If you were thinking of treating yourself to some souped-up laptop that you could use to take lightning-fast notes in the lecture hall next year, you might want to reconsider: some colleges and universities are looking to ban laptops in classrooms.
It’s always been good manners to turn off your cell phone and iPod in a classroom, but laptops have usually been welcomed—provided that students were actually using them to work, and not surf the web, check email, or update their Facebook statuses. Here’s a shocker—most students have been using their laptops to do anything BUT take notes, and so professors are putting their collective foot down.
The Washington Post is reporting that professors at George Washington University, American University, College of William and Mary, and University of Virginia have banned laptops in the classroom. It’s a great way to limit classroom distractions, but it’s a hard pill to swallow for some students, particularly since schools often require students to purchase laptops to take full advantage of the campus technology, including wireless Internet access.
Do you need a laptop in the classroom? Of course not. Handwriting notes in a regular notebook is a tried-and-true method that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, despite any number of new gizmos that Apple introduces. However, laptops are an awesome gadget to have in the dorm room, the library, and wherever else on campus you might decide to write a term paper—or shop online.
So go ahead and buy that cool, sleek new laptop, but plan on leaving it at home or in the dorm if you go to one of the schools mentioned above. At other schools that have not fully embraced the ban, you might get a few dirty looks from the professor or worse—check out this video documenting a professor’s wrath over a laptop in the classroom. (Yes, it was staged).
Normally we’re all about college scholarships at The CollegeBound Network, but this non-scholarship contest was way too cool to pass up.
Do you know how the logo on the Google homepage often has a beautiful design to commemorate special days, like during the Olympics, when each day the Google logo featured a different Olympic event? Well, Google is giving you a chance to see your own artwork up there through the “Doodle 4 Google” competition, open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The theme of Doodle 4 Google is “If I Could Do Anything, I Would…” and students are invited to be as imaginative as possible, so long as their drawings and sketches fit in with the Google logo, as have all the other wonderful Google graphics in years past. Considering the Google home page is viewed by millions of eyes each day, that’s a pretty nice audience for an amateur artist. And if you are planning on being an art major in college, having your work on Google would make an excellent first impression.
The winning Google logo will be featured on the home page on May 27. You must register for the competition by March 17, though you have until March 31 to turn in your drawing. Good luck! We look forward to seeing your work on the Google homepage.
Happy New Year! I’m a big fan of reevaluating my current situation each year and setting new goals. Of course, some always fall by the wayside—like last year, when I resolved to hit the gym so that I would look like Heidi Klum in time for swimsuit season.
This year, I’ve decided to be less specific with my resolutions in favor of making more general changes that would benefit my life. First up: Have a better sense of humor. Don’t get me wrong—I already laugh a lot, but I think that humor is a great way to get through a lot of what life throws at us when we least expect it.
Take the SAT, for instance. We all know the test is no laughing matter, but when a study resource mentions the ages of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore (along with R. Kelly’s penchant for young girls and the size of Donald Trump’s ego), it’s quite alright to chuckle! Thanks to The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT* Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep by Charles Horn, PhD., there can be a whole new SAT you in 2010….
You in 2009: Being bored to death by word problems You in 2010: Doing word problems while chuckling about juicy celebrity fodder:
1 – Fourteen years ago, Ashton Kutcher was exactly half the age of his wife Demi Moore. The sum of their ages today is 76. How old will Ashton be in 20 years when he leaves Demi for her first-born daughter?
a) 30
b) 48
c) 50
d) 52
e) 53
You in 2009: Memorizing vocabulary words, blah blah, blah… You in 2010: Working on sentence completion examples that crack you up:
2 – Yo Momma so ____________, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
a) diaphanous
b) luminous
c) ravenous
d) grisly
e) corpulent
You in 2009: Muddling through boring critical reading passages You in 2010: Speeding through passages like this:
3 – Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, warned consumers today about a critical flaw in their Windows operating system, the operating system used in the computers of virtually every business and person on the planet not smart enough to buy a Mac…
If only the real SAT were as cool as this! Even though you might snicker through your study sessions, this book will still help you immensely when it comes to honing your math, writing, and critical reading skills.
(The answers to 1 and 2, btw, are C and E. Oh, and the * in the book title indicates that the College Board was not involved in the publication, probably because the people on the College Board do not know how to laugh.)
