Searching for information on the Internet can be easy, especially if you are searching for something that is currently popular or in the news. For example, if you Google “Justin Bieber,” you are going to get pages and pages of useful information. However, if you search for something more obscure on many of the most popular search engine websites, you might not find anything relevant to your actual question. This becomes very frustrating.

A new search engine, SortFix, is here to help. SortFix was created in 2007 to do “all the hard work [of searching for information] and leaves you only the easy part.” Wow, what a concept: a search engine that actually finds the information you are searching for.

SortFix works by imitating a professional searcher. First, SortFix examines the results and compares them to the search query. This allows SortFix to determine the specific keywords that will help the user find the information he/she wants. Then, the user can modify his/her keywords to create a precise search question because “when you ask a precise question you usually get the right answer.” Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes studying by yourself isn’t that much fun. You don’t remember what your professor was talking about; that example you copied down doesn’t make as much sense as it did two weeks ago; you can’t read your own handwriting. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to access someone else’s notes about your subject? Maybe check out their flashcards, quizzes, or diagrams? Sounds slightly unrealistic, right? Well, thanks to StudyBlue.com, it’s no longer just a dream.

StudyBlue.com is a new website that allows students to collaborate with other students from around the world, or just from across town, on subjects ranging from art history to organic chemistry. Students on StudyBlue.com post their notes, flashcards, old quizzes, study guides, etc. These files then become available to everyone on the site. Think Napster, except you are trading knowledge instead of music and there are no sticky legal issues. Read the rest of this entry »

iTunes has released a new app for iPhones and iPod Touches: the Essay Writing Wizard. The EWW helps students write essays faster and easier, anywhere they can take their iPhone or iPod.

EWW was created by The Niles Technology Group with the goal of transforming iPhone or iPod from just an organizational tool to one that allows students to create and develop new ideas.

The Essay Writing Wizard offers many different editions, including editions designed specifically for college students, community college students, and field-specific programs. The following is a list of the most commonly used application editions that are available: Read the rest of this entry »

Financially strapped college students spend enough time worrying about how to put gas in the car or even how to pay for lunch. Making sure you have the proper tools to get your education shouldn’t be one of those concerns, and often, software costs are prohibitive to the dorm budget.

However, the brilliant minds at Google have offered Google Docs for sometime as part of their Gmail service. Within Google Docs you have free access to create spreadsheets, documents and slideshow presentations. And better than the software you’d have on your desktop, you can access them from anywhere you access your Gmail – so no worries about computer crashes or leaving a paper at home.

These free programs come with all the functionality you’d expect from purchased software programs, plus a lot more accessibility. The interface is incredibly simple to use, as is sharing files with group members for shared contribution. Read the rest of this entry »

Students today want to be connected at all times. We want to be able to check our class syllabus, look up our homework, and communicate with our professors whenever we want. But we don’t really want to carry around textbooks and laptops and all other sorts of things. It would be so much easier to just carry a little hand-held device. Welcome to iTunes U.

iTunes U is the newest mobile learning application from Apple. Students can use iTunes U on their iPhone or iPod Touch. iTunes U allows professors to distribute digital lesson plans to their students, anytime and anywhere. Professors can set up presentations, lessons, and homework through iTunes U. Students benefit from this because they can study for their next test while waiting on the bus or eating lunch in the cafeteria; basically, whenever and wherever is the most convenient for them! Instead of hiking across campus to a computer lab or the library, students can whip out their iPhone or iPod Touch, connect to the Internet, and start studying. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft has recently developed an online system designed to aid college students with everything from email and calendar support to group projects and communication tools. This system, which is know as Microsoft Live@edu, is one of the best programs to date for effectively managing the chaotic lives of college students. 

The services offered by Live@edu focus on information technology management and everything that comes with it. The following is a breakdown of the services as well as the negatives and benefits of each.  Read the rest of this entry »

Evernote is a software application I invented in my mind long before it arrived, but unfortunately didn’t quite have the means to create. Some tech people beat me to it, as usual.

How often do you find yourself wishing you had written down a website you looked at, or an item you saw that you wanted to purchase? Anything found digitally that you wish to remember is as easy as popping it right into your Evernote account. The information is indexed, and available for searching whenever you need it. Read the rest of this entry »

How to Get a Student Loan

According to a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while median family income rose just 147 percent. You don’t have to be a math professor to see how that sort of trend puts amazing pressure on students and their families to find ways to pay for a college education.

If you haven’t saved enough money to pay for your education, all is not lost. Financial aid has more than doubled in the last decade. And while the recent credit crunch has made it even more difficult on those in need of financial assistance, you still have options. We’ll show you how to tap into public and private sources of aid.

Loans for higher education come in three major categories: student loans, private student loans, and parent loans. Let’s take a look at each option. Read the rest of this entry »

How To Find College Scholarships

Getting a college scholarship can be tough business. It’s super competitive, with tons of people just as qualified as you are. If you want to look for an edge, try searching where the herd of future college scholars aren’t. Where there’s less competition, there’s a higher chance for success. Here are a few tips that should increase your chances.

Look for Local Scholarships

While everyone else is going after the big-named prizes at their school of choice, all you have to do is look in your backyard. The key benefit to looking for local scholarships is that it’s inherently less competitive, since they are geared towards local residents. Think about going to your local banks, businesses, clubs, religious and other organizations. Read the rest of this entry »

WorldCat is the catalog system that lets you search most public libraries across the nation, and has updated their website to reflect the growing social networking trend. Once setting up an account, you can then manage your profile, which allows you to do such cliché things as upload your picture, list your interests and link to your personal website or blog. Then you can list your favorite libraries, rate and review the books that you have read and also follow people with similar reading habits as you or who keep a list that you might be interested in. You can also follow individual people via RSS or push your own RSS feed to your social network of choice, such as Twitter, FriendFeed, or MySpace. If you spy a book that is worth owning, you can click straight to its page on Amazon.com, indicating that WorldCat may also have a new revenue stream aiding these developments. Read the rest of this entry »