100 Amazing How-To Sites to Teach Yourself Anything | Rated Colleges Posted by Site Administrator in Online Learning May 7th, 2009 Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are loads of free resources on the Web that can help you find instructional videos, tutorials and classes to learn a wide variety of skills from fixing basic car problems to speaking another language. General Tutorials These sites offer a wide range of tutorials and videos. Around the House Want to know how to fix that broken cabinet or hang up some great wallpaper? Business and Management If you feel like you’re seriously lacking on business and management skills at work, no need to worry. KnowThis? Language and Writing Those who want to learn a new language, improve their writing skills or just learn more about literature will be well-served by these instructional sites. Technology These tech-focused sites offer help to both technophiles and beginners alike. actDEN: Never learned how to use Microsoft Excel? Math S.O.S. Science Creativity
Top 50 Bloggers to Help You Study, Focus and Learn Better Part of succeeding in school is knowing how to study properly. Indeed, knowing how to study and focus on your tasks is important. Understanding how to learn something, and knowing how to retain what you have learned in your memory are vital skills. You can go to school all you want, but if you don’t know how to learn, it will be more difficult. Here are 50 bloggers who can help you study and learn better: Study Tips and Skills First of all, it is helpful to have an idea of how to study most effectively and efficiently. Study Skills Blog: Offers resources for studying, and helpful tips on improving your study.Study Hacks: Learn study skills from Cal Newport, a postdoc at MIT.Study Prof: Offers tips on how to study smarter from test prep coordinator Cody Blair. Learning Sometimes, it helps to learn about…learning. Special Needs Learning Blog: If you have a learning disability, you can still succeed. Memory and Brain Training Productivity Focus Relaxation
Free Software for College Students If you’re in college, check out these eight lesser known, but still indispensable software applications for your computer. We bet these will be as useful as Dropbox and Evernote! Photo by Samantha Decker. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. 1. Connectify Connectify lets you share your laptop’s internet connection with others nearby. The app shows up in the system tray once you install it. 2. Panda USB Vaccine completely disables autorun on your computer. In addition to disabling autorun, the tool can also create a dummy autorun.inf file on removable drives, thereby “vaccinating†them from getting infected. 3. WordWeb is free and does one thing really, really well. WordWeb works when you’re offline and it could obviously help you improve your vocabulary. 4. If you frequently come back to your dorm room just to take back that pen drive you missed, Pen Drive Reminder is a must-have. 5. Using Wunderlist, you can create tasks and notes. 6. 7. 8.
100 Best Back-to-School Hacks | Online Universities Weblog Posted by Site Administrator in Features Aug 30th, 2009 Going back to college after your long summer break is sort of like the university student’s opportunity for New Year’s Resolutions. From organization to better study habits to making new friends to preparing for your career, you’ll want to make this year the most fun and the most productive. Check out our list of 100 best back-to-school hacks for more ideas. Moving In From redecorating to organizing your closet to cleaning your dorm or apartment, these hacks will turn what little personal space you have into your happy place. Organization Start your year off right by being organized with your school work and your personal belongings. Study Habits Pledge to become a more organized, productive student this year by taking better notes, staying on top of your homework, choosing the right study group and picking better classes. Career Prep Campus Life Budget Food and Health Party Hacks Time Management
50 Tips for College Students I did the "extended tour" of college. From about 1991-2002. I did get 4 degrees, so at least I have an excuse. :) I've also been an adjunct professor, so I've also been at the other side of the classroom. 1) The Freshman Fifteen does exist. 2) Pizza - the ubiquitous college snack. 3) If it's either take out a loan or quit school, take out a loan. 4) If you can live harmoniously with someone in a 20×20 ft. space, you can do anything. 5) Flip-flops: Wear them in the dorm shower. 6) Always attend the *real* class, and use the Internet one for review. 7) If you are not a morning person, don't schedule classes for 7am. 8) Get involved on campus. 9) Too much socializing = bad grades. 10) If you are feeling overwhelmed, are having problems sleeping, or have gone through a breakup, visit your college's counseling center. 11) There are a lot of free activities on campus. 12) Many colleges have free tutoring centers on campus. 13) Sit near the front of class. 14) Attend the whole class. 47) Sleep.