Leave it to someone in the comment section of Teacher Tube (yes, that’s YouTube for teachers) to dub this eighth-grade teacher from Michigan the “Education Eminem.” But truly, Daniel Joseph Duey is a teacher who is taking creativity in the classroom to a new level. Just watch…
There is so much stimulation over the Web these days that it only makes sense for teachers to utilize the latest technology to reach (and subsequently, teach) their students. In fact, degree programs in curriculum and instruction are focusing more and more on the integration of all sorts of media to help teachers develop curriculum that will inspire students. Study after study show that the more students are engaged in what they’re learning, the better they perform.
So where was this guy when I was in school, struggling with math?!
Halloween is coming up in a few short days, and with the box-office battle between Paranormal Activity and Saw VI, there’s no shortage of chills and thrills in sight. So imagine my surprise when I found that the real terror comes from the seemingly tame College Board and its college cost calculator.
WARNING! THE INFORMATION BELOW IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
Here’s how the calculator works. Let’s say you are gearing up to go to a private college in two years. Plug in the average cost of tuition for a public or private college, along with the rate of inflation, how many years you plan to attend the school, the percent of tuition you will finance from your savings, and how many years you have before you enroll. Then click “calculate.” Try not to scream.
We already know that college tuition costs are climbing, but when you are faced with actual numbers, it can be downright frightening. A friend of mine recently had a baby, and just for kicks, I decided to find out what kind of tuition bill that tiny little newborn would face 18 years from now. The future cost is close to $90,000 a year at a private institution. Creepy.
Try it yourself . . . if you dare.
I hear that the producers of Paranormal Activity are already planning a sequel, but really, they could save the time and trouble by just directing viewers to the College Board’s calculator. Seriously—there’s a reason they call it sticker shock.
The good news is that students rarely pay the full price colleges demand. Scholarships, grants, and loans all help to make the finances more manageable. And just as the oblivious people in horror movies are not alone in their homes, you’re not alone in your struggle to fund your college degree.
College finances giving you nightmares? The CollegeBound Network can help you figure it all out.
I was surprised the other day to see a college student I know pull out a stack of index cards and flip through them while studying for a big test. She and her friends constantly text and communicate via Facebook, but when it comes to taking notes and marking important passages in a textbook, they seem to turn to traditional paper instead of technology.
That observation fits with what The Associated Press reported when Amazon.com gave university students Kindle devices this fall. The Kindles, which had been uploaded with digital textbooks –pricier than books –were tested by more than 200 college students.
Some students reported problems typing notes using the small keys. Although there’s the ability to highlight passages or bookmark pages, some students told the AP that they had trouble sorting through the many bookmarks.
One positive: Students said the portable Kindle allowed them to study more often.
If you are pursuing a career in technology, your future could involve creating tech-savvy tools that assist students in learning and studying.
Some of my friends in college or who work at colleges say the drawbacks are the lack of color and difficulty with graphics or reading PDF documents that professors may provide students. They and the students interviewed by the AP also said they didn’t want to lose the ability to scribble notes in margins.
In an electronic world, index cards and notebooks still have a place – for now.
Who says you have to shell out top dollar or leave your home state in order to receive an Ivy-League caliber education? Thanks to the power of the Internet, dozens of colleges and universities from across the country have made it possible for students to download and view lectures from some of their top professors and courses.
The best thing about these online lecture sites? They’re free! Check out a few below:
Who? Academic Earth Where?www.academicearth.org What? Features video lectures from the following universities: UC Berkely, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, Yale. Sample subjects? Physics III: Vibrations and Waves, Computational Science and Engineering I, and Aircraft Systems Engineering.
Who? Open Culture Where?www.openculture.com What? MP3s and videos of lecture from such schools as Columbia University, CUNY, UC Berkely, MIT, and Oxford University. Sample subjects? Existentialism in Literature & Film, Astrobiology and Space Exploration, and Information, Law and Policy.
Who? WGBH Forum Network Where?http://forum.wgbh.org/ What? Speeches and video lectures from professors and other movers, shakers, and top minds from around the nation. Sample subjects? Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces with Prof. Frank Wilczek, Poetry and Perception with Susan Stewart, and Cultural Humanist with Joss Whedon.
And if you need to pump up on your math and science skills for upcoming SATs, make sure to check out the Khan Academy, which we first covered back last December. The founder, Salman Khan, is a Harvard MBA and has taped dozens upon dozens of YouTube videos detailing everything from the basics of algebra to the nitty-gritty of physics.
– Genevieve M. Blaber
>> Thanks to CollegeCandy for their recent coverage of Academic Earth and Open Culture.
