1. Keep a planner and calendar.

   Your calendar provides the backbone of your life. When you’re a teenager or young adult, there are periods when it might seem like you have few enough obligations that you can keep them in your head and still not miss appointments. All that means is, it’s the best possible time to begin off-loading those commitments onto a calendar. Get in the habit of using it consistently, and your unscheduled time will be even more care-free.

2. Divide your time into blocks.

   This is the true secret to getting work finished instead of procrastinating (while you simultaneously freak out about how much you have left to do). Slow and steady wins the race. The Pomodoro Technique is one way, but longer chunks of an hour or two might work better for you. Work long enough to accomplish something, but not so long you burn out. Then reward yourself by doing something else (also for a set amount of time).

3. Know when to “just say no.”

   We’re not referring here to drug or alcohol addictions, which you should address without shame or hesitation as soon as you suspect you might have one. Even healthy partiers can be tempted to overdo it in college. Nor is peer pressure always sinister; your friends can be well-meaning and still talk you into bad decisions, like playing Wii games all night when you have a paper due. Enjoy your social life but draw the line when you must.

4. Don’t rely on all-nighters.

   Some people take pride in the fact that they can knock out an assignment in a single night’s work fueled by pressure and adrenaline. But it helps instill bad habits that don’t transfer well at all to the working world — and operating without sleep doesn’t get any easier on your body as you age.

5. Set a regular bedtime, at least on weekdays.

   Recent research suggests that keeping a steady bedtime is an important factor for your health. Work with your regular circadian rhythms, not against them.

6. Eat the most important meal of the day.

   That’s right, this important career habit is part of this balanced breakfast! Even if you’re more the type to roll out of bed and walk to class in pajamas, make the effort to hit the cafeteria first. Eating breakfast improves cognitive performance and gives you more energy for your day.

7. Get a real apartment.

   Living in the dorms is great, but for at least one out of four years you ought to try getting your own place with a roommate or two. It will teach you all kinds of life lessons (often the hard way, of course) so you’ll be that much more ahead when you depart academia entirely.

8. Learn how to shop for groceries.

   This is one reason to get your own pad. Learning to cook gives you a skill that will pay off for life, both financially and health-wise. The goal should be to shift your consumption as much as possible from takeout and packaged foods to ingredients you buy and prepare yourself, and the key to that is to have as wide as possible a repertoire of recipes with which you’re comfortable.

9. Try taking on a side job.

   Many people have no choice in the matter and must work steadily to pay for school. Others are luckier and have support from parents, scholarships, or loans. But it’s still good to have beer money, and even if you don’t need the paychecks, it’s good to get comfortable with the idea of having a part-time gig for extra savings (or to pay off debt).

10. Stay (or get) in shape; it will never be this easy again.

    Seriously, it won’t. Chances are you have access to a well-equipped and convenient gym, as well as intramural sports and other physical pastimes. Take advantage of it, and of your metabolism in its prime.

11. Start regular check-ups while you’re still young and healthy.

    As with diet and exercise, annual physicals and biannual dental cleanings are lifelong preventive habits that will keep you in prime fighting condition to focus on your other ambitions. The days of young people going without health insurance are over. We all need to take responsibility for our own wellness, both for our own sake and each others’.

12. Don’t count on extensions or incompletes.

    At most colleges, you can get away with a lot of unprofessional shenanigans that would never fly in the real world. Don’t take advantage of that unless you absolutely have to, because otherwise you’ll be depriving yourself of good habits that you’ll need later, when the authority figures in your life will be less indulgent.

13. Maintain contacts and never burn bridges.

    Speaking of staying on your professors’ good sides, begin building relationships that can help you achieve your dreams. Within reason, do your best never to leave anyone with a bad taste in their mouths, whether exes or ex-bosses. For better or worse, interpersonal karma has its ways of playing itself out.

14. Keep an organized file cabinet.

    Paper may seem outmoded, and you can always scan everything and back it up, but you’ll feel more comfortable keeping hard copies of anything you think you might want to have handy later. Buy a cabinet you won’t hate to use, and sort through it regularly, dividing everything into intuitive categories and tossing out what’s outdated or not needed.

15. Do chores like clockwork.

    Every boy’s dorm room (some girls of course, but especially the guys) tends to boast the same topographical feature: a heaping, dirty mountain of laundry. Chores aren’t so bad if you have a routine you stick to; schedule an odd few hours to do laundry when you don’t have class (preferably a weekday afternoon when you won’t be competing with many others). The same goes for other chores, especially if you’re off campus; you can also prevent a lot of roommate fights and resentment if you have a clear and workable system.

Despite all this sage advice, college is a great time to goof around, and you don’t want to forget to have fun; in fact you should consider that a major priority at this stage of your life. But do your best to exercise some conscious control over your own growth and development now, so you can avoid a rude awakening later. Put this virtuous self-programming into effect before life forces you to, and your 20s will be a piece of cake!

When considering MOOCs as a source for higher education, students face the pros and cons of the cost-free courses. On the one hand, the free courses are available from top-tier schools such as UC Berkeley, Yale, and Stanford; but on the flip-side, completing the courses does not mean a student receives credit. In fact, the courses do not technically count towards a degree. However, Colorado State University recently changed that dynamic.

To eliminate the two primary problems associated with MOOCs – lack of credit awarding and cheating on tests – Colorado State University’s Global Campus announced that credit will now be awarded to online students who complete the Introduction to Computer Science: Building a Search Engine course via Udacity and take a proctored test. According to the NY Times, the Global Campus is the first American institution offering credit for a MOOC from Udacity.

