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TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN �HIGHER EDUCATION

A Resource Book - Written by EDIT2000E Students

FALL 2023 EDIT2000E

Tools for Learning in Higher Education

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  • Replace all the template instructions that are in red text with your own information. �Use black text color for your page (unless you want to highlight some words).
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DIRECTIONS FOR AUTHORS

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  • View at least two classmates' slides and post comments.
  • In your comments, 1) commend on what your classmates did well or what was helpful to you; �2) include at least ONE suggestion on how to improve or what can be added. Consider the following:
      • Do you have any suggestions or anecdotes to add?
      • What tool did they choose to talk about as a solution to the academic problem?
      • Would you like to know more about the tool?
      • Did they link to a tutorial? Should they?
      • What's something you included in your slide that you think would be a good fit for theirs?
      • Is there another tool that does the same thing that could be added at the end of their slide as an alternative?
      • It's helpful to let people know about typos and grammatical errors - but it's better to give helpful suggestions about the content.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMMENTS

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Stress Stemming from Grades

Many undergraduate students are under pressure to get good grades, which can lead to a lot of stress. The pressure of wanting to achieve perfect grades is difficult for me to manage, and at times it feels as though there are no resources to which I can turn in order to obtain new information sources. The findings of the survey I administered to my friends led me to the conclusion that they, like me, are struggling with the same problem. We frequently want access to more information in order to expand on what we are learning in order to effectively study and write so we can achieve high grades and at the same time, reduce our levels of stress.

Schoology provides resources and information in a blog formatting from a wide range of uses/teachers on many subjects for students to read and interact with. With discussion and response based interaction between teachers and students, it has an easy to communicate design that is found below the blog posts.

It's a free online platform that allows students to interact with one another, their professors, other professionals, and with new material. Because of its interactive design, students are able to be exposed to the material and review and learn what they need before quizzes and exams. Overall, it has a very user friendly design that is easy to navigate.The platform is transitioning over to Powerschool, but all old material is still accessible on Schoology. To learn more about it, click HERE. If you are wanting to look more into Powerschool, click here which is free as well.

Schoology

Schoology (Powerschool) is a free technology tool that enhances collaboration between students and teachers. Its solid course-building and assessment tools, personalized learning capabilities, and integration with other apps allows for the students to have access to new information and work with different people to learn the material better. Schoology has the design where students can connect with one another and with teachers to ask questions and collaborate on assignments. Another feature of Schoology is that it has a blogging design where new posts are uploaded with explanations about different subjects that can be viewed by the public.

Author: Hyejin Jinny Hwang

EXAMPLE

SAMPLE COMMENTS

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AUTHORS

Students of EDIT2000E (Fall 2023)

Alex Looney

Bradley Nugent

Caroline Passaro

Chris Kinnas

Corby Martinez

Gus Perdue

Helena Bragg

Miyah Verse

Moh Nayeeb

Nanette Colon-rios

Paige Bogard

Peyton Deep

Sevastian Guerrero

Hunter Smith

Jack McCarthy

Jackson Thain

Jamaal Jarrett

Jamier Moten

Jocelyn Chinea

John Le

Jose Tamez

Kaitlyn Lopes

Kyron Jones

Laine Tucker

Madi Jones

Melanie Wyatt

Michael Lugo-Hernandez

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Author: Alex Looney

Communicating with Instructors

In my survey, I found that most of the time students who struggle with certain aspects of a class usually aren’t alone. This means that a lot of the times a problem one students has is also a problem that's shared by their peers. Usually, teachers won't become aware of these problems till the end of the semester when students do their evaluations. If students were able to give feedback and more easily communicate with instructors during the semester then these issues could be mitigated. So, to fix this issue I wanted to find a tool that teachers could easily use to directly communicate with the class as a whole or with one person directly.

The image above shows what a typical discord server would look like. There is a main channel where everyone chats and some other channels dedicated to more specific topics.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  1. Address to the tool :https://discord.com/
  2. Difficulty: Extremely easy to use as it is just a simple messaging board
  3. Platform: Can be used on phones, PC and Mac
  4. Price: FREE!

Discord

To solve the issue of not having an effective way to communicate with instructors I wanted to find an easy to use messaging platform that both students and teachers can use to communicate with each other. The tool I found that fits this description the best was Discord. Discord allows for teachers to create servers for their classes that students can then join and use to communicate. Discord is free and only requires the user to create an account to use. Discord has chat channels that can be labeled for specific uses like feedback or questions. Discord could also be used to make announcements. Also, students could directly speak with their classmates as well. Discord allows for students to more easily contact their teachers since back and forth communication can be done faster than if it was done through email. This makes it easier for students to ask questions and provide feedback

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Author: Bradley Nugent

Time Management/Scheduling

Scheduling and time management can be a major problem for a lot of students, especially those in college. Students are expected to juggle responsibilities and problems in the here and now, and also plan and prepare themselves for events that come down the road. This can be very hard for people that are living on their own for the first time. Students can get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things going on in their lives. This can make scheduling feel like a chore that holds them back, instead of a way to streamline their lives. Also, people sometimes struggle holding themselves responsible, so they can turn to people they care about to help.