According to a recent survey by Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana), cell phone use – and smartphone use, in particular – is on the rise amongst college students. After speaking with 300 students, researchers found that while 99.7 percent owned a mobile device of some sort, 27 percent owned a smartphone.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a smartphone is generally defined as a mobile phone that has its own OS and/or has an e-mail, web browser, and other applications.
“College students are increasingly adopting cell phones – particularly the smartphone – as the core communication and entertainment device for their hectic lifestyles,” said Michael Hanley, the journalism assistant professor who in charge of the mobile communications research program at Ball State. “In the few years since instant messaging (IM) leaped from the computer to the cell phone, a new mobile lifestyle has evolved. And save for studying, the computer is quickly being left behind.”
That’s a bit extreme if you ask me. You can’t assume students are cutting down on their surfing habits at home just because they now rely upon mobile Internet or that one form has overtaken the other; it just means that students’ day-to-day lives require more on-the-go connectivity than in the past. While it used to be easy to wait until you were home to log-on for example, these days many professors e-mail about last-minute assignments and canceled classes making it in your best interest to stay on top of your inbox – especially if you find yourself busy with after-school activities, internships, and the like.
As someone who got a smartphone during her last year of university, I would definitely recommend the tool for any student that finds him/herself on the run and away from the nearest computer terminal or WiFi hotspot. I was able to keep up-to-date with my classmates about group projects, stay in touch with friends, and find out right away if my class was cancelled or my office was closed due to weather. And while it did cut down on some of my surfing time at home, that’s only because I was using my smartphone to check my feeds during my commute.
Used to using YouTube for quick comedic clips, moving music videos, and film from family and friends? Well, it looks like you’ll have to reevaluate your view of the site from now on. While colleges and universities have been uploading clips of their courses and professors for quite some time, April marked the formal introduction of YouTube EDU, a YouTube landing page that puts you in touch with educational videos from schools all over the nation.
While the page looks a bit chaotic at first, it does boast a directory that will link you to the school channel you’re interested in. So far this list includes such top names as Harvard University, Stanford University, and Virginia Tech, with videos covering everything from physics to cooking lessons. It’s definitely worth checking out whether you’re already in college or just starting to consider the possibilities.
Well, to be honest, Ashton, neither did we! But it seems the world of academics is trying to get a little more pop-culture relevant each day – or at least in the UK, it is. According to The Guardian newspaper, cited in this Australian article, the British government is pushing to reinvent the curriculum for primary schools by making classes more tech-savvy.
While all the old subjects and staples will still be present, teachers will be encouraged to be more flexible, integrating lessons on Wikipedia, blogging, podcasting, and even – yes, Ashton – Twitter. (Though I thankfully doubt the courses would focus on analyzing Ashton’s latest tweets on the merits of chest hair.)
Naturally, there are already some detractors popping up to put down the overhaul. John Bangs of the National Union of Twitterers sorry, Teachers, accuses the government recommendations of jumping on the latest trends. That’s a bit over-simplified. According to the article, the report stresses the importance of studying these networks in order for students to familiarize themselves with effective global communication. Students would also have to improve their typing skills and – let’s all be thankful – their spelling as well.
So count me on the side of the UK government. The sooner kids learn how to effectively and safely use the Internet, the better.
Join four girls who are in love with grammar, coffee, and their iPods as they dish on everything you need to know NOW to make the transition from high school to college. It wasn't too long ago that we walked a mile in your excited, eager, and slightly nervous student shoes. Believe us -- it really can be the best four years of your life.
If you were thinking of treating yourself to some souped-up laptop that you could use to take lightning-fast notes in the lecture hall next year, you might want to reconsider: some colleges and universities are looking to ban laptops in classrooms.
Normally we’re all about college scholarships at The CollegeBound Network, but this non-scholarship contest was way too cool to pass up.
Happy New Year! I’m a big fan of reevaluating my current situation each year and setting new goals. Of course, some always fall by the wayside—like last year, when I resolved to hit the gym so that I would look like Heidi Klum in time for swimsuit season.
That observation fits with what The Associated Press reported when Amazon.com gave university students 
Who says you have to shell out top dollar or leave your home state in order to receive an Ivy-League caliber education? Thanks to the power of the Internet, dozens of colleges and universities from across the country have made it possible for students to download and view lectures from some of their top professors and courses.
According to a recent survey by Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana), cell phone use – and smartphone use, in particular – is on the rise amongst college students. After speaking with 300 students, researchers found that while 99.7 percent owned a mobile device of some sort, 27 percent owned a smartphone.