Proctored exams seem to be the key that will unlock the door to credited MOOCs, which would revolutionize the education system. The alternative to courses not currently credited is for a student to take online courses through edX, which will soon be the first MOOC provider to grant students a special certificate of completion for their course at the cost of a small (undisclosed) fee, the NY Times reported. These certificates will serve as proof to potential employers that the student actually learned the material and skills in the programs.

Other schools and providers of MOOCs are investigating additional options for plagiarism detection and ways to award credit for the courses that are completed legitimately by online learners, according to the NY Times. Students interested in learning more about MOOCs can click here and compare the top providers, here.

Thanks to a new partnership with Coursera, Brown University is now able to provide those courses at no charge to the student. Admittance to the university is not required and the courses can be completed entirely online. Any student interested in taking these three classes from Brown University will now have that opportunity.

Coursera is a company that provides a platform for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Brown University recently announced a new partnership with Coursera to provide three classes in the form of MOOCs beginning in the summer of 2013. The three faculty members who teach these courses in the traditional formats will also deliver the MOOCs to any student with access to the internet and a computer. Brown is excited to share the passion and talent of the faculty with the global public.

“In developing some inspiring Brown courses for the Coursera platform, we are not only bringing the best of Brown to a world learning community, we are also going to learn so much ourselves,” stated Katherine Bergeron, dean of Brown University. The school’s partnership with Coursera is one of the 33 partnerships the program has now established with prominent universities across the nation. The platform currently offers more than 200 courses in 17 areas of studies.

Although many of these courses are not credited and do not count towards a degree, the opportunity for students to have free access to these valuable educational resources is unprecedented in the academic community. Brown University provides some of the most exclusive curriculum among its competitors and now the materials are available to anyone with a desire to learn.

Any career related to the course – computer technology, archaeology or history, and literature or writing – can be supplemented by these courses and benefitted positively by the material in the courses. MOOCs are in the beginning stages of a predictably revolutionary form of higher education and as an increasing number of schools join the movement, students will have increased access to educational opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Careers and learning can be positively impacted by MOOCs, which will inevitably translate into higher levels of success for the self-motivated individual.

The program allows users to create online education courses custom-designed to fit their needs. The program was the result of another project headed up by Google earlier this year called Power Searching With Google, which is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that drew an audience of about 155,000 students spanning 196 countries.

MOOCs are an exciting addition to the world of online education as they provide courses from renowned institutions of higher education such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and others to self-motivated learners around the world. Anyone with access to a computer can participate in these courses free of charge. Because an increasing number of schools are participating in offering MOOCs, Google developed Course Builder as a helpful tool and resource to the MOOC providers.

Course Builder does not require high-level programming skills and the software is available to anyone capable of building and maintaining their own website. Peter Norvig, director of Google Research, considers the Course Builder open source project to be somewhat of an experimental step in the world of online education, according to a report by pcmag.com. “We hope to continue development along these lines, but we wanted to make this limited code base available now, to see what early adopters will do with it, and to explore the future of learning technology,” Norvig stated.

Google users can use Course Builder as an open door to connect with Google’s research team, as Google intends to directly interact with the users through the new platform via Google Hangouts. Additionally, individuals interested in using Course Builder can confirm their ability to use the software by evaluating themselves based on Google’s Course Builder Checklist. The checklist helps potential users understand what to expect from the software and how to get started using the program.

The Course Builder support site is currently live and available and the software has received its first update.

Stanford Free Courses

Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE) is an online portal offering 10 courses from Stanford’s School of Engineering at no cost. Courses include instructional videos, reading lists, materials, and class assignments. SEE students have the option to communicate with fellow SEE students online as well, creating a similar dynamic of a classroom setting. Students can pick and choose which materials they need to study and take quizzes and exams. The courses do not count for college credit and do not include access to the computers, libraries, or services offered by Stanford to paying students. Currently, Stanford provides 12 complete courses online free of charge.

UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley recently entered the game of MOOCs when it announced in July that two courses, one in software engineering and the other in artificial intelligence, would become available to the public for free in the fall. The courses will be nearly identical to their on-campus counterparts but will not require personal contact with professors or in-depth research projects. According to a report by the LA Times, the edX website (UC Berkeley’s online platform) gives certificates to students who complete courses but will not offer college credits for the courses. In the future, they may charge for these certificates, the LA Times reported.

MIT Free Courses

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is an online version of nearly all MIT course content and is available to the public at no cost. Although it is a free publication of the course materials from MIT, OCW is not equivalent or leading to an MIT education. OCW does not grant degrees, certificates, or access to faculty and resources, but the content contains the same information as the undergraduate and graduate subjects taught at MIT. Specially designed for independent learners who have few supplementary resources available to them, OCW Scholar courses are significantly more complete than the typical OCW courses. A full list of available OCW Scholar courses is located here.

Duke Free Courses

Through iTunes U, Duke provides a variety of free, noncredit online courses to anyone with access to the web. Duke joins several other prominent universities in a collaborative movement to provide better educational resources to the general public at no cost. The partnership, known as Coursera, was founded in fall of 2011 by two Stanford computer science professors as an experiment in voluntary, higher-level, public education. Courses provided through Coursera are broken into sessions as short as 10 minutes and are paired with quizzes online. Students can interact with each other through discussion groups and message boards. Each program lasts between four and 12 weeks but no credit or certificate is earned. Duke seeks to provide self-motivated learners with access to knowledge and is monitoring the success of the programs to evaluate the level of investment they want to dedicate to Coursera.

Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses cover many of the basic core courses a student would complete in their freshman year and although these courses do not count towards a degree, credit, or a certificate, the information is incredibly valuable. Yale lectures were recorded in the actual classroom and are available in video, text, and audio format via Youtube and iTunes U. Students can access the courses free of charge without creating an account or registering with Yale. Courses are accompanied by a syllabi, suggested reading materials, problem sets, and exams.

1. Born, not made. This old adage explains one of the most commonly-held differences between entrepreneurs and those with an executive MBA. While entrepreneurs typically have a drive and ambition that may also be present in those with an MBA, they usually are willing to take risks in order to succeed that stands them apart from others, and this risk-taking character trait is typically not something that can be taught.
2. Causal reasoning vs. effectual reasoning. According to Dr. Saras D. Sarasvathy, a leader in the researching and teaching entrepreneurship, the difference between entrepreneurs and MBAs lies within the way they reason. According to Dr. Sarasvathy, MBAs gather information about the environments and markets, then make decisions based on what they can control within a situation. On the other hand, entrepreneurs approach decisions with the idea that they can control the situation, and they invoke creative decisions and problem-solving techniques in order to maintain their control over a situation.
3. Knowing the nuts and bolts. MBAs may gain more knowledge to help them to grow or maintain a business’ success whereas an entrepreneur may excel in how to get the business off the ground, but might benefit from what is learned in school to know about finance, marketing, and strategy.
4. Non-conformist. According to research, entrepreneurs are non-conformists. Not only do they want to forge ahead when told they can’t do something, they even take a certain amount of pride in the fact that they do not meet up with set standards. While there are most certainly non-conformists among the MBA set, most people choosing to earn their MBA are embracing what is not only seen as a socially acceptable method of achieving success, but one held in high esteem.
5. Adaptability. While MBAs learn how to create and implement solid business plans, successful entrepreneurs usually rely on a large amount of adaptability to keep their ideas going in the right direction. Good entrepreneurs learn to recognize when their original ideas may need fine tuning or when they might need to take a completely different path to achieve their goals.
6. Willingness to fail. While no one wants to fail, entrepreneurs who experience failure (and that is usually quite a few), learn from their experiences and keep moving forward. MBAs can and do as well, but the basic structure of school is that you succeed. Failing several classes will certainly result in no longer being a part of the program when working for an MBA, but the same can’t be said of entrepreneurship.
7. Security. For many, the goal of getting an MBA is to secure a good job and achieve success in the business world. Achieving success in this manner is much safer than the goal of many entrepreneurs, which is to obtain the same success in business, but without safety net of security. Entrepreneurs may risk their time, energy, and savings to reach a goal that may or may not materialize. For most graduates with an MBA, especially if it is from a top-tier school, landing a good job after graduation is much less risky.
8. Belief in their dreams. Entrepreneurs are well known for following their dreams even, and maybe especially, in the face of adversity. While MBAs also have goals and aspirations, theirs are usually more down-to-earth, such as graduating and securing a good job or becoming CEO of a company. For entrepreneurs, they may be holding on to a dream that seems crazy to others yet they believe fervently has potential.
9. Learning to learn. The business school experience can teach you how to learn. More than just listening, preparing to learn by having a solid baseline of knowledge from which to start, that can come from business school, will eliminate any wasted time getting up to speed when learning from peers and mentors alike. Additionally, getting to know professors and learning about what impassions them can deepen the amount and quality of what is learned. Entrepreneurs can still gain the ability to learn how to learn, but it may not be synthesized into such a short amount of time.
10. Create the future. According to John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan in their book, The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World, entrepreneurs create the future by developing and communicating a clear vision of the future as they see it based on, sometimes, years’ worth of thinking about that vision. While MBAs frequently have insight to what can make a business successful, the entrepreneur typically relies on a type of insight that can’t be learned via accredited degrees but rather is created specifically from the vision within.

Tips

Use these tips to make the most out of social web research.

• Set up alerts: Use various services to create tracking and alerts for industry keywords, your name, and any other information that is relevant to your research.
• Filter your feeds: Monitoring social media can be time consuming, so set up your feeds to only deliver content that’s relevant to you.
• Pay attention to demographics: Be sure to pay attention to the demographics of the social media users you’re using for research.
• Monitor your reputation: Researching the social web will allow you to find out when others are talking about you and allow you to respond.
• Use Google Search’s site: operator: By adding “site:yoursocialmediasiteofchoice,” you can delve into the depths of just about any social media site.
• Set up feeds: Save yourself some time when researching-instead of occasionally checking for alerts, news, and other pieces of social web information, set up an RSS feed that will collect it for you.
• Regularly assess subscriptions: Make sure you’re only following feeds that are helpful to your research by doing a review every month or quarter.
• Use a dashboard: Create your own social media monitoring dashboard in order to keep all of your research in one place.
• Seek out authorities: On Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, get connected with users who will provide you with excellent information.
• Look beyond who you already know: Check out your contacts’ contacts to find people that can offer you quality knowledge as well.
• Just ask: Make use of your social media connections, and simply ask the people you know on Twitter Facebook, LinkedIn and other social sites what you’d like to find out.
• Use “best of” features: On FriendFeed, you can use the “best of” feature to only check out the best posts of the day, week or month, so you can just skip to the good stuff.
• Find out what’s buzzing in your niche: Use social media to track ideas and see what’s going on in your niche.
• Check out popular posts: Use tools that will allow you to see the most popular posts on the web.
• Research your competitors: The social web is a great place to learn about what your competitors are putting out there, and what others are saying about them.
• Stay on top of breaking news: Use social media research to keep up with the important events happening in your niche.
• Always check out the comments: On blogs with a good following, the comments are often as valuable as the blog post itself.
• Get networked: Find out who is talking about issues that are relevant to your niche through social web research.