Tweek has a very streamlined interface to make it easier to digest when looking at your week. It allows for many events to be planned and moved around, as well as marking all completed actions.

  • Address to the tool: https://tweek.so/
  • Difficulty: Easy sign up as well as easy interface
  • Platform: Online and on app stores, can also be synced with Google Calendar
  • Price: Free

Tweek

Tweek is a great site that can be used across many platforms, including a student’s phone and computer. It has a streamlined interface that only looks at one week at a time. This allows the user to minimize to look at their future one week at a time, reducing stress and anxiety about future occurrences. Any important reminders are sent through the user’s email, allowing them to be reached at almost any time. You can also make multiple schedules at one time, allowing the user to give themself options or compartmentalize parts of their time. Finally, schedules can be shared with others, giving the user the ability to share their time with the people in their lives. Schedules can be easily accessed by many people on different devices, allowing others to help you stay on top of your responsibilities.

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Author: Caroline Passaro

Test Anxiety While Studying

The academic problem that most heavily was reflected by my survey results was the issue of test anxiety. Many students’ success is negatively impacted because of their feelings on test days, and the negative emotions associated with exams. When students suffer from test anxiety, they may not feel calm for days or even weeks before a large upcoming exam. While it would be great to find a way for students to eliminate test anxiety completely, this is very broad and may not be feasible. Instead, the problem I am focusing on is test anxiety while studying, and ways to alleviate this anxiety, to make studying/preparing for an exam a calmer experience.

The image above shows the dashboard of Brainscape with an example learning set created by the site! Also, the screenshot includes one of the example cards, what it looks like when you show the answer on the card, and what it looks like when you rate your confidence on the material included on the card!

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Link to Brainscape: https://www.brainscape.com/
  • Difficulty: Brainscape is super easy to use! All you have to do is create an account and you are ready to start learning with Brainscape!
  • Platform: Brainscape is available online and in app stores!
  • Price: Brainscape is free to use but there is a Pro option with different monthly, yearly and lifetime rates ranging from $7.99/month to $199.99 for a lifetime.

Brainscape

One tool from the textbook that could help to alleviate test anxiety while studying is Brainscape. Brainscape brings new features to a basic flashcard website. When you are studying with brainscape, you have the chance to focus more on things that you are less confident with and less on things you are more confident with. This is helpful for alleviating test anxiety while studying because you are getting the chance to become more familiar with topics that could be causing stress since they are unknown. Brainscapes helps to build confidence on test topics while studying, allowing for a calmer experience when studying/preparing for an exam.

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Author: Chris Kinnas

Time Management

During my brainstorming, research, and surveys, one of the biggest factors to students’ stress was time management. Time management is often overlooked as a key to success in school and work. Being able to consistently and efficiently allocate time on tasks that you need to complete is the catalyst to success. When transitioning to college, this is one of the biggest issues that students face. In high school, time is pretty much tracked for you - 8am-3pm every day. In college, class times are different, and there are a lot of other things going on outside of class such as social events, club meetings, group projects, and internship/job interviews. Without efficient time management, students may miss important deadlines, exams, and meetings, which all lead to heightened anxiety which is a large issue for a lot of college students.

The screenshot above shows my schedule for this week. Each day is mapped out with each task and what time they needed to be done to keep on track with assignments.

General Info about Toggl

Link to Toggl: https://toggl.com/

Difficulty - sign up for free and complete the walkthrough then begin tracking assignments/work! Extremely user friendly.

Platform - Available online and on multiple app stores so that you can conveniently use it on your computer or smartphone

Price - free with an option for an upgraded premium version. For most college students, the free version has everything needed to manage time efficiently

Toggl

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Toggle is a popular tool used by many students to help create calendars and allocate time for when things need to be done. One of the most useful features on Toggl is the ability to set reminders for each task. With Toggl being available on both computer and smartphone, users are able to see the reminders and calendar when they do not have access to their computer. Besides the calendar feature, Toggle provides insights to show how much time you have spent on each task with the tracking feature. You can then use this to compare how much time you spend between different tasks.Another nice feature is being able to duplicate tasks that are recurring such as class times and study times. It also has a project feature that would be useful when working on group projects with others and would allow for each project member to add how much time they’ve spent working on the project. I chose Toggl over other similar tools because of its intuitive design and ease of use allowing for more productivity in less time. Overall, Toggl is a great and easy to use tool for college students to keep up with heavy workloads, important deadlines, and meetings. Time management is the first step in being a successful college student, and I would highly recommend using it.

