New Study Tools
Not surprisingly, often the first use I imagine for any new software I encounter is for, or in support of, the classroom. I've found several useful sites recently to help students take better notes and study more efficiently and effectively. Some of these tools also help students collaborate in study activities even when separated by geography, an increasing necessity for many out here on the plains of South Dakota.
1) "The Potential Blog" has five great suggestions for how to take better lecture notes. I especially like the suggestion on using brackets to insert your own ideas (or prayers!) as you try to keep up.
2) DegreeTutor has 57 tips, most of which don't come across as too cynical, for writing better term papers. Highlights include "Professors are human" and "Don't lie to your professor. Ever. They smell the stench of your lie before you open your mouth . . ."
3) Online mind-mapping made simpler: Bubble.us . I'm still partial to FreeMind because it allows the student to embed hyperlinks into any bubble, taking her to previously located resources, whether they be online or in the student's "My Documents" folder, but the bubbl.us tool above is very sleek and usable.
4) Memorizable.org offers a very functional study system called "memory tables", which are a bit like flash cards, only easily convertible into a multiple choice interface, which helps students transition from "I have no clue" to "I'm able to venture a guess."
5) A similar tool to #4 is Quizlet, which is more adaptive, re-testing you only on the elements you get wrong.
At last! Students have no more excuses! And now I and my invisible unicorn pal Pointy must rush off to a party in Delusionville.