Social Media Goldmines

Check out these sites for the most reliable research information on the social web.

• Delicious: Delicious is the biggest collection of bookmarks online, and can point you to educational resources for just about anything.
• Wikipedia: This excellent online encyclopedia offers information on just about anything you’d like to know about.
• Digg: Digg highlights top stories and breaking news across the web.
• Facebook: With a large enough network, you can use Facebook to crowdsource information and perform your own market research on connections.
• Yelp: Research local businesses through the information found on Yelp.
• Twitter: Build your Twitter follow list to include sources that can provide you with the ongoing information you seek.
• Flickr: Find images and photographs of people, events, and more on Flickr.

Polls, Q&A

Ask questions and get answers with these tools.

• BuzzDash: Using BuzzDash, you can create a poll and get community members involved.
• LinkedIn Polls: With LinkedIn Polls, you’ll be able to find answers to your research questions by asking your network and other professionals.
• WikiAnswers: On WikiAnswers, users can edit answers to questions anyone asks.
• IKnowTweet: This site monitors Twitter for questions and answers.
• Research Aid: Use Research Aid to get information via questionnaires on Facebook.
• Ask MetaFilter: Use MetaFilter’s tags and search to find the information you’re looking for on Ask MetaFilter.
• ToAnswer: Ask a question to @toask, and you’ll get answers through your Twitter account.
• Answerbag: On Answerbag, you’ll be able to post questions and receive answers that others can vote on.

Trends

Monitor what’s popular on social media sites using these tools.

• TweetVolume: Find out how much your keyword is discussed, and its stats to similar terms.
• Facebook Lexicon: Check out Facebook Lexicon to see what’s being discussed on Facebook walls.
• Technorati: Blogger Central: Check out rising links, top blogs, and more in Blogger Central.
• TweetScan: TweetScan will tell you who is currently talking about the keywords you subscribe to.
• Google Trends: Google Trends shares some of the hottest search trends in social media and beyond.
• Twendz: Stay on top of Twitter conversations and trends through Twendz.
• BlogPulse: Nielsen Buzzmetrics’ BlogPulse offers automatic trend discovery on blogs, and what’s going on in the blogosphere.
• Trendpedia: With Trendpedia, you can see charts that show the volume of topic discussion.
• PostRank: Using PostRank, you’ll be able to find the most talked about posts on any RSS feed.
• Omgili Charts: Through Omgili’s Buzz Graphs, you can measure and compare the buzz of different terms.

Search

These tools will make it easy for you to go straight to what you’re looking for.

• Technorati: Use Technorati’s search to find out what’s being said in the blogosphere.
• Google Custom Search: Google Custom Search will make it easier for you to get results only from the blogs and social media websites that you’re interested in.
• compfight: compfight will search Flickr for inspiration, research, and more.
• Yahoo! Pipes: Using Yahoo! Pipes, you’ll be able to better wrangle information on the social web and beyond.
• Keotag: Use Keotag to tag multiple search engines and generate social bookmark links.
• BlogCatalog Social Media Search Engine: This search engine seeks out information from the BlogCatalog directory as well as more than 20 other social media sites.
• Addictomatic: Addictomatic makes it easy for you to create your own custom page with buzz on any topic.
• Icerocket: Icerocket will allow you to search blogs, the web, Twitte, MySpace, and more.
• FlickrStorm: Use FlickrStorm to find related and relevant images on Flickr.
• WhosTalkin?: This social media research tool will allow you to find topics on more than 60 popular social media sites.
• Google Blog Search: Find recent blog posts in your keywords to get ongoing insight.
• BoardReader: Using BoardReader, you’ll be able to search multiple message boards and forums at once.
• Alltop: Alltop’s “online magazine rack” will help you find information about popular topics being discussed in blogs.
• Omgili: Omgili offers a search that focuses on user generated platforms like forums, discussion groups, and other social media.
• Twitter Search: You can search to see current conversations on Twitter.

Tracking & Alerts

With these tools, you can conveniently get updated whenever your keywords are mentioned on the social web.

• ThreatTracker: Using ThreatTracker, you can identify and assess online threats to your company, brand, or product.
• Google Alerts: Get email updates on the latest Google results for your keyword from Google Alerts.
• TweetDeck: TweetDeck is a Twitter application that offers grouping and notifications for keywords.
• Technorati Watchlist: Set up a Technorati Watchlist to find out when certain URLs or keywords are mentioned in blogs.
• Wikiscanner: Wikiscanner will help you learn about anonymous Wikipedia edits from well known organizations.
• Monitter: Set up keywords in Monitter to keep an eye on keywords on Twitter through RSS as well as live monitoring.
• Backtype: Backtype is an excellent tool for monitoring blog comments.
• BoardTracker: Track words in forums with BoardTracker.
• Yacktrack: Through Yacktrack, you can follow comments from a variety of sources all at once.
• TweetBeep: TweetBeep is a reliable tool for getting alerted when someone tweets about your selected keywords.

Analytics & Information Gathering

Analyze and gather information with the help of these tools.

