Archives for the 'Student Tools' Category
Student Tools: OneBigU [Gearfire Productivity]
OneBigU’s slogan says it all, “Answer Questions, Help Darfur.” OneBigU is the brainchild of Eric Cheung, a University of Toronto graduate.
The idea came when I was stuck on an assignment for school. Sure, I could call up a friend or pester them with messages, but why do that?
I was pretty sure I wasn’t the [...]
Wikipedia? No, Citizendium! [Gearfire Productivity]
Here is the story. Fresher student wants to write the single best essay they have ever attempted. Student searches keyword in Google. Student clicks on first entry on the page that will usually end with, for example …/wiki/French_Revolution. Student reads, believes, cites, and references Wikipedia. Student hand in essay, waits, and fails. Or maybe does [...]
Student Tools: ClearCheckbook [Gearfire Productivity]
On GearFire, I write about productivity and time management. If the adage “time is money” is true, then students need to manage their money too. Enter ClearCheckbook, a free Web 2.0 application for personal finance.
ClearCheckbook runs under the slogan “money management made easy” and I can wholeheartedly agree having used it for the [...]
WikiSummary [Gearfire Productivity]
Summaries can be really useful as a quick reminder of an article’s main points to use when revising for an exam or to bring to class. They are also helpful before delving into the original as a road map. WikiSummary is a free database containing over 600 summaries of scholarly research in the social [...]
Quick Tip: Remember the Milk for Gmail [Gearfire Productivity]
Remember the Milk, a great to web-based to-do list application, has released an excellent plug-in for the Firefox. It works with gmail, creating a panel on the right side of your screen with your to-do list in it. It’s now right there and you can add, remove, change and see all of your tasks in [...]
7 Steps to Creating the Perfect Course Schedule [Gearfire Productivity]
This post was inspired by my recently received horror of a schedule for my second semester as a freshman. I had Mondays off, but was greeted with two 8 AM starts and one 9 AM start (I have to commute), a 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM course, and large gaps between courses (up to [...]
Student Tool: Citastic [Gearfire Productivity]
Citastic is a simple “MLA citation and bibliography creator.”
You start by picking the appropriate source in the left sidebar.
Citastic provides a form to fill in the information of your source.
After inputting your sources, you can choose to save the list (if you’ve created a free account), email it, or create a bibliography. If you [...]
5 reasons to get a public library card. Really. [Gearfire Productivity]
If you haven’t visited your library’s website lately, you probably should. The resources might surprise you. They certainly surprised me.
I discovered this weekend that my local libraries (both county AND city) allow you to download audiobooks. I love audiobooks; it’s the only way I get to “read” fiction anymore. So I [...]
GTD Mondays: Weekly Assignments [Gearfire Productivity]
A (long) while ago, Geoff proposed a weekly series dedicated to GTD. After a gentle reminder, I present the first of GearFire’s GTD Mondays.
I’m a university freshman this year. One of the biggest transitions has been the responsibility shift of homework. I attended a high school with a strong academic reputation. [...]
I Got Sandy, and You Can Too! [Gearfire Productivity]
Iwantsandy is a new breed of organizational system to keep people organized on the go. It is marketed as more of a virtual secretary than a personal to-do list. Instead of adding items into your to-do list or tickler files manually, you can CC Sandy when you send an email with important information, and she [...]