This semester, you’ve learned a lot about social media. One of my favorite things about social media, specifically Twitter, is that you can put a question out there and get feedback from all over. On April 19th, I tweeted this:

Working on blog post for @BarbaraNixon to share with her freshman class. What are your best tips for getting ready for final exams?#FYE1220

Here are some of the tips I got in return:

Create an outline & write down content that will be on exam. Eat a piece of dark choc. to help w/ short-term memory before exam

Make a fake exam with the material that will be on the test

Don’t forget the value of sleeping and drinking water. Don’t rely on energy drinks!

See, if you ask a question on Twitter you can learn new things. Who knew dark chocolate helps with your memory?! But, being a senior, I couldn’t leave it all up to Twitter. I have learned a few things through my years at Georgia Southern.

Here are my top five things to do to prepare for final exams:

1. Study Ahead: Finals cover everything and should be approached in that mind-frame. Don’t wait until the night before and try to cram; it can’t be done.

2. Review The Things You Think You Know: Don’t just study what you don’t know. Sometimes you can be so focused on what you don’t know that you can confuse yourself about what you do know…or what you thought you knew.

3. Flashcards Help: You probably don’t believe me but making flashcards can really help you study. Make the cards and go through them over and over. The repetition helps lock it in your brain.

4. Don’t Over Analyze: Like the saying goes, always go with your first choice. Read exam questions for what they are. Don’t try to read into them because you will only confuse yourself more.

And lastly, the big one…

5. Remember To Breathe: As dumb as that sounds, you would be surprised how many times we forget it. Yes, finals are big. In fact, they’re huge. But you can’t blow it out of proportion. Typically, finals are only a small portion of your final grade. Truth is, if you have attended class and kept up with assignments, you should do fine. Keep in mind, professors can only test you over what they’ve taught you. So, that being said, don’t pull an all-nighter before the exam. Don’t skip meals. And don’t have a panic attack when that exam is put in front of you. It’s just a TEST.

GOOD LUCK!!! : )

[Cross-posted from Haley Higgs' blog Social Media and PR]

All sources for the data in the video can be found at Eric Qualman’s website. (Scroll down below the video at his site to see the sources.)

Preparing for the Final

• Find out what your entire final exam schedule is so that you’ll know how many finals you will have on each day.
• Prepare a written schedule for yourself indicating when you will study for each test. Leave some time in your schedule for exercise and relaxation, too.
• If the professor offers a study guide, use it.
• If the professor offers a review session for the exam, go to it.
• If you study well in groups, form a study group.
• Know if the final is comprehensive (covering everything since the beginning of the semester or quarter).
• Find out what kind of exam it will be. You’d study differently for a multiple-choice (Scantron) final than an essay (blue book) one.
• If the final will be taken online, find out if you have to go to a specific computer lab on campus at a specific time, or if you’ll be allowed to take the final on your own computer. Also find out how many chances you will have to take the final. Assume it’s just one chance unless you hear differently from the professor.
• If you have your previous exams available, scour the exams for things that you think will be on the final. Flag your notes by highlighting or using Post-It notes.
• Don’t pull an all-nighter. (Though some people are successful with studying all night and then taking a test with no sleep, I wouldn’t recommend you try it for the first time on a final exam.)
• Calculate your grades in the class. Determine what score you will need to get the grade you’re hoping for in the class. You may discover that you can’t possibly get an A, no matter how well you do on the final, but to get a B, you only need to get a few questions right.
• If you’re an auditory learner, record yourself reading your notes aloud, then play the recording back several times.
• If the exam is an open-book exam, this does not mean that you don’t have to study at all. In fact, one of the most challenging exams I ever took as an undergrad was an open-book essay exam. Flag your textbook based on where you believe the questions will come from.
• Consider creating a detailed Final Exam Battle Plan.

On the Day of the Final

• Eat a meal and drink water.
• Don’t overdo it with the caffeine.
• Know what to bring with you to the final. Do you need a blue book? A Scantron? (And if you need a Scantron, which specific type do you need?) A pencil? A pen?
• Are food and drinks allowed in the classroom where your final will be? Sometimes, the rules are different for exam days than other days.
• Even if you don’t usually wear a watch, take one with you to the final. It’s unlikely you will be able to look at your cell phone to check the time during the final.

During the Final

• For a paper-based exam, read through the entire final exam before you start answering any questions at all. This way, you will know what you’re facing.
• If the final is an online exam, find out if you can revisit questions, or if after you click past a question you cannot go back to it again.
• If you’re using a Scantron and you skip a question to finish later, make sure you’re answering your questions next to the correct answers. (When I took my GRE to get into grad school, I skipped a question on the first page of the booklet, but never skipped a number on the Scantron. When I realized it, I only had 10 minutes to go back and put the answers with the correct questions. Talk about stress!)
• Keep a close eye on the time you have allotted.
• Some students benefit from answering the most difficult questions first, while others do better completing all the easier ones. Do what works for you.

After the Final

• Do not share with other students what was on the final exam. In most universities, this is a violation of the honor code.

Now it’s your turn: What final exam tips do you have to share? Please let us know through your comments below.