• Adonomics: Use Adonomics to get analytics for the Facebook platform.
• UGC Finder: Check out this tool to get information from citizen journalists.
• SocialToo: Get daily updates on social media analytics, create surveys, and more through SocialToo.
• Twitter Grader: Check out Twitter Grader to learn more about a Twitter user and discover related users as well.

Organization

Use these tools to get your social media research conveniently organized.

• PeopleBrowsr: PeopleBrowser will allow you to keep tabs on all of your most useful social networking sites at once.
• Netvibes: Netvibes is an excellent tool to use as an RSS social media monitoring dashboard.
• Google Docs and Spreadsheets: Organize your documents and spreadsheets online, and keep them open for collaboration with Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
• Bubbl.us: With Bubbl.us, you can get your thoughts organized online.
• Zoho Notebook: Use Zoho Notebook to keep your research notes online in a handy place.
• Zotero: Add Zotero on to Firefox, and you can collect, manage, and cite your research sources right in your web browser.
• WebNotes: Using WebNotes, you’ll be able to highlight text, make sticky notes, and organize them all in folders.
• Flowchart: Flowchart makes it easy to create organized charts for your notes and research information.
• UberNote: UberNote’s tool lives where you do your research-in your browser, email, IM, mobile device, and more.
• Backpack: Keep all of your research information together online using Backpack.
• Google Notebook: Use Google Notebook to keep notes, clips, and more handy, with the option to access notes from your mobile device.
• Connotea: With Connotea, you’ll be able to organize and share research information.
• EverNote: Research and take notes both online and on the go with EverNote.
• Google Reader: Make Google Reader your base for collecting research information from various RSS feeds.
• ClipMarks: With ClipMarks, you can save bits and pieces of any webpage, and even share them with others.
• Remember the Milk: Remember the Milk is a great tool for project checklists and more.

When you think of Facebook, it’s not likely you consider it a productivity tool. But the truth is that there are a variety of ways students can use Facebook for both learning and productivity, and a number of apps that can help you do so. Read on, and you’ll find some wonderful Facebook apps for productivity and learning.

Social Connections

Make connections with others who can help you through these apps.

• FriendFeed: Use FriendFeed as a convenient and time saving way to keep up with all of your friends’ online activities.
• Professional Profile: Use Professional Profile for business networking on Facebook.
• SocialCalendar: Get your social life together and share it with your friends using this calendar.
• CampusBuddy Courses: With CampusBuddy, you can connect with other students on your campus.

Documents & Sharing

Use Facebook for documents, and even share them with the help of these apps.

• Zoho: Use Zoho in your Facebook profile, and you can use it to create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and more.
• SplashCast: Share multimedia on Facebook through the Splashcast app.
• Books iRead: With this app, you’ll be able to share the books you read and find out what others are reading as well.
• Divshare: Divshare makes it easy to send and share files on Facebook.
• Files: Use your Box.net account on Facebook with Files.
• Last.fm: Use the Last.fm app to share your Last.fm stations with friends on Facebook.
• Ma.gnolia: Ma.gnolia will allow you to save and share links to websites on Facebook.
• Scrapblog: Using Scrapblog, you’ll be able to create multimedia slideshows from your Facebook photos and post them to your profile.
• Notecentric: Take notes and share them with your classmates using Notecentric.
• Webinaria Screencast Recorder: You’ll be able to record and share video using this app.
• Documents: You can share, create, and collaboratively edit documents using the Documents app.
• Visual Bookshelf: Visual Bookshelf will allow you to catalog your books on Facebook.
• Mathematical Formulas: You can find and share mathematical formulas and solutions with this application.
• Netflix: Stay on top of your Netflix queue and view others’ lists with this app for Facebook.
• SlideShare: SlideShare offers an easy way to create and share presentations on Facebook.

Photos

Make working on and sharing your photos a snap with these Facebook apps.

• Picnik: This application will let you edit photos within Facebook.
• Picasa: Picasa makes it easy to upload, resize, and share images on Facebook.

Ratings & School Information

Use these apps to research your schools, professors, and more.

• College Planner: Research colleges on Facebook with this app from Embark.
• SkoolPool: SkoolPool highlights the best schools on Facebook.
• Courses: Courses will help you organize your courses, find reviews, classmates, and more.
• Pick-A-Prof: Pick-A-Prof makes it easy to get professor reviews, grade histories, and more.
• Gradzilla: Find rankings, information, and more from US News and World Report on Gradzilla.
• Course Profiles: Course Profiles will help you learn about courses available through The Open University.

Information & Research

With these Facebook apps, you’ll be able to dig up lots of information.

• JSTOR Search: JSTOR Search allows you to find full text research articles on Facebook.
• MyRSS: You can share your RSS feed, and read your favorites on Facebook with this app.
• Translations: Translate, review, and vote on translations on Facebook using this application.
• Quotes: Find interesting quotes, and have a place to keep them all with this app.
• Dictionary.com Word of the Day: Learn a new word every day by using this application.
• Zen Habits: Get the Zen Habits app on Facebook, and you can share posts from the blog on your profile.
• Heritage & Flags: You can learn about and share your heritage on Facebook through this app.
• WorldCat: The WorldCat app will help you perform research and search your library’s collection from within Facebook.
• Goodreads: Goodreads will help you organize your reading, discuss literature, and more.
• Google Reader: Show your shared items to friends on Facebook with the Google Reader app.

Groups

Manage your study group, projects, and more with these apps.