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Author: Corby Martinez

Time Management/Scheduling

Time management and scheduling is a problem that a lot of students struggle with, as far as I am concerned. College students especially are likely to experience time management issues due to social issues, other time commitments, stress, and the heightened levels of freedom when compared to high school. This can prove to be a big problem because it often causes more stress and anxiety on the lives students. It also can cause problems like disorganization, turning in assignments late, lack of preparation and many more. I, for one, would like to find a permanent and effective solution to time management to make it easier for all students to control and work on more. The control of time management also has positives like increased productivity, focus, and confidence. I think the goal of this tool is to end up working smarter instead of harder. I think that is ultimately a great thing to achieve and will increase the levels of productivity that a student is able to attain.

Here is an example of what a full week schedule might look like from a student’s point of view.

Address to the tool: https://studyo.co/products/today-student-planner

Difficulty: Studyo.today is a very simple tool to use. All you have to do is create an account, answer 3 short questions about your use of the tool, and you’ll be on your way!

Platform: Studyo.today is a web-based tool and is not in the App Store, but can be used from any computer.

Price: Free

Studyo.today

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Studyo.today is a tool that helps students better prepare for the schoolwork and academic week or month. I also believe that this is a simple tool that makes it easy and efficient to schedule properly. Oftentimes scheduling online can prove to be difficult. It actively helps you place class schedules, assignments, test, and studying time all in one place so students can properly allocate time to certain tasks. This helps prevent procrastination and unorganization. It can give you reminders about when and where your next class is, when you decided a good time to study would be, when assignments are due. It even helps you break up bigger projects into smaller, more manageable parts. This is an invaluable tool that will save many people from cram studying and being anxious about when their next due date is.

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Author: Laine Tucker

Keeping Track of Assignments

With technology quickly becoming the easiest way for teachers and professors to set up assignments, tests, quizzes, and anything else that needs to be turned in, students have more difficulties keeping track of all of these deadlines. Though is isn't just online assignments that are hard to keep track of, it was when I got to college that I began to notice how easy it was to miss the deadline if an assignment was due outside of class. I asked students if they struggled with this as well and the results of my survey came back that all the students who had filled it out said they struggled in some capacity with this topic. Whether it be assignments due on weekend, deadlines only posted in the syllabus, or teachers not reminding their class about the deadlines, the problem as been amplified recently with the use of technology in the classroom.

My Google Keep home page with all the days of the week.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • https://keep.google.com/
  • Difficulty - Google Keep is extremely easy to use with colorful visuals and labeled features.
  • Platform - Google Keep is a website that you can favorite to your browser.
  • Price - Free

Google Keep

Google Keep is my favorite tool the alleviate the issue I’ve found with keeping track of assignments. It is extremely easy to use and has every feature you could need to remind you of your assignments. You are able to create notes, checklines, reminders and more. Personally, I create a checkline with each day of the week, but some people might not like this style and can create whole different pages for each day of the week. You can also create notes and reminders for assignments that are further out. Something I love about Google Keep is that it is very customizable. You re able to change background colors to signify different classes or area of your life. You can also upload notes with images, so you can put syllabus’ into Google Keep. Lastly, you can create many different pages of notes, so you could even have entire pages dedicated to classes you are taking.

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Author: Helena Bragg

Procrastination/Distraction

Me, as well as hundreds of other students, share a similar academic challenge; procrastination and being distracted. This heavily effects time management, which is a broader category. I would like to focus more on procrastination and distraction caused by phone usage. Phones are a major distraction for many students, especially when doing homework, online classes, or any independent work that involves self-control and self-motivation. Especially if you hit a mental block in your homework, it is common for students to pick up their phone and start answering texts, scrolling social media, etc. instead of overcoming the tough parts of homework. Because I struggle with this, I decided to start a search for an educational tool that would aid me in overcoming this challenge.

Here are some pictures and information about Forest!

Information about Forest:

  • Super easy to use, plus, very fun! Forest is like playing a game that doubles as a homework-helper; who doesn’t want that?
  • The Forest app is downloadable on all iPhone/Apple products!
  • For the low, onetime cost of $3.99, you can not only help your time management, but also help plant trees around the world to combat deforestation. That is worth the money alone!
  • Want to try Forest for yourself? Click here! https://www.forestapp.cc/
  • Forest’s partner for planting trees: https://trees.org/sponsor/forest-app/

Forest

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This app is so unique compared to other time management apps I’ve seen, because it almost doubles as a game! The app encourages you to stay off your phone, while still being fun. Each time you start a focus session, you plant a tree in the app. While you work, it will grow on your screen. However, if you leave the app during the session, your tree dies off. This encourages students to not leave the app on their phone to answer messages, scroll on social media, etc. By fully completing focus sessions, you can grow an entire forest over time. This isn’t just visually appealing, but an uplifting representation of how much work you’ve managed to get done. Another thing I really enjoy about this app is the bigger your forest gets, the more in-game coins you can earn. When you spend these coins, the app team plants actual trees. This is especially motivating for students concerned with climate change and deforestation, as it has a real world impact! To help combat climate change and reserve deforestation, the Forest team partners with a real-tree-planting organization, Trees for the Future, to plant real trees on Earth. When their users spend virtual coins they earn in Forest on planting real trees, Forest team donates to their partner and creates planting orders.

