Here's my OnlineStudentPlanner for this week!

Being in college is probably one of the busiest times of my life. I have never had more assignments to turn in, tests to study for, and jobs to work.

I’ve tried several ways to stay on top of things. I used to try to keep an agenda in my head, but I’d always forget something. Then I tried a notebook agenda, but I didn’t like writing everything down and eventually regressed to trying to remember it all.

But now, a new website has solved my planning problems!

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week’s announcement by Apple CEO Steve Jobs about the release of the company’s newest gadget, the iPad, has set the e-reader world ablaze. For a few years, Amazon’s Kindle has lead that market, making it possible to read everything from novels and cookbooks to magazines and blogs on a conveniently thin digital reading device. Now, heads are turning toward the iPad with similar expectations. One market in particular, college students, who are a key market for Apple, wants to know if the iPad for textbook claims are realistic, and if they trump the Kindle. Read the rest of this entry »

What would you think if, on the first day of school, your teacher told you to take your phone out and prepare to learn, instead of threatening to throw your phone away if you used it during class?

Personally, I’d be shocked. As far as I knew, all teachers thought cell phones were pure evil. But evidently, I was wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I do not understand something that I should have learned in class, my first step is to hop online and hit up Google or Wikipedia. Sometimes I do not find what I am looking for and am forced to do my research in tangible media forms likes books and newspapers. But now, a new website, CosmoLearning.com, has made my search for knowledge a lot easier.

CosmoLearning is a free educational website for students and teachers and offers educational materials in 37 courses. These courses range from anthropology to French to religion to music and sports. Basically, anything you need or want to learn, you can find on this site. 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 »

In a pilot program at Princeton to assess the value of Amazon’s Kindle DX for students, it seems the class has graded the gadget as a no pass.

Fifty students were given the digital e-reader in the test, and after a mere two weeks of being used in three classes, students are “dissatisfied and uncomfortable.” One student made his case by saying it’s “a poor excuse of an academic tool.”

The greatest criticism is coming from the lack of ability to highlight, mark pages, or make notes in margins. Additionally, anyone trying to cite a page number is out of luck, with one student calling it “meaningless.”

It’s entirely likely that the Kindle DX won’t see the light of day in the spring semester.

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 »

For gadget geeks, Engadget is one of the go-to spots online to get the inside scoop on the hottest tech gear. This season they didn’t forget all the students headed back to class. The back to school guide focuses on essential gear that won’t cost a fortune.

They’ve looked at a broad range of electronics needs and found the most affordable in categories like laptops and netbooks, mobile phones, digital cameras, printers and more.

Here’s a quick glance at some of the top items on their affordable back to school list:

Alarm & Dock: iLuv iMM153 – Charge your iPod, fall asleep to tunes and wake up on time thanks to an alarm vibrator feature. This is a must-have for any college student prone to oversleeping. Read the rest of this entry »

Education, like everything else, has its way of evolving. From tablets and scrolls to desk-top chalkboards and then textbooks, the evolution continues in the digital age with laptops. Even for those graduating from high school in the past few years, hearing that textbooks are a thing of the past seems out of place. While they’re not altogether gone just yet, laptop computers are pushing them out in several schools.

More and more school districts are making the progressive move away from the tried-and-true textbook to using more open source, free and relevant resources from the Web. It’s a move being promoted by Governor Schwarzenegger in California that could save his and other states hundreds of millions of dollars a year in furnishing classrooms with textbooks. Read the rest of this entry »