• MyOffice: With MyOffice, you’ll be able to easily work together in groups.
• Study Groups: Study Groups makes collaborating on group projects a snap.
• Polls: Take quick and easy polls among your group with this app.
• CourseFeed: CourseFeed will help you keep everything together in your course, with class sharing, notifications, and more.
• Blackboard Learn: This app offers updating from your courses and a great way to connect with classmates.
• Get Stuff Done: Use Get Stuff Done to get organized and get things done with people in your network.

Organization

These Facebook apps will make your life and learning more organized.

• 30 Boxes: Keep your calendar on Facebook for convenience and sharing with the 30 Boxes app.
• MyLists: Create lists using this app, and you can share them on Facebook.
• BookTag: You can loan books out and keep track of them easily with BookTag.
• kwiry: Remember everything using kwiry for Facebook.
• To-Do List: This application will help you stay on top of your to do list within Facebook.
• fbCal: fbCal offers integration with a variety of different calendar applications outside of Facebook.
• Books: Books will help you track your current reading list, rate books, and more.
• GCal: Using the GCal app, you’ll be able to view your Google Calendar events in Facebook.
• Notely: Notely will make it easy for you to organize your calendar, assignments, notes, and more on Facebook.
• Upcoming.org: You’ll be able to stay on top of events with the Upcoming.org app.

Integration

These apps make Facebook play nicely with other tools that are great for learning and productivity.

• Twitter: This app will automatically update your Facebook status from Twitter.
• Digg: Use the Digg app to share your five most recent Diggs on Facebook.
• del.icio.us: You can view and share your bookmarks on del.icio.us on Facebook as well by using this application.

Learning Sources

You can learn a lot from these Facebook apps, and even share knowledge, too.

• Teach the People: Teach the People is an educational platform that uses Facebook.
• Dojo Learning: Dojo Learning offers a great way to learn and create resources for learning on Facebook.
• Learn: In this community app, you’ll find Addictive Learning.
• Supercool School: You can learn whatever you want, whenever and how you want using Supercool School.
• KnowledgeBook: KnowledgeBook allows you to find and share skills and knowledge on Facebook.
• Podclass: Podclass offers a course management system from within Facebook.
• Big Brain Answers: Big Brain answers makes it easy for you to get answers to your questions, and even earn money for answering others’ questions.
• Teach and Learn: Teach and Learn offers a 3D learning space on Facebook.
• NutshellMail: NutshellMail will send you updates from Facebook on your schedule, so you don’t have to keep going back to check.

Language

Learn a new language through Facebook by using these apps.

• What language should you learn?: Answer these questions to find out which language best suits you.
• Learn Spanish: Get new conversational phrases in Spanish from this app.
• Learn German: This app offers a German Sentence of the Day and more.
• JapanesePod101: Make use of this app to learn Japanese.
• Language Exchange: Find language partners to study with through this application.
• Learn Russian Verbs: This app offers a new Russion verb to study every day.
• Advanced Swedish Word of the Day: Get a new Swedish word every day from this Facebook app.
• Learn a Spanish Word a Day: Improve your Spanish vocabulary with this daily word resource.
• Learn French: Get French sentences, flash cards, and more from this Facebook app.
• SpanishPod: This podcast on Facebook will help you learn Spanish.

Studying

These Facebook apps will make studying a snap.

• Flashcards: This application will help you create flashcards for studying on Facebook.
• Class Notes: You can find notes from your classes on Facebook with the help of this app.

Buying & Selling

You can save money by selling your books, finding deals, and more through these Facebook apps.

• Upromise Deals: Stay up to date on the latest deals through Upromise with this app.

Games for Learning

Use these Facebook games to build your brain power.

• There/Their/They’re Test: Find out if you’re using There/Their/They’re properly by taking this test.
• Capitals of the USA: This game will help you find out how well you know the US Capitals.
• Mind Games: Play Sudoku, Bejeweled and Concentration with this app.
• Wordscraper: Play Wordscraper to boost your word skills.
• What French philosopher are you?: This game will help you learn more about French philosophers.
• US Citizen Test: This test will tell you if you could pass the US citizen test.
• Fifth Grade Test: Are you smarter than a fifth grader? This test will tell you.
• SCRABBLE: Here you’ll find the official Scrabble game for Facebook.
• BrainBone: Get a smart new question every day with BrainBone.
• Bubble Words: Play Bubble Words, and you’ll score points for quickly forming words.
• Mahjong: Stretch your brain with this ancient Chinese game.
• Endless Crossword: Get your fill of brain boosting crosswords from this application.
• Fun Trivia: Learn fun facts about the world through Fun Trivia.
• Geo Challenge: Put your geography knowledge to the test with Geo Challenge.
• IQ Test: This application will help you find out just how high your IQ is.
• What are they thinking?: Play this game to learn the fine art of reading faces.

Information about the GRE

Get to know the GRE and what to expect so that you will not have any surprises when it comes time for test day.

• Introduction to the GRE. Read the five parts of chapter one from GRE Prep Guide here for free.
• The GRE Computer Interface. See screenshots of the computerized GRE and become familiar with how to use this test before the big day.
• About the GRE. Learn what the GRE measures, and get information on format, pacing, guessing, and more.
• How to Study for the GRE. This simple overview provides the basics emplaning what the GRE test is like and how best to prepare for taking it.
• How to Ace the GRE. Follow the practical advice offered in this About.com article to do your very best on the GRE.
• Tackle the GRE Verbal Section. Learn what parts make up the verbal section, how to prepare beforehand, and what to do during the test to maximize your score.
• GRE Analytical Writing Section. Find out what the analytical writing section assesses and how it does so with this article.
• GRE–Complete Information–Test Tips. Get the breakdown of the GRE as well as interesting facts about the GRE.
• The GRE Scoring Scale Explained. This article does an excellent job of describing the scoring scale and helping you understand what your scores mean.
• When to Take the GRE. Find out what this article suggests for timing your GRE test-taking.
• What’s the Score?. This article discusses how important time management is to your score, looks at the scoring method of the GRE, and more.

