Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 23 May 2024

study

By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni

Test anxiety can make exams stressful for students, but using a strategic, consistent approach using effective study techniques can boost their confidence. Here's how to keep calm and prepare effectively.

Start Early

Spread out revision of each subject over 5-10 days.
Create a study plan (days 1-7). Plan daily reviews with a mix of broad overviews, deep dives into complex topics, and revisiting older material. Here's a sample schedule:
Day 1-2: Big picture review, identify the areas that need more attention.
Day 3-4: Tackle the more complex topics, using active recall methods.
Day 5-6: Review both new and older material to maintain memory retention.
Day 7: Focus on areas of difficulty, refining understanding with active recall.
Organise revision sessions into manageable chunks to improve retention. Use spaced repetition (reviewing at increasing intervals) and active recall (testing yourself) techniques, such as:
— Write down questions from your notes or textbook and answer them without referring to the source.
— Practice explaining concepts: Imagine you're teaching the material to someone else and explain it out loud or write down a clear explanation.
— Make flashcards with key terms on one side and definitions or explanations on the other. Have the student test themself or have someone them while having breakfast, going to school in the car, travelling on the bus or train, or during break-times.
Practice test-taking techniques on past papers under timed conditions to help develop a time management strategy for the actual exam.
To avoid burnout or being overwhelmed, it is important to balance study time with downtime.

: Published: 25 April 2024

Click on image for the video recipe

There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of homemade Chicken and Dumplings! Everyone makes dumplings differently and, although these are not up to the standard of my Tennessee family, we still enjoy them!

This can be refrigerated once cooled down, or frozen. It is even better as leftover so make sure to double the recipe if you are feeding a crowd!

A funny story is when I hid a portion of the soup to give to one of my friends who was under the weather. I thought I would pull out all the old jars of chutneys and mustards and hide it behind there in a ziplock bag. That evening when I was just about to deliver it to her, I couldn't find the portion! I thought, "I remember putting here... where could it be?" I went to the kitchen garbage and found the empty ziplock bag in there! My son had found it and eaten it! When I confronted him later, he said, "I didn't know it was being saved for someone else." I repeated to him that I hid it there thinking no-one would move those jars to find it. I was very apologetic to my friend...

: Published: 17 April 2024

By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni

In the final year of high school, it's imperative for students in Year 13 (or equivalent) to devote a significant amount of time to their studies, and structuring a study schedule that includes both coursework and dedicated revision periods is essential.

Crafting Your Revision Schedule
Students need to ensure that their revision periods consist of reviewing known material and should not be learning new content at this point, which could indicate a gap in their knowledge base.

Studying without Distractions
Developing a distraction-free study routine is crucial to success.

Revision Schedule (with short regular breaks for food and downtime)
— Monday to Friday: 6pm - 9pm
— Weekends: 10am - 4pm

Coursework Deadlines
Students should divide their tasks into different categories and allocate time accordingly — List of subjects and their associated submission dates
— Allocation of extra time slots one month prior to deadlines

: Published: 01 April 2024

Claire close up

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

One of the key roles of a conference moderator is making sure that everything goes smoothly. Whatever happens, the show must go on, and the only person who can ensure this is the moderator who has the microphone.

Nothing as dramatic has happened to me as the famous incident back in the 1980’s when BBC newsreader Sue Lawley carried on reading the news when activists stormed the studio – one handcuffing herself to a camera and the other crouching below the newsreader's desk!

However, here are a few conference shockers that I had to deal with and ensure the show went on…

The rollercoaster of technical chaos: At one event, we were eagerly awaiting the keynote speaker's wisdom, only to be met with the dreaded "failed to connect" message not once, not twice, but three times on day one. The organisers refused to ask her to pre-record her remarks for day two and, predictably, day two didn't fare any better! Again, we twice tried to connect, but our speaker remained elusive, leaving us hanging without a single word of her anticipated keynote.

But wait, there's more! As we attempted to patch in speakers from every corner of the globe, it seemed like the universe conspired against us. Five consecutive no-shows! It was like a virtual game of hide-and-seek, and we were losing spectacularly.

: Published: 17 March 2024

Claire close up

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

Someone asked me this week to explain the role of a panel moderator.

I replied that it was to facilitate an insightful discussion for the audience. Remember them? The most neglected part of an event except when organisers panic the room might not be full.

Unfortunately, engaging debates are sometimes very difficult to achieve when you are brought in at the last moment and the panelists have already been selected by the organisers for political or PR reasons. It is like trying to bake a great cake with the wrong ingredients.

Drawing on decades of experience and a lot of patience, I usually manage after speaking individually to each panelist to construct a flow and exchange between the panelists, that is engaging and insightful. Of course, the discussion is compromised in terms of depth as I have to loop in people who either don’t want to address the theme of the panel or don’t have the knowledge to do so.

There seems to be a view by some organisations - the more panelists the merrier, as this shows how well-connected and influential, they are. However, this leads to frustration all around – from the panelists themselves, who have less time to get their points across, from the moderator who has to keep the discussion at a relatively high level and the audience, who most probably have learned nothing they don’t already know.