Share class notes with Google Docs

Google Docs is like having Microsoft Word in your email account.  Once you sign up, you have access to a word processor and spreadsheet application that can import and export files to and from Microsoft and Open Document formats.  It doesn’t have all the features of Microsoft Office, but it’s good enough for most of the writing you’ll have to do during college.  Best of all, you can give your friends access and editing privileges for your documents, enabling easy sharing of class notes and study guides, and efficient collaboration on projects.

A few years ago, getting notes for a class I missed meant I had to set up a time to meet, and either copy by hand or find a copy machine.  Now, if I’m getting notes from a colleague who uses Google Docs, sharing notes with me takes 30 seconds and a couple of mouse clicks.

I’ve also used Google Docs to collaborate on study guides.  I imported the review sheet into a Google Doc and shared it with friends.  Each of us could log in, see what questions had been answered, and address the ones that remained.

Google Docs is free.

Click here to learn more about Google Docs

Earn money or merchandise for sharing class notes with Knetwit

Knetwit is like a giant online warehouse for sharing class notes, organized by university and course.  It is free to join, because it is supported by advertising, and shares the revenue with its users.  You can upload your own notes, or view notes posted by others.  Each time you upload a note, you receive points, called “Koin.”  Koin can be redeemed for money or merchandise at the Knetwit Store.  Your notes are available to other Knetwit users, and you receive Koin each time that happens.

Knetwit is most valuable to freshmen and sophomores taking large general education classes, because there is a larger potential pool of notes to draw from.  Grad students in smaller, more specialized classes will find it less useful, but can still upload their notes.

For more about Knetwit read my review here.

Disclaimer: Make sure you aren’t violating any university or class policies before you share your notes in this manner.

Get a permanent phone number, screen calls, and make free phone calls with Google Voice

If you’re anything like me, you moved and changed phone numbers several times during college.  Updating your contacts can be a pain, and sometimes people slip through the cracks.  At one point I almost didn’t get into my intended academic program because my college was trying to contact me at an outdated phone number.

Google Voice solves that problem.  When you sign up, you get a free phone number that is yours for life.  You then set it up to forward to the phone(s) of your choice with rules based on who is calling and what time it is.  You can even screen calls by listening to voicemail messages as they are being left and interrupt if you want to talk to the caller.  Google Voice can also receive text messages and forward them to your cell phone.

Google Voice is useful if you’ve moved to a new area and want to keep your old cell phone number but also have a local number for things like apartment security gates.

If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can use Google Voice to make free phone calls within the US.  This involves some setup, detailed here.

Google Voice is currently available by invitation only.  You can request an invitation here.

Use email as a backup for term papers and projects

Hopefully you’ve never had the experience of losing a critical assignment to a lost or corrupted flash drive.  I have, and that’s why I always use my Gmail account to keep a backup.  Here’s how it works:

1. When you finish working on an assignment, attach a copy of the file to an email and send it to yourself.  You can use the subject line for keywords that will help you find it in your mailbox later.  You an also use Gmail’s labels or Yahoo’s folders to make a category just for your backups.
2. Each time you change the file, delete the email and send an updated copy.

If you lose, forget, or damage your flash drive, you can retrieve and print the assignment from any computer with an internet connection.

Keep business and pleasure separate with virtual desktops

Are you the type of student who likes to keep email, Facebook, Twitter and LOLCats open while you work on school assignments?  Ever wish you had multiple monitors so you could keep your fun stuff open on one while you slave away undistracted at the other?

Virtual Dimension allows you to separate your open programs and windows into multiple desktops as if you had multiple monitors.  You can switch between them with a mouse click or a keystroke.

Right now, I have my email, calendar and Facebook open in one virtual desktop, and I’m blogging in the second.  That helps me stay focused on writing without getting distracted by extra buttons in my task bar.

Virtual Dimension is free and can be downloaded here: http://virt-dimension.sourceforge.net/

Run your favorite programs from a flash drive with Portable Apps

A portable app is a program that has been adapted to run from a flash drive, allowing you to carry around your favorite programs, preferences, and bookmarks and use them on any Windows computer.  Many open source programs are available as portable apps, including web browsers like FireFox, office suites like Open Office, and image editing and developer tools like the GIMP, Kompozer, and Notepad++.  You can set up your flash drive to include only the programs you want.

Portable Apps is free.  You can learn more and download it at PortableApps.com.

Save money with open source software

Last summer, I blogged about how I’ve saved over $1,200 by using free, open source alternatives to commercial programs.  This includes using Open Office instead of Microsoft Office, and free developer tools like Kompozer and the GIMP instead of Dreamweaver and Photoshop.  Read the full post here.

Have something to say?  Tell us about it in the comments.

Disclaimer: This post is intended for people who are smart, responsible, and organized.  If you are majoring in beer and the opposite sex, this advice is not for you.  You need to read college advice written by people who will tell you to put your nose to the grindstone and never let up.