GRE Study Sites

These sites all offer multiple resources for preparing for the GRE.

• ETS.org GRE – Graduate Record Exams. Get an overview of the test, sign up for bulletins, find test dates and register, plus much more with this official GRE resource.
• Peterson’s GRE Central. Find quizzes, word of the day, a practice test, tips, and more to help you prepare for the GRE.
• Kaplan GRE Free Events. Among the free offerings from Kaplan, you can find a sample class, seminars, a GRE practice test, personal statement workshop, and more.
• TestMagic The GRE. Map out a study plan, find helpful books, get online study help, and more here.
• My GRE Tutor. A great site with plenty of resources, My GRE Tutor offers tutorials, practice tests, vocabulary builders, and study plans all designed around the GRE.
• Online GRE Preparation. This blog provides GRE study resources, many of which are free.
• majortests.com Prepare for the GRE. Find practice exercises and lots of tools to help with problem solving, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and more.
• The Test Prep Center. Under the GRE section, you can find information about the GRE as well as about the different sections of the test. Sample questions are included.
• Sparknotes Free GRE Test Prep. You can do everything at this site from register for the GRE, read an online copy of their study book, take both mini tests and sample tests, and connect with others on the message boards.
• Happy Schools Blog GRE. Get study help with vocabulary, find out information about the GRE, learn what you can do if your GRE score is lower than you expected, and more at this site.

Vocabulary Tools

Many claim that knowing the appropriate vocabulary for the GRE can make a significant difference on your score, so take advantage of these resources to boost your vocabulary skills.

• Top 100 Words for GRE and TOEFL. This list includes 100 words to study as well as their definitions.
• GRE Vocabulary Builder. Download these wordlists as flashcards or printable lists to practice your vocabulary.
• Wordhacker Free GRE Word List. With over 3200 commonly-used vocabulary words from past GRE tests, this site will surely help you expand your vocabulary.
• GRE Test Vocabulary and SAT Test Vocabulary High Frequency Words. Study these words and their definitions to become familiar with many common vocabulary words from the GRE.
• GRE Word List. Scroll through this huge list of vocabulary words and click on them to get definitions.
• Vocaboly. Take these vocabulary tests where you can select from 10, 20, or 40 questions and choose whether you find the definition or the word.
• English-Test.net GRE Prep. Choose from the many vocabulary tests and exercises here to improve your vocabulary for the GRE.
• Vocabulary Games. Take these 15 vocabulary quizzes, and don’t forget to check out their tips for improving your vocabulary.

Resources for Sharpening Skills

Strengthening specific skills such as logic, math, and test-taking can help improve your performance on the GRE, so spend some time with these resources to work on your specific area of need.

• Sample Logic Game. This game is designed to practice analytical skills for the LSAT and GRE.
• Amby’s Work Site – Test Taking Skills. Scroll through all the resources here that can help you prepare for taking any sort of test, including the GRE.
• Logic Puzzles. Practice doing these logic puzzles to sharpen your critical thinking skills.
• VocabKing. Work your way from white belt to black belt as you gain vocabulary skills in this game.
• GRE StudyStacks. Choose from the many GRE games, quizzes, and vocabulary builders to help prepare for all the elements of the GRE.
• Virtual Math Lab. Texas A&M University provides online help for anyone needing math help, including those studying for the GRE.
• GMAT and GRE Math. This blog offers answers to readers’ questions about GMAT and GRE Math.
• Analytical Section: Analytical Reasoning. Practice with these sample questions to help sharpen your reasoning skills.

Practice Tests and Exercises

After all that studying, take some time to measure your progress and get accustomed to the format of the actual test with these practice exercises and tests.

• Sample GRE CAT Download. Try this free sample from the GRE Math section that replicates the computerized version of the test.
• Free Online Demo and Practice Test. The Princeton Review offers this free test to get familiar with the computerized GRE.
• GRE Practice Test. Find 26 different practice tests at this site.
• GRE Test Preparation Practice Exercises. Get exercises for vocabulary building, comparison tests in quantitative ability, and analytical writing prompts.
• GRE Test Online Course. Take the practice questions provided here to test your knowledge in everything from analogies to algebra to writing.
• EnglishMaster. Download the free version of this program to help you practice for the GRE.
• GRE Quantitative Ability. Broken down by arithmetic and number theory, algebra, geometry, and data analysis, find out how well you are prepared with these 34 questions.
• GRE Verbal Ability. Complete the four sets here to see how you are progressing in sentence completion, antonyms, analogies, and reading comprehension.
• Analytical Writing. Get prompts to present your perspective and analyze an argument, then follow the tips to score yourself.
• GRE Sample Verbal Test. Answer these 30 questions to practice sentence completion, reading comprehension, and analogy.
• 4Tests.com Practice GRE. Take this free test that covers analytical, qualitative, and verbal questions.
• Free Online GRE Test!. This site offers a verbal sample test with results provided in the same format as the actual GRE.

General Subject Test Resources

If you are preparing to take one of the subject tests in addition to the general test, then check out these resources for information and practice tests.

