Passing the time in Lectures
August 29th 2006 04:22
As I sat through my last lecture, trying so desperately not to fall asleep, I wondered how many others in the lecture theatre was as bored as I was. Looking around, I could see several people, head in palm, trying not to fall asleep- or atleast to do it discretely. The couple next to me ignnoring the lecture entirely, passing notes to eachother, smiling secretively at whatever the other had written, my friend to my right, tapping away on an instant messanger on his (beautiful, precious) Mac. I was playing with the hair of the girl infront of me- braiding it, letting it out, putting it into a bun, pinning it, watching it fall out, twirling it...
What was the lecture about again?
Lets face it- unless you have a Kick arse lecturer, and sometimes not even then, our attention spans do not last longer than 10 minutes- especially when the topic is statistics.
For the occassions that I do actually turn up to my lectures- and lately they've been few and far between, I spend my time doing anything but taking notes.
So here- I offer you a few tips on how to pass the dreary time in lectures for those of you who feel the need to make an appearance at them.
Sleep
Print out the lecture notes, place them on the desk infront of you, and while leaning over your work, rest your forehead in the 'L' shape created between your index finder and thumb. This Hides your eyes allowing you to sleep while giving the illusion that you are focussing intensely on your notes.
Be creative
Write out lyrics/poems/stories that you may like. I used this technique a lot in highschool. Take one standard piece of lined paper, and a pen. Thats all. Now, while the rest of the class writes notes, write out one line from your favourite song. remember to only put pen to paper while others are taking notes, and to pause and think of the next line while the lecturer talks. This is the best way to create the illusion of following and taking notes.
Take your laptop to Uni.
Increasingly I notice people with their laptops in lecture theatres. rather than print out the lecture notes, and add a handwritten scrawl to them, they use a word document and link everything up to the open powerpoint presentation. Theyhave furthur set the way for us time-wasters. Now when glance around large lecture halls, I can see games of solitaire, chatrooms, Movies and music linked with headphones, blog pages, myspace- I mean, you know what people do online.
Annoy
Be irritating- either towards the lecturer or the people around you. I shouldn't need to tell you whats annoying, it's obvious. Tapping your pen or kicking the person infront of you, arguing loudly with the lecturer, reading everything you are writting out loud etc can give you a sick sense of enjoyment and make sure everyone around you is also distracted.
Catch up on other work
Didn't do that tutorial last night? Too busy watching prison break? thats alright, your GIS lecture the next morning is the perfect time to catch up. That way you can get all your work done, make an appearance in class, and avoid spending your precious home-time doing out of hours work. Where can one go wrong with this system?
Using these five strategies, how can you ever get bored in those dull lectures again? If you have any other suggestions for the slack uni student, please leave it in a comment and I'll add it to my post.
What was the lecture about again?
Lets face it- unless you have a Kick arse lecturer, and sometimes not even then, our attention spans do not last longer than 10 minutes- especially when the topic is statistics.
For the occassions that I do actually turn up to my lectures- and lately they've been few and far between, I spend my time doing anything but taking notes.
So here- I offer you a few tips on how to pass the dreary time in lectures for those of you who feel the need to make an appearance at them.
Sleep
Print out the lecture notes, place them on the desk infront of you, and while leaning over your work, rest your forehead in the 'L' shape created between your index finder and thumb. This Hides your eyes allowing you to sleep while giving the illusion that you are focussing intensely on your notes.
Be creative
Write out lyrics/poems/stories that you may like. I used this technique a lot in highschool. Take one standard piece of lined paper, and a pen. Thats all. Now, while the rest of the class writes notes, write out one line from your favourite song. remember to only put pen to paper while others are taking notes, and to pause and think of the next line while the lecturer talks. This is the best way to create the illusion of following and taking notes.
A fine example of procrastination in class. Beth Muir 04
Take your laptop to Uni.
Increasingly I notice people with their laptops in lecture theatres. rather than print out the lecture notes, and add a handwritten scrawl to them, they use a word document and link everything up to the open powerpoint presentation. Theyhave furthur set the way for us time-wasters. Now when glance around large lecture halls, I can see games of solitaire, chatrooms, Movies and music linked with headphones, blog pages, myspace- I mean, you know what people do online.
Annoy
Be irritating- either towards the lecturer or the people around you. I shouldn't need to tell you whats annoying, it's obvious. Tapping your pen or kicking the person infront of you, arguing loudly with the lecturer, reading everything you are writting out loud etc can give you a sick sense of enjoyment and make sure everyone around you is also distracted.
Catch up on other work
Didn't do that tutorial last night? Too busy watching prison break? thats alright, your GIS lecture the next morning is the perfect time to catch up. That way you can get all your work done, make an appearance in class, and avoid spending your precious home-time doing out of hours work. Where can one go wrong with this system?
Using these five strategies, how can you ever get bored in those dull lectures again? If you have any other suggestions for the slack uni student, please leave it in a comment and I'll add it to my post.
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
It's nice to have someone's hair to play with.
Congrats on your first post!
Comment by Elizabeth
The average uni student
Unfortunetly people expect me to turn up to lectures, My friends linch me if i leave them to face the dreariness alone- i do however skip often.
Also in smaller lectures, the professor recognises my face (and my funky coloured hair) and will comment on my lack of attendance- this is partyicuarly bad in the classes with the professor i want to supervise my honours project.
Her hair was shiny and soft. If i could figure out how to load photos from my mobile (Samsung E350) to my computer i would load a photo, but alas, i am technology impaired.
Comment by jasmine