from a small school (not nearly as small as yours!) my classes last year had at most 20 and at least 4 people in them. Even tutes seem a little daunting sometimes, and it’s a little freaky the anonymity of lectures!
I like to print off the slides before the lecture, and scrawl other important information down the sides. I had a friend advise me to do this, and watching the people next to me who don’t do this, you can see they have to write a lot more and they seem to take a lot less in.
Plus, if I had my laptop in the lecture I’d probably start playing chess or something when I got a bit bored…