• GRE Subject Tests Overview. Get the latest information on all the subject tests from the official site of the GRE.
• GRE Subject Tests: An Overview. Take a look at the breakdown of each of the eight subject tests here.
• GRE Subject Tests: Overview and Content Material for all 8 Exams. Read this comprehensive article to better understand the subject tests.
• The GRE Subject Tests at a Glance. This overview of the subject tests explains what they are and helps you determine if you need to take one.
• GRE Subject Tests. This site offers a detailed look at exactly what types of questions and how many will be offered on each of the subject tests.

Specific Subject Test Resources

Find help studying for your subject test from these resources, whether you are taking the Psychology, Literature in English, Physics, or one of the other subject tests.

• Preparing for the Physics Subject GRE Test. OSU offers this resource, and while some of the information is specifically for students there, at the bottom of the page, you will find four physics sample tests.
• PhysicsGRE.com. Visit this forum for students studying for the physics subject test and graduate students in Physics as well.
• Mathematics GRE – Math Subject Test Preparation Advice. PhysicsGRE.com has provided this information to help you prepare for your math subject test.
• GRE-Subject-Tests.com. Join a forum for your specific subject test to learn from others.
• Approach to Studying for the English Literature Graduates Records Exam. Visit this page for a wealth of information on taking the Literature in English subject test.
• How to Prepare for the GRE Literature Subject Test. This article offers suggestions for specific materials to read in preparation for this test as well as other helpful information.
• GRE Subject Biochemistry. This blog, while not being currently updated, provides plenty of helpful information from what to study to how to study for the biochemistry subject test.
• How to Pass the GRE Chemistry Subject Test. Get the breakdown in percentages of what will be covered as well as suggestions for what to study in this article.
• How to Pass the GRE Computer Science Subject Test. Learn what will likely be on this subject test, how to prepare, and more with this resource.

Strategies for Success

Follow these useful strategies offered by professionals and past test-takers to make the most of your GRE testing experience.

• GRE Test Tips and Techniques. Learn test-taking strategies here with sections on the overall test as well as verbal, math, and analytical sections.
• Test-Taking Strategies. Check out these Do’s and Don’ts to find out how best to take the GRE.
• Useful GRE Preparation Resources. This blog post offers tips and a few resources for preparing for the GRE without enrolling at a fee-based test prep company.
• GRE Test-Taking Tips and Techniques. Find tips that range from the practical to strategic on this list.
• Quick Tips–GRE Quantitative Comparison. Get the edge on the quantitative ability section with these helpful strategies.
• GRE Essay Section. This article offers solid tips and strategies for approaching the essay section of your GRE.
• All About the GRE Essays. Not only can you get tips and strategies for writing the essays, you can also get practical advice on using the GRE word processor.
• Suggested Approach to the GRE’s Analytical Writing Section. This advice from CliffsNotes provides clear suggestions to formulating and writing your essay.
• CBT GRE. Under GRE Details, you can find tips, suggestions, and strategies for each portion of the GRE.
• GRE Analytical Writing Tips. Follow the suggestions here to help create well-thought-out and well-constructed essays.
• 10 Steps to Earn a High GRE Score. From relaxing on test day to ample preparation beforehand, take this advice to ensure success.

Test Day Tips

You’ve worked hard to know as much as possible to excel on the GRE, so don’t let a few simple mistakes make you stumble on the actual test day. Follow these suggestions to give yourself the chance to show what you know.

• Breakfast. Before heading out the door for your test, make sure you eat a healthy breakfast with plenty of protein.
• Be comfortable. Wear comfortable clothing and consider dressing in layers in case the temperature at the testing site is too warm or cold.
• Back up plan. Have a back up plan in place to cover any unexpected events such as car trouble or oversleeping. Set an extra alarm and put friends on notice for any help you might need in case of an emergency.
• Arrive early. There is nothing worse than getting lost and realizing you are running late for your test. Avoid this scenario by arriving early to your testing site.
• Bring ID. Remember to have your ID with you and be prepared for other forms of identification which may include thumbprinting or videotaping.
• Breathe. If you start feeling overwhelmed or panicky, take several deep breaths and let them out slowly. Slow down your thinking and refocus in order to stay calm and on track.
• Read carefully. Read through each question carefully. If the question seems confusing, trying to re-word the question in a different manner may bring clarity.
• Answer before looking at options. See if you know the answer to the question before you look at the options given. You may find your answer more easily this way.
• Take advantage of your breaks. There is an optional ten-minute break after the analytical writing section of the general test. Take advantage of this time to stand up, stretch, and get your blood flowing. There are also one-minute breaks after each additional section. Stretch your arms and hands, take some deep breaths, and relax your eyes for a moment before starting up again.
• Celebrate. After the test is finished, do something special for yourself. Indulge in a professional massage, go to dinner at your favorite restaurant, or just kick back with some movies knowing you don’t have to worry about studying.

Resources for Graduate School Preparation

All that studying for the GRE is just the beginning. Find out what you need to do to prepare yourself for graduate school after you complete the GRE.

• Testing the Water: Are You Ready for Graduate School?. This article provides important points to consider before deciding if graduate school is for you right now.
• GradSchools.com Get Informed. The resources on this site range from what you should do before applying to grad school to the grad school road map.
• Is Graduate School for You?. Ball State University offers several informative articles to help you choose the best time for grad school and to understand what you need to do to make it happen.
• Make Your Target Graduate Program a Reality. From evaluating graduate programs to submitting applications to financial aid, you’ll find plenty of information on making grad school work for you with these resources.