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Author: Hunter Smith

Time Management/Procrastination

Many students struggle to effectively organize their study schedules, a challenge worsened by the varying demands of different courses and learning formats. The absence of a traditional classroom in hybrid or online environments can hinder engagement with course materials and increase distractions, especially when studying from home. To address these challenges, effective study strategies such as time-blocking, in which specific time periods are assigned to different tasks, become key. Using digital tools like calendar apps or task management software aids in visualizing schedules and keeping track of deadlines. When these approaches are combined, they can result in more productive study habits, allowing for better management of coursework and deadlines.

How Forest Looks and Works

The Forest App's Basic Information:

The Tool's Access: Forest can be accessed through its website Forest App or through mobile app stores. It's available on the App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.

Difficulty: The app is simple to use and navigate. It's simple and intuitive interface makes it suitable for users of all ages and levels of technological sophistication. Setting up and beginning a focus session is simple, requiring only a few taps.

Forest is a cross-platform app that works on both iOS and Android devices. A Chrome extension for desktop use is also available, allowing integration with a web browser for focused computer work.

Price: The app is available for free. It is free to download and use, with some basic functions available for free. There is, however, a one-time fee for the premium version, which includes more tree species and detailed statistics. The premium version costs around $1.99 on the App Store and $2.99 on Google Play

Forest

How Forest Works: You plant a virtual tree in the app to focus when you need to. The tree grows for a set amount of time, usually between 10 and 120 minutes. You can't use your phone for any other purpose during this time. If you leave the app to check social media, play a game, or do anything else on your phone that is distracting, the tree withers and dies.

Rewards and Motivation: For successful focus sessions, the app awards users with virtual coins. These coins can be used to unlock new tree species or even to plant real trees, giving the app a motivational and environmental component.

Flexible Time Management: Users can set different time intervals based on their task requirements or attention span. This adaptability enables the app to be tailored to individual needs, whether for short bursts of intense study or longer periods of focused work.

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Author: Jack McCarthy

Time Management/Procrastination

The academic problem that I chose to help alleviate by using a technology tool is time management, more specifically procrastination. After analyzing the data I collected from my survey, I found that time management is a problem that most students deal with or think other students deal with. I chose to focus on time management because it is something that I've had problems with in the past and believe is an important thing for all people, not just students, to be good at. I'm specifically going to focus on procrastination and pushing assignments or tasks until the last minute because this is a challenge that can be alleviated or solved by using various educational tools.

Here is an example of what a momentum browser page looks like

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

Momentum

Momentum is a chrome extension that changes the screen you see when you open a new tab to help make you more productive. The application allows you to input task into the system that stay on the screen until you complete them, allowing you to remain focused on your tasks throughout the day. It also displays motivational quotes to help keep your spirits up while you work. Momentum also comes with a version that is available for upgrade that allows you to turn the generic clock on the home page into a Pomodoro timer and a mode that lets you see the time as a percentage of the day. Momentum can be used to help students stay on top of their tasks through the features like to-do lists and the Pomodoro timer option, and provides them with motivational messages to help keep them positive and focused, helping curb any procrastination tendencies that they may have.

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Author: Jamaal Jarrett

Your Chosen Problem

Description of the Academic Problem

Add a caption here

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Address to the tool
  • Difficulty
  • Platform
  • Price

Tool Name

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Description of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

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Author: Jackson Thain

Time Management

Time management is the strategic process of planning and organizing one’s activities to achieve specific goals efficiently. It involves prioritizing tasks, allocating time appropriately, and maintaining a balance between various responsibilities. Effectively managing time requires individuals to assess the importance and urgency of each task, creating a structured plan that optimizes productivity. This involves breaking down large goals into smaller, manageable steps, setting realistic deadlines, and adhering to schedule.

Here are some pictures of Todoist and how the app operates! Including Macstories and the next 7 days features

Information about Todoist

Todoist

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Todoist is a versatile task management app designed to help users prioritize and organize their to-do lists efficiently. The app’s interface is clean and user-friendly, allowing individuals to create, edit, and manage tasks with ease. Todoist operates on the principle of simplicity, enabling users to quickly add tasks, set due dates, and categorize items into different projects and labels for streamlined organization. The eight key features offered in the app are task management, project organization, priority levels, labels and filters, collaboration, reminders and notifications, sync across devices, and integrations.

