Resources for Success: Issue 1

Posted by Michael Biornstad on Oct 6, 2011 in Academy | 0 comments

Zotero – Firefox Add-on
This extension for Firefox is one of the most helpful browser add-ons that I use. I have it on both my primary computer and netbook and the extension syncs information between the computers. Essentially, the program manages all of my sources for papers. It allows me to import into a word document, create a bibliography, make footnotes or endnotes, or whatever. Although it may take a few minutes to figure out, it is really quite simple and very handy. It’s also free; however, if they started charging I wouldn’t hesitate to pay.
- www.zotero.org

External Hard Drive
This may seem like a no-brainer but I’m mentioning it for a reason. Buy one! Have it hooked up with your computer and be sure to save your school documents to it regularly! I’m not kidding. I don’t go a semester without hearing from someone about how they lost something. It’s 2011 for Pete’s sake. Have a system of backing up your important files and be extra diligent when the stress of school starts to build. Nothing will compound your stress like rewriting 3500 words.

Instapaper
I use this Google Chrome extension and iPhone app that is really no more than an online bookmark organizer. But in its simplicity it is really quite useful. If you need to access a bookmark on a friend’s computer or on a computer in the library, you can with Instapaper. Just login and your bookmarks will be there for you. It has a number of other small helpful features including the ability to share and connect with other users, but the basic feature of bookmarking online is why I recommend it.
- www.instapaper.com

A Twitter Account
Unless you’re too cool for this, get it. This site is a resource not simply a gossip chain (unless that’s what you make it). Facebook is nice for keeping in contact with friends or messaging a classmate to get notes from the class you slept through, but Twitter is the real deal. Twitter, used effectively, allows you to gain information from trusted sources on issues and ideas that matter to you that you would otherwise have no means of attaining. I was a latecomer to the game but lately I’ve been doing my best to utilize the resource to the fullest.
- www.twitter.com

Khan Academy
With significant backing from Bill Gates and Google, Khan Academy is worth checking out and utilizing as a helpful resource during university. With over 2400 videos the site offers tutorials on an incredibly broad range of topics at all grade levels. Saul Khan may have started the web based tutoring site to help his cousin with mathematics, but now it has blown up and is a perfect resource for you.
- www.khanacademy.com

Prezi
This is a resource that I am quite reluctant to share. Prezi is a site that offers the ability to build uniquely formatted power point presentations. While your fellow students click through boring slide after boring slide, you can interactively cross an open landscape of information. Sexy, right? Give it a try but if everyone starts using it I’m going to feel much less cool come class presentation time.
- www.prezi.com

Evernote
I don’t know about you, but for a 10 word note, Microsoft Word takes a minimum of fifteen minutes to open on my computer, so once it has, whatever it was I had meant to write I had certainly forgotten.
But with Evernote, I have found a way to catalog notes in a convenient, minimalist format. I can write something down on my iPhone, and straight away, it’s synced across all platforms.
The key is to actually use this application…it won’t check your notes or write your papers for you.
- www.evernote.com

Mint
You are now a student. But that doesn’t mean you have to live like one so long as you manage your money properly. Mint.com is a free and secure online service that will allow you to track where your money is being spent, so budgeting is that much easier. But who are we kidding, it’s your parents money so why give a damn. Put it on plastic and forget about it.
- www.mint.com

DropBox
Step into cloud city, Trinity. This is Lando Calrissian here to show you the way of the DropBox. This free web service (and phone application) allows you to “drop” your photos, videos, music, and documents to an online location that allows you to share between devices (computer, phone, etc.) and with friends. This program is a must have for the fall season.
- www.dropbox.com

Michael Biornstad