Thursday, September 22, 2011

Helpful College Tip - Speedreading?

One of your classmates sent me this link on speed reading. When you click on it, you will get a download notification for a powerpoint. The powerpoint covers speed reading. Check it out here: Speed Reading Powerpoint

Now I don't really like the name speed reading because speed reading is more about getting you to read more effectively and efficiently. It seems surprising that we have to learn how to read, but in our current culture where most of us have an inordinate amount of things on our plate learning to speed read can highly benefit some of us.

Things to consider:
Have you tried speed reading before? What has been your experience with it?
Do you think speed reading is a good studying strategy? Why or why not?

15 comments:

  1. I have actually had some experience in this subject , but not in terms of studying.. In High school i competed in CX debate ,and I loved it. A lot of the competition involved speed reading because a lot of information had to be stated in a very short mount of time. This experience taught me a lot about speed reading and I can personally say that I don't like this technique for studying. My reasoning for this is when you speed read you are reading the words , but they are not sinking in as effectively as when you plan out time to study. I have found that the best way for me to study is to spread out the material. This prevents me from getting overwhelmed and allows the material to stick with me better. So as a conclusion I am not a big fan of Speed Reading!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Personally speed reading is not something I practice while studying. I tend to get ahead of myself and not fully comprehend the material. Depending on the individual speed reading can help or hurt study habits. I don't think that speed reading is an effective study habit, but to each there own.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think there was a lot of good information in this Power Point! I hadn't ever really looked into speed reading before, but found that I actually already do a lot of the things they suggested to improve my reading skills.
    Skimming and looking for specific content is helpful in a class that I know a bit about the subject already. When it's a totally unknown subject, I do have to slow myself down and read deeper for content. I think you have to pick and choose when to employ these skills to really succeed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wish that when I was in high school, a speed reading class would have been available. My father was able to take a speed reading class in his junior year of high school and he is able to comprehend material very well after reading and he is able to read twice as fast as myself. When I read I tend to slow down and annotate, however, if it is a subject that I have read about before I tend to read much faster.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The ironic thing about reading through this PowerPoint was that I "speeded" through it. I didn't learn much from it, it's more like one of those "practice makes perfect" kind of things and I already know how to apply speed reading methods but I'm definitely not at the level I want to be. It would be really great if someone found something about information retention. This would greatly improve my speed reading ability.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I try speed reading all the time. Especially when I'm reading with my class, because if someone other than me is reading, then I can't focus on the book and my mind starts wondering. Speed reading helps when you want to get through the material faster, but to me, if it's not something that I'm interested, then I won't remember much of what I read. No matter how many times I read it fast, if I don't understand the first time, then I won't get it the next time. I think it depends entirely on the person wether it benefits them or not.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I personally like to skim through what I'm supposed to read and then go back and read the main points. I try to speed read, but I have found that I usually don't comprehend or remember much of the material.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm in the same boat as Katelyn. I usually skim at first and then go back if I feel like I need more detail. I don't speed read very often, but when I do I have a lot harder time recalling what it was that I read.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Speed Reading doesn't do much for me. I tend to speed read when I'm in a hurry and just trying to get something done. There have been times when speed reading has worked to my advantage and times when speed reading has worked to my disadvantage. I tend to undterstand material better when I take my time to truly understand what I am trying to read.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Last year, I took a free seminar on speed reading. It was interesting. They had us do some of the same exercises mentioned in the powerpoint. Unfortunately, I had too difficult of a time trying to remember everything and focusing on reading in clumps. The result was that I really could not recall anything I had just read, which defeated the purpose of practicing speed reading. Unless you are John F. Kennedy, who could read over 1000 words per minute, I do not necessarily agree with speed reading. As a study strategy, it might work for some people, but it does not work for me. Sure, it takes me a little while longer to read the material, but I remember it better than if I speed read. I am sure if I practiced more than one time, I could get better, but who has the time for that? At least, I do not have the time. I have continued to do well in all my classes, regardless of the subject, by reading "my way." I do not see the point in changing how I read if I am succeeding. It corresponds with the cliché phrase, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it."

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think that speed reading is a good idea when you are reviewing for a test or something. The first time you read subject matter you should take your time and really allow it to stick in your brain. Who cares if it takes forever. You are in college. I speed read if I have to, but not usually. I don't like to speed read because I already skip all over the page and it makes it worse.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The few times that I have attempted speed reading were nights before a test when I had a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time. I found that when I went to take my exam the next day I had forgotten most of the material that I had read the previous night. In my opinion speed reading is not as effective as taking your time to read at a cofortable pace.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Speed reading can be extremely helpful to me in some cases. I feel like it is only beneficial though when I know what I'm reading. The first time I'm reading something, I typically read it thoroughly all the way through. When I go back to review and study the material, I can then speed read through it and I know I'm most likely not going to miss anything important.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have not tried speed reading yet and it has never really appealed to me as a more effective way to reading. With the current information I have just looked at I think I can learn how to and am very excited to try

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've always been a "speed reader" according to the content in the PP. I tend to skim the material and search for the important information within the content i am reading.

    ReplyDelete