Week 1: Time management
You know yourself better than anyone – as long as you are honest with yourself.
Think about all the skills you have, and all the experiences you have so far.
What are you good at doing?
What systems do you currently use for managing your time?
What are your current weaknesses in time-management? How could you address these?
Think of everything that you currently have to do. Organise these into a prioritisation chart – identifying what is urgent, necessary, and not urgent, not necessary, into a grid, as below:
Draw up a detailed plan for how you would build a house, on
the premise that you have a plot of land which you have purchased which does
not yet have planning permission for a building.
Now check out all of the resources in the Time Management section on Firefly.
Week 2: Finding resources
Read the notes in the section on Firefly on Finding resources before completing this task.
Decide upon a topic that is of interest to you.
Use the skills you have developed to find a list of 15 different resources relating to your topic. At least 5 should be books, 5 should be articles in journals or magazines, and 5 resources from the internet. Aim for at least one source which is a podcast, video or similar.
If you had to get hold of each of these resources, how would you do it? Which would you face difficulty with? How could you overcome these difficulties?
Week 3: Notes and research
Read the notes in the Firefly section on Notes and Research.
Then complete the one-hour research course on Open.edu on summarising material:
www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/summarising-text/content-section-0
How could you apply the skills you have learned from doing this to a piece of your own work?
What are the potential difficulties in summarising in this way?
How do you intend to keep track of your notes during your Sixth Form career?
Week 4: Writing
Read the section on Writing in Firefly.
Then complete the exercises in the attached booklet, to help with your spelling, grammar and punctuation:
Think about the topic which you identified in Week 2, and for which you found resources.
Write a one-page Word document, correctly referenced and punctuated, to explain why you are interested in this topic.
Week 5: Health and wellbeing
Have a look at the Health and Wellbeing section in Firefly. Look at some of these resources, then think about the following:
What are the key areas in your life that have the potential to cause you the most happiness?
How often do you give yourself time to relax and unwind?
How much time do you spend glued to a screen – computer, tv, mobile? How could limiting this contribute towards your mental health?
What practical steps could you take between now and September to put yourself in the strongest possible position to tackle Sixth Form study?
Week 6: Communication etiquette
Read the information on the Firefly pages relating to communication by email, letter, and telephone.
Imagine something that has happened to you recently that has either really pleased you, or really upset you.
Draft a formal letter and an email about this. How do they compare? What are the key similarities and differences?
Then prepare a transcript of a telephone conversation you would like to have about this.
Is there a medium that you would feel particularly comfortable or uncomfortable using? How could you address any concerns you have?
Week 7: Degrees of separation
There is proven evidence that suggests that because we are all linked by chains of acquaintance, you are just six introductions away from any other person on the planet.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/aug/03/internet.email
This means that your public profile, and your ability and willingness to connect and to network with others, are key factors in helping you to prepare for your future.
Think about what material portrays you online - social media profiles, photographs etc. Do these portray you in a good light? Are they something you might want a prospective employer to see?
What makes a good social media presence? What makes a bad digital presence?
Do 'influencers' have too much sway? Who shapes the public mindset? Is this a good or a bad thing?
Why not have a look at this online course on digital networking: