Hi MaryJ, my name is Jerome; I’m a student here at the University of Phoenix. My major is Early Childhood Education, Associate Degree. I know you will be starting back school soon or you may have already started. I’m sending you this guide to help make your education progress a little easier, I hope it helps.
I believe if you tailor the below information to fit you, you will no doubt succeed in accomplishing your educational goals and help with all other goals you may have set for yourself.

1. General internet skills; this area will help you maneuver through the school’s website and the World Wide Web. It will guide you in two specific areas; * Using the Internet for academic purposes: Will help in knowing how to gather information from the internet, and how evaluate that information for accuracy and credibility. Keep in mind not all educational information on the internet is reliable. Conduct different searches on the same topic, this will give you different information on the same topic which will help to check how accurate and reliable the information is. Always revert to your class syllabus and the information given in class. Also know that the information on the internet is not always peer or educational facility reviewed. * Appropriately communicating with different audiences This area will assist you in communicating with the difference kind of audiences, whether it’s casual or academic and knowing the difference between the two. It will give examples words and phrases for both audiences. This will help you with all your assignments. When completing an assignment always keep in mind who you are talking to, especially on your discussion board.

2. University of Phoenix and University Library resources; These resources are located on the student websites and will help you with these area below; * Identifying technological tools available to University of Phoenix students: These areas are for all students use to assist and get the support they need with their educational goals. These areas will help you with any educational assistant you can think off. Assistants like, research paper needs, tutorials needs, avoiding plagiarism guide, useful links box and your degree guide lines. * Using the University Library to conduct academic research: This resource will assist you with using the UOP library. It will show you how to conduct search for information using the different data bases within the UOP library, how to cite the information found within the different data bases and save your information for your use in class. * Locating the Center for Writing Excellence and the Center for Mathematics Excellence: These Centers are also located within the student website. Each of these Centers is specific for their topics and will help with your needs within that topic. The Writing Center will assist you with all your writing needs, like submitting paper, writing tutorial guide and any question you may have about writing. The Mathematics Center will assist you with your math needs, like step by step review of some math classes and live math tutorial help.

3. Upholding academic honesty; all about keeping your school work honest using the guidelines below. * Understanding University of Phoenix’s academic honesty policy, this policy basically breaks down the university rules and penalty about turning work that not your own without the proper citations. Just give credit where credit is due. * Understanding consequences of plagiarism, this speaks for itself. Plagiarism will get you expelled from the university. * Avoiding plagiarism. If you have any doubt about your work and the proper citations use the Center for Writing Excellence. Reread your work using the guidelines in the Center. After you are sure you must and should submit you work in the Plagiarism Checker within the Center for Writing Excellence link.

4. Setting and achieving goals is one of the most important skills anyone should have. This gives you something to accomplish. This also is a way of rewarding yourself. * Identifying long- and short-term educational and career goals; here’s where you really start class. Always set some kind of goals, that’s the only way to stay on top of things. You must set a long term and a short term goal. These goals should be set for both education and career. Start with a long term goal, and then break it down into short term goals. * How to reach goals despite obstacles. Obstacles are part of life. If you look at it that way, you will always keep on going. The staff at the University is always there to support you. Always communicate with them and give them the opportunity to help you where and when they can. When you set your goals stay on top of them, always revert to them and remind yourself of what you have already accomplished with everything you have going on. This has helped me so I know it will help you. * How a University of Phoenix degree relates to goals. Earning you degree should be your long term goal. Whether it’s your Associates, Masters or PHD. The University of Phoenix, actually makes it even easier for you, they set your classes up for you so all you have to do is logon and start school. You don’t have to wonder which class should I take next it already set up for you. You can even check out your class before it actually starts, so you can get your head in the game. 5. Managing time wisely is another important part of your educational and life goals. This is a skill you need to develop to the best of your ability. Without time management you can’t set or accomplish your goals. * Balancing time at University of Phoenix is probably the only place you can really manage your time wisely. Your classes are set up for you, your assignments are also set up for you and the discussions forum is set for over a couple days’ period. Everything is set up for you; if you use the student website and your class syllabus your time will always be balanced. * Juggling school, work, and family responsibilities, these are the hardest part of this thing we call life. We do it so well, sometime we forget how too. This is where you setting your goals and managing your time comes in, hand in hand. * Prioritizing and avoiding time-wasters. Here is where you would use a daily time log for a couple of days, then modify it so you can take out what’s not important and prioritize what is important to you.

6. Fostering reading comprehension and retention. Here’s where you develop your reading skills, whether you’re a strong reader or not. You can use the tools below to help develop and or improve your reading skills. * Using reading comprehension techniques for successful reading will help you gain the knowledge you need to further develop your reading and comprehension skills. These techniques can be found on the student website within the Writing for Excellence Center link. * Using SQ3R and other study habits, these habits will also help develop your reading skills and also help retain what you read. The Surveying, Questioning Reading, Reciting and Reviewing method (SQ3R) with help retain your reading material. Surveying is skimming through your reading material. Questioning is asking question while you read you come up with or what the instructor want answered. Reading, read the topic, the main idea the questions in the reading material. Reciting reread the material, what’s important, and what need to answer the questions. Reviewing, review everything you read that you need for test and to answer the instructor’s question. Always try to read your final draft aloud and to someone else.

7. Adapting work habits to fit your personality, this is harder than is seems. Like our elders always say practice makes perfect. So practice your work habits daily and eventually it becomes part of your personality. * Using your personality type for distance learning success. Knowing yourself is part of knowing how you learn best. Whether it is hands-on, visually or verbally. The Personality Spectrum will help you fine tune you learning habits, and also help strengthen what areas you are weak in. * Relating to others who have different personality types and intelligences. Never think anyone is better than you or rather more worthy than you. Although someone maybe smarter than you doesn’t mean they’re more worthy. Yourself worth is, yourself guide. This worthiness guides you to setting goals for yourself, motivating you to accomplishing those goals and allowing you to work hard towards all your dreams. All these tools will help you relate to other who has difference personality types and intelligences level. Like your classmates, your co-workers and your instructors.

MaryJ I hope this survival guide has helped you with you educational goals. Everything in the guide has helped me and will continue to help me as I aim to the goals I have set for myself.
References:
* WEBSITES: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu, https://classroom.phoenix.edu. https://portal.phoenix.edu/library.html. * LINKS: Center for Mathematics Excellence (CME), Center for Writing Excellence (CWE), and Student labs. * CLASS MATERIALS and CLASS NOTES: Reading and Studying/ focusing on print and online materials Ch. 7 of Keys to Effective Learning and Learning Styles/building and using self-knowledge Ch. 2 of Keys to Effective Learning.