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Author: Gus Perdue

Your Chosen Problem

Description of the Academic Problem

Add a caption here

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Address to the tool
  • Difficulty
  • Platform
  • Price

Tool Name

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Description of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

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Author: Jamier Moten

Yem

the acidmenic problem i Found the be the most important was time management as an college student there a lot of things that you want to do with ur free time than study this can possible be bad in the since if you have bad time management it could affect you in school which could then affect you outside of school also.

Add a caption here

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • zoom.com
  • anyone can use it
  • computer and phone
  • free

Zoom

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zoom allows you to talk to people anywhere, at anytime, If someone is ubale to meet in person due to outside factors it is very easy to start a zoom so they dont get behind. This is great for time management as it allows for you to be able to do work with friends or meet about a project anywhere you go taking the stress of having to find a time and place that works with everyone

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Author: Jocelyn Chinea

Time Management

Time management is found increasingly with college students. Due to the many new adjustments of being an adult, moving, and meeting people, school starts to become distant. Poor time management can have various negative effects on both personal and professional aspects of life. This can lead to missed assignments, increased stress, and even put a strain onto your outside relationships. Poor time management is one of the biggest issues among every working human in the world. Whether its work related, school, social life, or simple home tasks.

This screenshot is of the microsoft sticky notes app looks like on a desktop. This shows what your screen would look like as soon as you open the app. It also gives a clear picture of how to add or change your note.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Microsoft Sticky Notes - Microsoft Apps
  • This app is extremely user friendly. It is super clear and easy to understand.
  • Microsoft sticky notes is an app that can be downloaded by any desktop that allows microsoft downloads. It can also be accessed on mobile devices using onedrive mobile.
  • It's completely free!

Sticky Notes

(microsoft) Sticky notes is an app used to help remind you about your daily or long term tasks. The “sticky note” stays on your desktop until removed or your task. You can add as many sticky notes to your desktop as you would like. When using Sticky Notes, you can create “sticky notes” type your task or reminder, add pictures, stick them to the desktop, or move them around,, close them to the Notes list, and use them across devices and apps.

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Author: Miyah Verse

Time Management

Time Management is important in college because it stresses responsibility and limits procrastination. Time management allows you to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time. Proper timing in college helps make or break the college experience. As a college student who also plays a sport time management is a huge struggle for me. Balancing my personal life, sports, and academics has grew very difficult. For the past few months I have been looking for ways to manage my time.

Calendar!!!!!

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Address to the tool
  • This is a user friendly app that can be customized to anyone’s specificities
  • The calendar is a app that can be used to track reminders, school projects, and much more.
  • A digital calendar is completely free and anyone can use it

Digital Calendar

People use calendars to schedule a certain amount of time to certain activities. Calendars are used to mark items off a to do list. Calendars can be used to create and follow a schedule. Calendars increase productivity. They also improve skills and time management. A digital calendar has helped me manage time in my busy life. As I stated earlier I am a collegiate athlete that was searching for ways to improve the management of the ways I spend my time. The digital calendar on my phone sets reminders for me so I do not miss workouts or class deadlines. It is also a way to write down notes.

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Author: John Le

Time Management with Balance

Time management as an academic problem means undergraduate students struggle with organizing and using their time efficiently for their studies. Balancing multiple courses, assignments, and other activities requires strategic decisions about how to spend limited time. This challenge can lead to stress, lower academic performance, and feeling overwhelmed. Undergraduate students, like myself, have a hard time with balancing out exams, if all in the same week and knowing which one to prioritize first.

This is one of the tools that Notion offers to organize your schedule.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem:

  • Notion.com
  • I would say it is user-friendly! Although when it comes to designing, it can be more on the technical side and have to learn the tools along the way!
  • Notion is a website but it is also an app on the phone. Notion as an app is more useful because it will send you notifications/reminders.
  • It is completely free! Anyone can use it!

Notion

Technology solution for this academic challenge could be Notion, a platform for everything. This includes calendar, to-do list, assignment deadlines, exam dates, reminders, notes, etc. This tool is like a digital notebook where you can include your whole life into. Additionally, it also helps you with your creative side on how you would want to design it to be. Moreover, undergraduate students would be heavily affected with their time management with using reminders and having calendar. By having multiple platforms for different purposes, it is a messy, but imagine it all in one. It will assist students by laying out their schedule and due dates, and help them in a more efficient and clear way.

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Author: Jose Tamez

Time Management

Time management being one of the most common challenge among students in every forms of education, but is most prevalent in higher education. Balancing academic responsibilities with personal life, extracurricular activities, and work can lead to stress and reduced academic performance. Inefficient time management often results in procrastination, missed deadlines, self-loathing, and inadequate study time, which as a result may impede a student's ability to succeed and take advantage of learning opportunities presented to them.

