Understanding spoken directions and lectures?

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Aspienoid
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20 Jan 2009, 4:38 pm

I feel that I may be completely alone on this topic but-

Do you have problems undersanding and following anything that's spoken, such as directions or lectures? I've noticed in school that I'll go into a lecture and, although I am paying attention and trying to take notes, finding that I come out with nothing. I just can't process all of the lecture at once like that. If there are notes on the board or in a handout I am fine because I can follow those. Same for directions. Tell me how to do something and I can rarely repeat what you just said. But give me a written page and I do great.

Am I alone? (Oh, please tell me I'm not)

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20 Jan 2009, 4:48 pm

I am exactly like that, so I have decided to have the government pay for my tutoring in the classes I need to hear and understand the spoken aspects of the lectures the most, and that is a service they offer for disabled students, and I am very grateful that my school's office for disabled students offers that, I will be using it every term for my math, as I just have a hard time with math, even though I am in the math faculty at my university.



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20 Jan 2009, 4:52 pm

Also, if it weren't for my coming to terms with my AS, I probably wouldn't be able to get a tutor. I also used to be extremely gifted in math, but not any more. I am gifted when it comes to technology though, even my techie roommate comes to me for tech help, and my dad calls me his personal tech support.



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20 Jan 2009, 4:53 pm

No, you're not alone I'm exactly the same. I also have trouble counting change when I buy groceries :oops: . I'm not really sure why, because it's the only time I seem to have this problem. As far as directions are concerned, if someone tells me without an illustration, it's no good. I'm better off not hearing any directions in the first place. The notes in school was always structured, and I found it hard to follow what was being said, especially if the speaker does not follow any set pattern.



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20 Jan 2009, 4:55 pm

I have done very well in math this year because my teacher writes everything on the Smartboard and even titles the slides. So that works great. it's more for classes such as chemistry, English, and histroy.

One thing that baffles me is my ability to follow verbal cues in choir. I do great in choir. The teacher will call out a series of notes and we must sing them. No problem. We learn how to say foriegn words for songs verbally. Also no problem. And we do a lot of warm ups that involve her saying the words and we echo them. I just don't see why it works with music and not other subjects.


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20 Jan 2009, 4:58 pm

Yes. I always felt stupid. Even give me a list of instructions and I'd still have troubles following through. I can't even follow cooking steps because I find it hard to understand so I hate cooking. Another reason why I needed an aid in school.



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20 Jan 2009, 4:58 pm

Aspienoid wrote:
I have done very well in math this year because my teacher writes everything on the Smartboard and even titles the slides. So that works great. it's more for classes such as chemistry, English, and histroy.

One thing that baffles me is my ability to follow verbal cues in choir. I do great in choir. The teacher will call out a series of notes and we must sing them. No problem. We learn how to say foriegn words for songs verbally. Also no problem. And we do a lot of warm ups that involve her saying the words and we echo them. I just don't see why it works with music and not other subjects.


2 things: What is a smartboard? and the music thing, music is just another form of math, and it is a math that is played out in the mind, there isn't a whole lot of verbal involved in singing as there is mental thought and math involved, even though you wouldn't realize it.



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20 Jan 2009, 5:00 pm

Spokane_Girl wrote:
Yes. I always felt stupid. Even give me a list of instructions and I'd still have troubles following through. I can't even follow cooking steps because I find it hard to understand so I hate cooking. Another reason why I needed an aid in school.


People actually uses recipes??? I have used I think 2 recipes in my life, and both were modified beyond the point that you could still call it using a recipe. I cook using what I think would taste good.



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20 Jan 2009, 5:01 pm

Padium wrote:
2 things: What is a smartboard? and the music thing, music is just another form of math, and it is a math that is played out in the mind, there isn't a whole lot of verbal involved in singing as there is mental thought and math involved, even though you wouldn't realize it.


A Smartboard is like a dry erase board that's computerized. You pick up a marker, and altough the board doesn't show it, the projector shows it. Whatever is "written" shows up on the board as well as the computer. It's cool.

At least I can excel at math and music! Two things I love. Maybe I could apply thhem to the other subjects...I don't know.


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20 Jan 2009, 5:09 pm

Aspienoid wrote:
Padium wrote:
2 things: What is a smartboard? and the music thing, music is just another form of math, and it is a math that is played out in the mind, there isn't a whole lot of verbal involved in singing as there is mental thought and math involved, even though you wouldn't realize it.


A Smartboard is like a dry erase board that's computerized. You pick up a marker, and altough the board doesn't show it, the projector shows it. Whatever is "written" shows up on the board as well as the computer. It's cool.

At least I can excel at math and music! Two things I love. Maybe I could apply thhem to the other subjects...I don't know.


Ok, so basicly a tablet, either usb, tablet pc, or otherwise.



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20 Jan 2009, 5:19 pm

Aspienoid wrote:
I have done very well in math this year because my teacher writes everything on the Smartboard and even titles the slides. So that works great. it's more for classes such as chemistry, English, and histroy.

One thing that baffles me is my ability to follow verbal cues in choir. I do great in choir. The teacher will call out a series of notes and we must sing them. No problem. We learn how to say foriegn words for songs verbally. Also no problem. And we do a lot of warm ups that involve her saying the words and we echo them. I just don't see why it works with music and not other subjects.


Music is processed in a different part of your brain than language. So, with singing the words, you are just echoing and doing the music part while language takes a much different set of skills to interpret and use. It's a right brain left brain thing. In English you are asked to think with one side of your brain and use the opposite side to interpret. You are crossing over which is something that we don't do well, cross overs.


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20 Jan 2009, 5:22 pm

Happens to me too. I have trouble following long strings of verbal instructions. I must seem stupid when I have to go back to someone to make sure that what I think I heard is the same as what they actually said.... If only people would write things down!
Guest lecturers often don't make notes avaliable, and there are those that never put up the notes before a lecture, or put up skeleton notes that you have to fill in as you go along... I hate that!
It's hard to follow the talk and take comprehensive notes at the same time, so I gave up. I just buy the textbook and read whatever it was afterwards. That usually works.
If, by some fluke, they have put the notes up, I can write directly onto the document using a tablet pc. That kind of helps, as my terrible handwriting can then be converted to text, or I can check stuff in eBooks as I'm working...
Unfortunately, that kind of thing is expensive, and not for everyone.


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Aspienoid
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20 Jan 2009, 5:28 pm

Padium wrote:
Ok, so basicly a tablet, either usb, tablet pc, or otherwise.


In case you care:

http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Prod ... RT+Boards/


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20 Jan 2009, 5:35 pm

Aspienoid wrote:
Padium wrote:
Ok, so basicly a tablet, either usb, tablet pc, or otherwise.


In case you care:

http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Prod ... RT+Boards/


Oh... I wish my schools, all the ones I've attended would use those (although that is in use at my university by some teachers, though not through Smartboard's products, but by a tablet running certain software to interact with a projection screen)... It is probably the second best technology, the first being a portable board that the students would use in their classes to have it in front of them, and be able to download notes to a thumb drive.



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20 Jan 2009, 6:35 pm

I've always had that problem. If I haven't internalized something, and understand it inside and out, I feel like I am not grasping something, and can be forgetful.



20 Jan 2009, 6:41 pm

Padium wrote:
Spokane_Girl wrote:
Yes. I always felt stupid. Even give me a list of instructions and I'd still have troubles following through. I can't even follow cooking steps because I find it hard to understand so I hate cooking. Another reason why I needed an aid in school.


People actually uses recipes??? I have used I think 2 recipes in my life, and both were modified beyond the point that you could still call it using a recipe. I cook using what I think would taste good.



Sorry, I was talking about cookbooks. Sometimes I have troubles following the cooking instructions too on the box. I mostly have my bf cook me my food since he knows what he is doing. The thing I cook myself the most is boxed macaroni and I do it my own way. I leave out the milk even if the instructions say to pour some in.