Myth Number 1: Never miss a class

This is generally good advice.  Most professors test heavily on material covered in lectures, so you need to either be there or get notes from someone else.  You can often get a feel for how the professor will test by listening to lectures.  Some professors require attendance and base part of your grade on it.  However, there are a few situations in which skipping class can actually help you work more efficiently.

• The professor is an ineffective lecturer and you can learn the material by studying the textbook.  This works best with math and science classes.  I once had a trigonometry class where the textbook was so well written that I could learn the material better by staying home and studying than by listening to lectures.  Homework assignments were posted on the course website, and the professor did not require attendance.  I made sure I had tests and due dates on my calendar, and I dropped off homework at the professor’s office each week.  I earned a B in that class.  It would have been an A, but I got lazy during finals week.
• Recitation sessions that slow you down.  I spread my general education classes throughout all four years, which meant I took several freshman-level classes as an upperclassman.  Some of the 100 level classes had “recitation sessions” in addition to the lectures.  The recitation sections were run by teaching assistants, and provided a way to reinforce concepts and collaborate on homework.  After a couple of sessions in one class, I realized that I could do the work faster on my own.  I talked to the TA, who told me I could just turn in my homework and leave if I preferred.  I did that for the rest of the semester and earned an A in the class.
• You have a test or project in another class that is distracting you from the one you are sitting in.  If you are sitting in Class A worrying about the paper you have to turn in tomorrow for Class B, you should probably go work on your paper.  Just make sure you get notes from someone later.

Myth Number 2: Always buy the textbook

I nearly choked on my morning orange juice when I read this one.  This is good advice some of the time, but with the exorbitant price of textbooks, you don’t want to buy anything you don’t absolutely have to have.  You also don’t want to have to haul extra weight around if you don’t have to.

Unfortunately, it took me a long time to wise up on this one.  I bought a lot of books that I never even touched between the first week of classes and textbook buyback at the bookstore.  Among other things, I was concerned about paying the higher price of a new book later if I didn’t buy the used book now.

Here are some suggestions for determining whether you really need the book:

• Talk to a friend who has already taken the class from that professor.  Find out which books they used and which they didn’t.
• Talk to the professor on the first day of class.  Find out whether you will be tested on material that is in the book but not covered in lectures.  Find out whether the book will be used in class.  If the answer to these questions is no, then you don’t need the book.  Even if the book will be used in class, you might be able to work out some kind of sharing arrangement with another student.

Myth Number 3: You need the latest edition of the textbook

Textbook publishers gratuitously print new editions every few years, even if there is no new material.  It’s a scam, and is usually done for no other reason than to make more money.  Mrs. Fencepost once painstakingly compared a current edition to the previous edition, and found them to be nearly identical.  The publisher had moved one chapter and changed a few of the end of chapter questions.  Ironically, some of the changes included errors in the new edition that weren’t in the old.

Some professors are more sympathetic than others in this regard.  Some will go so far as to include page numbers in the syllabus for the previous edition.  Others don’t care which edition you use, but you are on your own for finding and reading the right section.  It helps if you have a friend in the class who will let you compare your book with theirs when necessary.

Myth Number 4: Always pick classes that challenge you

All universities have a core curriculum, often called general education, that all students must take to graduate.  The idea is that you will graduate as a well-rounded individual, able to understand and converse on a variety of topics- not just your specialty.  I applaud this idea.  My degrees are in music performance, but some of my favorite classes were on history, economics, and psychology.  I use concepts from my major to make a living, but I use concepts from general ed classes to understand the world and the people around me.

That said, the fact is that during most semesters, you will eventually go into what I call “survival mode.”  In other words, no matter how jazzed you were about your classes at the beginning of the semester, you will eventually get to a point where you are struggling just to keep up with all of them.  Homework, tests, and papers all blur together, and YOU JUST WANT TO NOT BE STRESSED OUT ANYMORE!!!  Having one or two “easy A’s” can be a real sanity-saver and prevent burnout.

Myth Number 5: Work hard all the time and don’t party

Even the most dedicated students need to unwind sometimes.  Find some things to do for fun, and a few friends to do them with.  You’ll be happier and more efficient if you do.  If you don’t have time for fun, you are probably taking too many credits.  No one is going to die if you take longer than 4 years to complete your double-major in chemical engineering and microbiology with minors in owl stuffing and didgeridoo performance.  You can have all the academic and monetary success in the world, but if you don’t take some time to enjoy it, what’s the point?

Besides that, much of your success in life will happen through your friends.  Socializing isn’t a waste of time- it’s an opportunity to build connections that just might help you find a job, fund a business, or get a promotion some day.

The most important learning you do in college won’t happen in class.  Moving away from home, taking control of your life, and trying new things (some of which your mother wouldn’t approve of) is part of growing up.  Along the way, you’ll learn what works and doesn’t work for you.  It’s fairly likely that you’ll change your major at some point, possibly more than once.  You may decide to study abroad for a semester, or take some time off and travel.  The beauty of being an adult is that you can make those choices, and you don’t have to apologize for them.  What kind of life you choose to build for yourself is up to you.