Organize your time, and maximize your productivity through Google Calendars

  • Address to the tool: https://calendar.google.com
  • Difficulty: Simple interface that requires minimal technical knowledge. Easily customizable.
  • Platform: Available on Web, Android, and iOS. Cloud based so as long as you have your email you have access to it anywhere with an internet connection.
  • d. Price: Free with a Google account.

Google Calendar

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Google Calendar is an albeit simple time management and scheduling tool that allows students to organize both their academic and personal activities efficiently. It offers a visual overview of daily, weekly, and monthly schedules, enabling students to plan their study sessions, track assignment due dates, and set reminders for upcoming exams and meetings. As mentioned before it is not limited to just your school work but can also be incorporated to your personal life so you are able to maintain a proper work balance.

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Author: Kaitlyn Lopes

Procrastination

Time management, particularly in the form of procrastination, poses a significant academic challenge for college students. The allure of immediate gratification, coupled with the overwhelming demands of coursework and extracurricular activities, often leads students to delay tasks until the last possible moment. Procrastination not only hampers the quality of academic work but also contributes to heightened stress levels and diminished overall well-being. The perpetual cycle of putting off assignments can result in missed deadlines, late-night cramming sessions, and a detrimental impact on academic performance. College life is a juggling act of lectures, assignments, and social commitments, making effective time management crucial for success. Therefore, I have decided to focus on procrastination as my academic problem for this project.

Your digital place for focus!

Fast Facts on Noisli:

  • Noisli
  • Very user friendly! You can easily customize different sounds to your liking!
  • Available online and as a mobile app!
  • Free to use online! There is an option to upgrade to get more sound options. To download the app on your phone, it costs $1.99.

Noisli

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Noisli is a free online platform that provides a variety of ambient noises, including rain, ocean waves, birds and more, allowing users to create personalized soundscapes for work, study, and sleep. The service is designed to mask disruptive noises, reduce stress, and enhance focus. The benefit of using Noisli in combating procrastination lies in its ability to create a conducive environment for productivity. The ambient noises provided by Noisli serve as a constant and predictable background, calming the inner alarm systems and mitigating the negative impact of noise pollution and sudden loud noises. This consistency helps maintain focus and concentration, making it easier to engage in tasks without being disrupted by external sounds.

TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Author: Kyron Jones

Time Management

In college time management and being able to be organized is crucial to being on top of your work and extracurricular activities and balancing your day to day schedule. I feel like for college students, especially Freshman that are having to learn to get adjusted to college life have to figure out how to balance everything. And I feel it is one ot the biggest early on problems college student face.

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Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Google calendar
  • A simple but effective tool
  • A google website that can be created through your google account
  • Free

Google Calendar

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Google Calendar: Google calendar was created to allow its users to effectively made time and schedule things. This app is basically an online calendar of the year and you can click on days and put in what you have to do and when you want or need to do it like you would on a regular calendar. But Google calendar also sends notifications to your phone when your event is upcoming

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Author: Madi Jones

Time Management

  • In college, time management means planning and organizing your time wisely. It's about figuring out when to study, attend classes, complete assignments, and still have time for fun. It helps you balance your academic and personal life so you can do well in your studies without feeling overwhelmed. It's like creating a schedule that works for you, so you can get things done and enjoy your college experience.

I created a google calendar for my own school and social schedule this week. It makes it significantly easier to plan out my week and to stay on time with assignments.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • calendar,google,com
  • A very easy, simple, and effective tool
  • A google website that is used through your google email
  • Free

Google Calendar

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  • Google Calendar is an online scheduling tool designed to facilitate effective time management. It serves as a digital planner where users can meticulously organize their schedules by creating events with pertinent details, such as titles, dates, times, and locations. The platform offers synchronization across multiple devices, ensuring accessibility and consistency.
  • Key features include reminders and notifications to preemptively alert users of impending events. The calendar's capacity for sharing and collaboration proves advantageous for coordinating schedules with peers or colleagues, particularly in the context of group projects or social engagements.

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Author: Melanie Wyatt

Having Trouble Learning Course Content in Class

I feel as though we have all struggled with this issue. We are taking a class that is difficult and have trouble learning in lecture. There could be a multitude of reasons for this like the professor not explaining something well enough for you, not many resources are available in class, the professor expects the students to know more than they should, etc.

Crash Course is a great website with so many subject videos to choose from

  • Crash Course
  • This website is very user-friendly and has great labels regarding navigating the site itself!
  • Crash Course is a website, but the videos can all be searched on YouTube as well!
  • Crash Course videos are free!

Crash Course

Crash Course is an amazing multitude of videos that dives into differing subjects and explains things in greater detail. While the videos are jam packed with info at a fast pace, the flexibility of technology allows you to slow down the speed of the video and pause the video when needed. This tool is great to try to learn new material or refresh your mind on old material. I feel this tool could be used as a way to start before lectures. Watch videos that are going to be covered in class, that way you might have a better understanding of the content going into lecture.

