GradHacker

Technology is important to the grad student life nowadays. With Twitter being a major form of networking, and constant online updates running our lives, it's important to have technology to make it easier and faster. Here are some tech gift suggestions from our authors.

In case you're still doing your holiday shopping or, like many of us grad students, haven't even thought about it yet, here is part one of our handy gift guide for graduate students. Graduate students can be difficult to shop for- often our needs can be different and we don't have too much time to make extensive lists.

“A synthesis of cognitive research endorses the idea that deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge. Knowledge learned at the level of rote memory rarely transfers; transfer most likely occurs when the learner knows and understands underlying concepts and principles that can be applied to problems in new contexts. Learning with understanding is more likely to promote transfer and application than simply memorizing information from a text or lecture.”

One of the most frequent comments I receive on student evaluations is that my enthusiasm for the subjects I teach is infectious. Students tell me that I help to enliven topics they would be otherwise uninterested in, and that my obvious joy for what I teach motivates them to enjoy the topics as well. This enthusiasm often translates into electrified classroom meetings that are full of lively discussion and collaboration between students. Regardless of the topic, there are very seldom days when I am met with silence from my students.

Readers of ProfHacker and Lifehacker will likely be aware of text expansion software. Brian Croxall, Ethan Watrall, Ryan Cordell, and Jason Jones have shared their tips for using software like TextExpander for Mac and PhraseExpress in Windows that have aided their workflow.

When asked about how you're doing on your academic work, does your heart race, adrenaline spike, or do you just go numb? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, you are in “triage” mode, just trying to stem the bleeding of your time and energy enough to complete your tasks and (hopefully) get a few hours of sleep. However, you probably want more out of your life and work than this.

On average I get about an email a week from an undergrad who is thinking about going into my field or looking to attend Michigan State University and wants some advice on the process. The conversations quickly turn from archaeology specific to grad school in general.

n my program, we have two major milestones prior to the dissertation process. These tasks require that we conduct original research that we must orally defend in front of a faculty committee. I just successfully came through those milestones (woot! bring on the diss!) and thought I would share the collective wisdom that was graciously shared with me as I prepared for my defenses.