Born to Learn Milestone Misconceptions: Freshmen Year of College and Freshmen Year of Life | The College Crush Have you been to Smart, Pretty and Awkward? We have a definite girl crush on Molly who uses her genius to help women across the internet become smarter, prettier and less awkward. Who doesn’t need that? She wonderfully offered us this great post she wrote about common misconceptions of the Freshman Year of College AND the Freshman Year of Life (for our amazing new graduates.) -Kira By Molly Ford, SmartPrettyandAwkward.com There are a lot of misconceptions regarding milestones, especially during times of change. Freshmen Year of College 1. REALITY: It’s awesome if you and your roommate get along great, but you need to be prepared you might just be roommates, not best friends. SOLUTION: If the living situation is bad or you feel unsafe, talk to your RA about switching mid-year. 2. REALITY: You might change your major, or your concentration, or the entire school you attend, by senior year. SOLUTION: Take tons of classes that spark your interest. 3. 4. 5. Freshmen Year of Life 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Experts rethink good study habits Ask someone for tips on proper study skills, and you’re likely going to get an answer that ranges from “study in a quiet, sealed room” to “drink a sip of water each time you need to remember a fact.” But from folksy suggestions to ideas based in actual science, study skills are just about how well you train your brain to absorb information. The New York Times reports that scientists have determined a few simple techniques that can enable a student to absorb more information. Many of these new findings contradict commonly-accepted study habits. Retaining information is all in how the brain operates. Nate Kornell is a psychologist atWilliams Collegewho has studied how the brain absorbs information. Finally, if a person crams for a test, he or she is much more likely to completely forget the information over the long term. For further reading: Forget what you know about good study habits
The Hacker Manifesto by +++The Mentor+++ Written January 8, 1986 Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"... Damn kids. They're all alike. But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? I am a hacker, enter my world... Mine is a world that begins with school... Damn underachiever. I'm in junior high or high school. Damn kid. I made a discovery today. Damn kid. And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. Damn kid. You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. Yes, I am a criminal. I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto.
Back To School 2012: Five Gadgets To Keep You Sane In Your New Dorm Room What? It’s August already? That means (for better or worse) that hordes of freshly minted college students will soon be starting the next chapter of their lives and moving into dull, cramped dorm rooms in the process. Oh, that description applies to you? Before you go too nuts trying to decide which of your possessions will make that trip with you though, take a gander at this short list of gadgets that should help make the time spent cooped up in your new room just a little more pleasant. Sony MDR-NC200D Noise-Cancelling Headphones Yeah, a fancy set of speakers will draw more “oohs” and “ahhs” than a pair of noise-cancelling headphones will, but these are arguably more useful. Thankfully, MDR-NC200D’s active noise cancelling functionality means that it’s more than capable of blocking out your roomie’s Kanye West fixation, and they sound great to boot. Amazon.com, $198 Brother HL-2270DW Laser Printer And it gets better. Amazon.com, $89.99 Pivot Power Surge Protector Quirky.com, $29.99
How to Read a Book (With Apologies to Mortimer Adler) Susan Wise BauerDo not reproduce without permission. Please give appropriate credit for quotes and ideas. All civilization comes through literature now, especially in our country. A Greek got his civilization by talking and looking, and in some measure a Parisian may still do it. But we, who live remote from history and monuments, we must read or we must barbarise. Thomas Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham If you are fortunate, you encounter a particular teacher who can help, yet finally you are alone, going on without further mediation. GRAMMAR-STAGE READING. 1. 2. For a novel: Keep a list of characters as you read Briefly note the main event in each chapter For a history: List the major events of the history Look for a stated pupose. 3. For a novel: Make initial notes on passages that seize your imagination. For a history: Mark central dates and people. 4. For a novel: Who is the central character? For a history: Who is this story about? 1. 2. 3.
Top 6 Sites that Inspire and Educate If you’re a professional who likes to be intellectually stimulated and you enjoy keeping up with the latest news and breaking trends, the internet provides you with an endless choice of carefully curated sites to visit. Today, we bring you six of them that we believe are leaps and bounds above the rest. These sites will not only educate you on topics ranging from business and technology to art and design, they’ll motivate you to find your own, original ideas and see them through. They’re culturally relevant, they’re idea driven and most of all, they’re deeply inspirational. TED is short for three incredibly important subjects in our modern world; technology, entertainment and design. Started in 1984, TED brings together the most brilliant minds to teach us about issues that matter. Tip: Download TED’s free iPad app to browse through 800 videos by date, popularity or keyword. 2. Brain Pickings started from very humble beginnings. 4. 5.