Due to the heavy amount of content in each video, and its speedy run time, Crash Course videos are best suited for upper level high school students and college students in intro-upper level courses. Videos can be used for intro courses, but most of tons of more info to share that would be helpful for upper level courses.

TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Author: Michael Lugo-Hernandez

Studying for multiple exams at once

The problem I want to focus on is balancing between studying for multiple tests in one week or two weeks. This is a problem because students can not focus on multiple tests or at least perform the very best for two or three exams within 4 days of each other. It's already hard enough to study for the exams so a plan I can propose is to start creating and studying for exams for multiple weeks. a lot of students study a few days before and create great short-term memory, but if they study for a longer period, their long-term memory will be triggered, and retain much more information in general.

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Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • Quizlet.com
  • Not very difficult, you do have to crate a study set if one is not available for the course.
  • It is a website, they also have an app.
  • $7.99 a month

Quizlet

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Quizlet is an online studying tools that can help you build short and long term memory. Building a long term memory will help students maximize their scores if they have multiple tests in a short period of time. This is because they can keep it in their memory longer and as well as having i in their knowledge bank for longer than 1 week. There are a variety of ways to achieve this, from flashcards to practice tests. Flashcards are the most simple way to study on quizlet, but they also have a learn tool, which helps your learn terms in the long term by quizzing you in different ways and later making sure your retained the information. They also have an AI chat which can explain the terms to you and is very helpful when you don't understand the original information, almost like breaking it down.

TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Author: Jamaal Jarrett

Time Management

Time Management is a very big cluster that a bunch of college student and student athletes struggle with on a day to day basis. In order to be on track and succeed in this rough college scene , you have to make sure everything is managed in a fluent way . Many freshmen that first hit college are unaware on how the transition of everything gets on campus and everything becomes very overwhelming . Many students are unaware and get stressed ,then suddenly get on track and start to get the hang of things that work around their day to day schedules.

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Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • teamworks, calendar systems,
  • easy to setup and design
  • Its an app
  • free

Teamworks.

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A solution that had helped me lock in and schedule and layout everything on my agenda to help me stay on track and input was simply this app called Teamworks. Teamworks helps me layout my exact schedule for the day and for the week and tells me what time I have to be at a certain place and what time that class ends and when i have my next tasks.

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Time Management

Effective time management is crucial for students as it directly influences their academic success. Poor time management can lead to missed deadlines, increased stress, and a compromised quality of work. From my survey results, I had found that most students had struggled with time management. Students have a lot going on in their lives. And in the midst of that life, sometimes things can slip from their minds. There for I would like to introduce this tool which would help them with their time management skills.

The image above shows the interface of My Study Life and how it would like like on their website.

Here is all the information about My Study Life!

  • Address to the tool: https://mystudylife.com/
  • Difficulty: Extremely easy to use and the interface is light on the eyes!
  • Platform: Can be used on Iphones, Androids, PC and Mac
  • Price: FREE!

My Study Life

My Study Life is a comprehensive academic planner and organizer designed to help students manage their schedules and academic responsibilities effectively. It offers features such as class schedules, assignment tracking, and exam reminders, all accessible in one centralized platform. With the ability to input and track various aspects of the academic journey, including classes, homework, and exams, My Study Life provides a holistic view of a student's workload. The app's user-friendly interface and cross-platform syncing make it convenient for students to stay organized and on top of their tasks. Overall, My Study Life serves as a powerful tool for enhancing time management skills, fostering academic success, and reducing the stress associated with managing multiple commitments.

Author: Mohammed Nayeeb

TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Author: Nanette Colon-rios

Focusing while studying

In our generation, many people have become hyper fixated on their phones and technology and become easily distracted when studying. Students begin taking breaks while studying and end up scrolling on Instagram or TikTok or other forms of social media for an hour or even longer and it can cause for time lost that they could have been studying. College students especially have trouble with focusing because there are other social activities occurring throughout the week and there is not full structure like in high school where most people went to school 8-3 then sports at night and then studied when they got home. In college there is plenty of free time to spend outside of studying and then while studying you want to prioritize the time you have to complete this studying rather than losing the time scrolling on social media.

Forest provides students with the ability to focus on their studying while growing a tree that actually plants a tree in real life. When the user decides to exit the app, the tree dies causing a complete starting over.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

-Forest allows for students to stay focused while studying for long periods of times and decreases the amount of distractions.

-The app is extremely user friendly and allows for anyone to use the app at any time when they want to focus even at family functions or dinner out with a friend.