Photo Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/shaghaghi/73645535/

• Resumes That Resonate . . . Revisited (posted 17 September 2009)
• Soon-to-Be PR Grads Get LinkedIn (posted 1 February 2010)
• Resume Tips from Phil Gomes (video, posted 17 February 2009)
• Job Interviews: 10 Things You Oughtta Know (audio, posted 16 February 2009)
• The One Job Interview Question (video, posted 12 February 2009)
• Making the Most of a Phone Interview (posted 10 February 2009)
• Wordle Me This (14 July 2008)
• Join a Social Network, Get a Job? (video, posted 30 June 2008)
• Watch Out for Digital Dirt (posted 9 April 2008)

Are there other blog posts that have helped YOU in your job search? I’d appreciate it if you could share them as a comment here.

Thanks!

Imagine you’re in a job interview right now. How would you answer this question? “After our interview today, I am going to look you up online. How do you think my impression of you will change after I do this?”

Think about what’s visible in your Facebook profile, MySpace page, your blog, Flickr photos, LinkedIn profile and anywhere else that you’ve posted info about yourself. Check to see if others have tagged you in photos. Even if you’ve made your info “private,” it’s still possible that the information is accessible. (Even if a web page is taken down, you may still get to it through the Way Back Machine if you know when it was accessible.)

A discussion on this topic at PR OpenMic brought several things to consider:

” We google/facebook/myspace everyone we hire, and it’s pretty much standard practice out in the trenches.” — Michael Dolan

“I have, in the past, Googled and Facebooked my students before each new semester begins. The stuff I’ve found. So, I copy the photos and, when classes start, put the photos up on the large screen in class as I call roll. My point to them is, “If I can find it, your potential future internships and employers can find it, too.” Freaks them out, but certainly makes the point. Again, only rarely, but still … the stuff I’ve found… yikes!” — Robert French

“A good point a new PR professional brought up when speaking to one of my classes is blocking your friends list from public view. Who you associate with can be digital dirt sometimes.” — Beth Evans

Let me close with a profound thought by a PR practitioner in Washington, DC :

“Just ask yourself: Would they trust their organization’s reputation to someone who can’t keep his or her own intact?” — Felipe Benitez

Just some food for thought.

[Cross-posted from my Public Relations Matters blog.]

Please comment if you have any issues

If I could give you one tip for signing up for classes that would make your life so much easier it would be to REGISTER ON TIME! All students get to register for classes (via WINGS) on different dates. The one thing in common is that no matter what day you register the registration opens up at 3 a.m. My advice, wake up, already be signed in to WINGS and be ready to register when the clock hits 3. Classes fill up fast so if you wait until morning you run a huge risk of not getting the classes you want. Remember you aren’t the only person signing up. There are about 18,000 other people trying to get the classes they want, too.

A second tip to signing up for classes is to know what you’re signing up for before 3 a.m. In your WINGS account you can go ahead and search all the classes available. Look at days and times and pick out a few incase your first choice is taken. Write down the class, professor’s name, day and time and the location. Have the list with you when you register, and you won’t have to waste time looking for classes.

BEFORE Class on Tuesday, February 16

First, Learn a Bit About Twitter

1. Watch Twitter in Plain English.
2. Listen to my Twitter: What’s in it for me? presentation.
3. Listen to Laura Fitton discuss Twitter for Business (optional).

AFTER Class on Tuesday, February 16

Setting Up Your Twitter Account

1. Go to Twitter. Click Get Started, and sign up. I prefer it if you use some version of your first and last name as your Twitter ID. (Avoid putting numbers in your Twitter ID, or you may appear like a spammer.)
2. Upload a photo or avatar.
3. Write a brief (140-character or fewer) bio. It’s good to mention that you’re a PR student.
4. Send a tweet saying “I’m a student in @barbaranixon’s #FYE1220 class”. (Use the correct number for your class.) Be sure to include the #FYE1220 indicator, with no spaces between the hashtag (#), letters and numbers.
5. If you haven’t already done so, complete my form that tells me your Twitter username before midnight on Tuesday, February 16.

Setting Up Your Following List

1. Follow all of the people or organizations in my Twitter Starter Pack for FYE Students.
2. Follow all of the people in our FYE 1220 class.
3. Follow as many other people as you choose.
   

Using Twitter

1. Over the course of the next week, send at least twenty tweets (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less). Tip: Rather than tweeting that you’re having ramen for lunch, instead consider what might be of interest to your classmates and followers. Perhaps point others to something interesting or funny you read online. Share a fact you learned in a class. Maybe you could even pose a question that you’d like others to answer.
2. In addition to the twenty tweets that you originate, respond to at least five of your classmates’ tweets. To respond, click on the arrow after a tweet. Or you can type the @ symbol followed immediately by a username (such as @barbaranixon).

Additional Information

1. Review my tips on how college students can use Twitter to their advantage and Choosing Whom to Follow on Twitter: My Strategy.
2. Review Prof. Sam Bradley’s College Student’s Guide: Twitter 101.
3. I find using the web interface for Twitter to be clunky. I prefer using TweetDeck, a free Adobe Air app that works great on PCs and Macs.
4. I’ll occasionally post information on Twitter and use the hashtag for your class (either #FYE1220). By using this hashtag, I’m indicating that I want students in this class to pay special attention to the tweet.
5. OPTIONAL: If you’d like to publicize your blog posts via Twitter, you can it automatically in WordPress.

Blog About Your Experience

After the week is over, add a 250-word (minimum) post to your blog about the experience and what you got out of it. Include a link to your Twitter profile (here’s mine). Be sure to include at least one way you might find value in continuing your account in Twitter. Your blog post about this experience count as Blog Post #4.

Questions? Just send me a DM (direct message) or an @ (reply) in Twitter!

NOTE: Many thanks to Kaye Sweetser and Karen Russell for their ideas prompting this assignment.