How Emerging Technology Is Transforming Higher Education

From smartboards to immersive virtual environments like Second Life, higher education is fertile ground for new learning technologies.  These technologies will have a lasting impact on the way students learn, the way teachers teach, and everything in between.  They are designed to make use of the incredible advances in information communication and collaborative consumption technologies, and they will prepare students to live in the modern world.

Education technology, or edtech, comes in many forms.  Let’s take a look at a few of the major ways it will change our educational system. Continue reading

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How to Transfer to Another College

Source: Chicagoreader.com

Transferring to another college is something that few students consider when they begin their college careers, but nearly a third of them will end up transferring at some point.

When You Should Consider Transferring to Another College

There is no precise reason as to why you should transfer because it really depends on your personal situation. Students transfer all of the time for many different reasons. Some people transfer to get a better financial package while others may decide that they would like to be closer to home. Some students transfer later on because they realize that their current institution does not offer a particular major or program that they need or it may be just because they felt like the college did not offer the right for them. For some, it is about having a second chance to get into their dream school if they did not make the first time. Continue reading

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Getting Involved in College Extracurricular Activities

Your social life is just as important as your academic career in college. In addition to earning good grades, you will need to be social on campus in order to network and broaden your horizons. It can be overwhelming when you see how many organizations are active on your campus, but there is a way to simplify the process.

Here is a brief overview of all of the college extracurricular activities available.

Greek Life

Greek life organizations are often among some of the most popular extracurricular activities. This includes fraternities and sororities. They are social organizations that tend to offer a combination of academic and social support to participants. Some colleges have really a really strong offering of Greek organizations, while others may have few if any on campus. Membership in a Greek organization is selective and you will have to complete the pledging process in order to have the chance to gain membership.

Professional Organizations

Professional organizations are basically occupational organizations for college students like the American Marketing Association, National Human Resources Association, and the of American Finance Association. There are a wide array professional organizations for almost every field and they are essentially college chapters of national professional organizations. They typically offer membership to college students at a reduced cost and they still provide some of the same resources in terms of training, networking, and job opportunities. Joining one of these organizations may give you a jumpstart on your career search. Continue reading

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5 Jobs That Are Ideal for College Students

Many college students are torn between needing to earn money and attending class. While some employers are flexible with student schedules, many expect the job to be the employee’s top priority. Homework and classes are intense in most cases, therefore certain jobs are better suited for college students than others.

1. Paid Internship

What better way to earn money than with an internship that will help you with your education and assist you with paying your bills? Employers oftentimes look for experience in the field before they’ll even consider you, so this is an ideal way to gain the valuable experience that you need. You’ll be preparing yourself for your job post-college.  Continue reading

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Call Focus to your Attention!

Before we explore some of the major theoretical aspects of attention and concentration and how they apply to college students in particular, let’s take a few moments to connect with the issue on a practical level.

Read the following list of 10 random words once, and then spend about 10 extra seconds studying it. Make sure you try to concentrate on the list as much as you can. Now, look away and try to either recite or better yet, write down as many words from the list as you can remember.

Alligator Sour Scroll Richard Door
Crayon Pilgrim Blanket Radio Contagious

How many words were you able to recall? Continue reading

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Business Built Around MOOCs: Improving the MOOC Experience

source: Edtech Magazine

Recent years have seen an obvious MOOC trend in edtech. These massive open online courses (MOOCs) allow students from around the globe to sit in on classes offered by colleges via the internet. However, the completion rate of these courses tends to hover around 10% depending on which provider your ask. This signals room for improvement and edtech companies are lining up with solutions to deliver higher completion rates. While there is some debate about where MOOCs fit into the higher education landscape, there are few people questioning if MOOCs will be around in the future.

Improve the MOOC Experience

The idea that thousands of students around the world can participate in an online class is taken as a given with the advent of the MOOC. Now, the discussion has moved to the pedagogy that will best engage these students. Most MOOCs offer instruction to any student in the world with internet access and a desire to learn, but no need for college credit. However, some businesses are experimenting with different business models to improve the basic structure of the programs. For example: Udacity offers courses for credit, NovaEd is focused on small group learning, and edX is offering blended courses in partnership with the California State University system. These and many other experiments in the supplemental education market indicate that MOOCs will only be part of the future of education. Continue reading

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Utilizing Edtech Companies to Maximize Study Time Efficiency

During finals, its important to take advantage of every resource at your disposal to help you master the material for your exams. Here’s a list of tools to add to your study arsenal: Continue reading

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How To ACTUALLY Study In Your Dorm Room

Your dorm may look like this normally, but it's important to create an organized space so you can fully concentrate when studying. Clean it up and hit the books!

Despite what you have heard, you can study anywhere, even inside of your dorm. A lot of students prefer not to study in their dorms because they find them to be very distracting due to their roommates, clutter, and a number of other factors. A dorm is really your personal space, so there is no reason why you cannot study there. It can be difficult to go out of your way to go to a library or coffee shop during certain hours, so why not create a study zone in your dorm. Here are some tips about how you can actually study in your dorm.

Get Organized

Before you even attempt to study, it is important that you get organized. This means that you should clean up your entire room, not just your desk, prior to studying. Having a clean room will help your mind stay focused. A junky, cluttered room will not only make you feel claustrophobic, but it will also make it difficult to keep track of your books and assignments. Organize both your room and the study space within your room for your own piece of mind.  Continue reading

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How Online Classes Are Changing the Face of Higher Education

University of Washington course, Introduction to Data Science, hosted on MOOC platform, Coursera

The ability of colleges to offer online education has changed the entire dynamic of higher education. From being able to accommodate non-traditional students working a full-time job to helping students schedule classes in a more efficient manner, online classes make higher education available to more people than ever before. A recent article in the National Journal highlighted many of the money saving measures that online classes offer to students. Between saving money and time, online classes are hard to beat. Continue reading

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5 Reasons to go to Your Professor’s Office Hours

Professor Office Hours

Source: collegetocareers.com

Visiting with your professors is an essential aspect of your college experience. They are not just there to assist with your assignments, but they are also there for guidance and support. Professors often have access to resources and information that can help with your studies as well as your career. Here are five reasons why you should to go to your professor’s office hours:

1. To Get Help 

One of the main reasons why you should go to your professor’s office hours is because you need to get help with your assignments. Most professor’s will not necessarily fail you just because you did poorly on your assignments, but they will not give you the benefit of the doubt if you did not even attempt to reach out to them for help. Although it can be embarrassing to see them at first, you must do it because they at least want to see that you tried your best on the assignments and asked for help ahead of time. Continue reading

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