-The app has a one time purchase price of $3.99 in the Apple App Store or Google Play store

Forest

Forest allows for a fun and interactive way for students to set focus goals while studying and maintain focus rather than using other applications as distractors. With the app you can set up timers for the allotted time that you plan on studying and grow the tree while the timer goes. There are multiple modes that allow for different types of focus such as deep focus, plant together, and count exceeded time. By having a timer, it allows students to have breaks between their studies by not zoning off onto social media and scrolling for hours. Once the tree starts growing with the timer you cannot go onto any other apps or else the tree will die. Focusing during finals week can be difficult as many students are thinking about being done for the semester or leaving to go on vacation. With the forest app, the student can set their timer for one hour and put their phone down to let the tree grow and start studying for the remaining time. The only catch is, if the student gets distracted and begins to start looking at their vacation location, the tree will die and they will have to start all over. It allows for the student to remain focused for the amount of time needed.

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Author: Paige Bogard

Time Management: On-Going Projects/ Studying

I think that students struggle most with managing their time when it comes to longer-term assignments, projects, and studying in advance. I think that students need a resource that creates a plan for them to manage their time over the week to work through assignments instead of waiting until the last minute. Large projects and ongoing study for tests can seem very daunting without a plan of how to attack the workload in front of you.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

Motion from AI

Motion is an AI platform that allows you to input your upcoming work, assignments, and other tasks, then uses AI to generate the most efficient schedule for you. It automatically prioritizes work, reschedules undone assignments, ensures you meet deadlines, and helps you focus all in one tool.

Motion AI will display your assignments, meetings, when you should do work, and any other tasks you input into the system.

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Author: Peyton Deep

Paying Attention In Class

In my survey, paying attention in class was far and away the biggest problem listed by students. This problem looks like student being distracted while sitting in a class and not absorbing the information taught to them. Perhaps students do not listen to what the professor is saying or do not take notes. They could be on their phone, shopping on their computer, or any number of distracting things. They could even be doing productive things like doing homework or another class, but this still leads to them not paying attention in class. Most students attend class to get marked present, but they are far from present. They are there physically but they are in a land far away mentally. My goal in solving this problem will be to create a solution where students can be physically and mentally present in class. Jeopardy is normally only used in high school classrooms but I think it would work well in college also!

Jeopardy! game with example categories for students to choose from!

  • https://jeopardylabs.com/
  • The Jeopardy! game created through jeopardylabs is incredible easy to use! A teacher may insert whatever categories, questions, or point values they want by just clicking on the appropriate box!
  • The platform is called jeopardylabs and by just creating a password you can immediately create a jeopardy game!
  • Jeopardylabs is free! For $20 you can b a lifetime member, but it’s not required to make a game!

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! contains a series of questions to test students knowledge, with harder questions worth more points. Students can select which questions they want to answer, and they can compete in teams to gain the most points. The game ends with one final answer which both teams get a chance to answer, where students can gamble a certain amount of points that they have already obtained to gain that many over again if the answer correctly. However, if they answer incorrectly, they lose the points they gambled. The goal of Jeopardy! is to create a classroom where student pay attention not because they are forced but because they want to. Perhaps teachers can even include rewards for winning! Students competitive nature will come out as the battle with other students to obtain the most points. They will also recall more information because they will be interacting with content rather than just hearing it or reading it.

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Author: Sevastian Guerrero

Note Taking

As college students go to class they are expected to take notes to review and better understand the material later throughout the semester. However as more lessons start piling up for each of a student’s classes, reviewing the material becomes tedious. I personally have became overwhelmed with looking through various pages of notes from different classes and chapters to the point where I just rely on going back and reviewing class slides instead. The Student Life survey has helped me understand how more than half of the students that took the survey still rely on the old fashion way of taking notes, by paper/notebooks. This traditional way of note taking is still predominant and reliable, however when it comes to time efficiency it is lagging.

Goodnotes provides a quick and easy way to take and review notes when it matters.

Basic Information of the Technology Solution for the Academic Problem

  • https://www.goodnotes.com/pricing
  • Difficulty: Easy to use
  • Platform: Any IOS or Android operating systems.
  • Price: One time purchase of $30 OR Annual subscription of $10.99.

Goodnotes

Goodnotes is a note-taking application mainly for IOS and Android tablets. The application does have a subscription or one time purchase of $30, however there is also a free trial option. This virtual notebook can hold unlimited pages of notes and with various features, such as audio recording, pdf editing, and easy access to your file system so you can incorporate photos or files within your notes. Goodnotes (premium) also can hold unlimited notebooks that can be stored in the cloud and be accessed by any of your devices that are connected to the same cloud network. It also easy to share notes with your peers as you can send them certain pages of your notebook or even the entire notebook for reference. One of my personal favorite features of this app is the ability to search for keywords even if they’re handwritten! The application can search through all your notebooks and list which ones have the keyword you are looking for.

TOOLS FOR LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION