class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/intro4.png" alt="agenda app" width="240" height="194" />Many college terms will be starting around this time or even earlier so this application will come in extremely handy. If you’re a college student or know someone who is in school, and you own an iDevice, be sure to check out class="vt-p" href="http://www.inclassapp.com/">InClass [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inclass/id374986430?mt=8">iTunes link]. Once you download this free app, you’ll have a daily planner and a notebook for each class, without having to lug around the actual physical books, although you can certainly use them in addition to this app.

InClass was featured in Apple’s College Survival Guide, where it stands as one of the few free apps. Other free productivity apps worth mentioning from the list would be the  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sync-todo-lists-windows-pc-mac-wunderlist/">Wunderlist task managing app [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wunderlist-task-manager/id406644151?mt=8">iTunes link], class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/add-evernote-site-memory-button-build-loyal-visitors-site/">Evernote [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evernote/id281796108?mt=8">iTunes link], class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tips-optimize-ibooks-reading-experience-iphone/">iBooks [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8">iTunes link], class="vt-p" href="http://siri.com/">Siri Assistant [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/siri-assistant/id351778157?mt=8">iTunes link] and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-great-sites-rate-review-teachers-professors/">Rate My Professors [ class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rate-my-professors/id345381821?mt=8">iTunes link], among other entertainment and lifestyle apps. Let’s see what makes InClass incredibly useful for keeping track of your classes.

id="more-63726">

Take Text & Multimedia Notes

Since InClass is available for the iPad, you can use it as a notebook and reading app, which will make your backpack a lot lighter. Not many students will have an iPad, but if you own an iPhone or even an iPod Touch, you can also make great use of this app as an agenda and even notebook.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/2.11.png" alt="agenda app" width="332" height="481" />

With this app, you’ll be able to record the audio for your lecture (and multitask too!), as well as video capture and take photos of the whiteboard or handouts. You can set whether or not to capture the audio and video in high quality (and HD video) in the Settings, but they’re off by default to save space. InClass will know to associate the multimedia and text files with the class.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/25.png" alt="agenda application" width="332" height="481" />

If you take pictures, you can also print them directly from the app or share them on Facebook if you want to connect your account. If your classmates use InClass, you can also share your notes (which are a special InClass file type) with them. You can also email each individual note, and export your notes via iTunes File Sharing or back them up, which you can later open in InClass if, say, you’re changing devices, and you’ll still get all of your notes, tasks and classes.

Here’s what an emailed note looks like.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/37.png" alt="agenda application" width="580" height="396" />

See Your Classes & Tasks For The Day In The Schedule

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_0264.png" alt="agenda application" width="320" height="480" />

In the Schedule tab, you get a smart view of what classes and homework you have for that day. You can also get a monthly view of upcoming classes and color-coded tasks.

There’s also a professors tab where you can input the contact information for each class’s instructor, which could save you from having to keep the syllabus around.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/42.png" alt="student agenda program" width="580" height="435" />

You can also take a picture of the syllabus or convert the PDF to an image to keep in your Photos library, so you can insert that file in your InClass notes.

Get Reminder Alerts For Tasks/Homework & Classes

You can set alarms in InClass, which can remind you of upcoming classes and tasks so you’re constantly on top of your schedule.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_0269.png" alt="student agenda program" width="200" height="300" />

You can even set the badge icon to show you how many tasks you have due for the week or for the next two weeks.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Untitled.jpg" alt="agenda app" width="312" height="163" />

Overall, InClass will make keeping track of your classes, homework and syllabi much easier and simply shines for the value.

Do you prefer physical agendas or like to just use your phone as a planner? Let us know what you think in the comments section. />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/&title=InClass – The Perfect Agenda App For College Students [iOS]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/inclass-perfect-agenda-app-college-students-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/student-dog-organizer-superb-digital-organizer-check-windows/" title="Student DOG Organizer – A Superb Digital Organizer You Should Check Out [Windows]">Student DOG Organizer – A Superb Digital Organizer You Should Check Out [Windows] (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organized-semester-google-calendar/" title="Get Organized This Semester With Google Calendar">Get Organized This Semester With Google Calendar (21 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/edumodo-social-network-teachers-students/" title="Edmodo – A Social Network For Teachers & Students">Edmodo – A Social Network For Teachers & Students (20 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/zenstyle-listing-projects-workflowy/" title="Zen-Style Listing And Project Management with WorkFlowy">Zen-Style Listing And Project Management with WorkFlowy (28 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/track-life-1daylater/" title="Track Your Life With 1DayLater">Track Your Life With 1DayLater (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/great-study-aides-ipad-users/" title="Three Great Study Aids for iPad Users You Didn’t Know About">Three Great Study Aids for iPad Users You Didn’t Know About (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/notes-annotate-pdfs-easy-jarnal-crossplatform/" title="Take Notes & Annotate PDFs The Easy Way With Jarnal [Cross-Platform]">Take Notes & Annotate PDFs The Easy Way With Jarnal [Cross-Platform] (16 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sorted-incredibly-easy-todo-app-iphone-ipad-giveaway/" title="Sorted: Incredibly Easy to Use To-Do App for iPhone & iPad [Giveaway]">Sorted: Incredibly Easy to Use To-Do App for iPhone & iPad [Giveaway] (3 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/some-more-gtd-personal-productivity-with-timegt/" title="Some More GTD & Personal Productivity With TimeGT">Some More GTD & Personal Productivity With TimeGT (30 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-free-productivity-ipod-touch-apps-offline-capabilities/" title="iPod Touch : 10 Cool Productivity Apps For Offline Use">iPod Touch : 10 Cool Productivity Apps For Offline Use (30 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/chalkboard.jpg" alt="online college courses"/>With rising costs associated with going to university, many progressive colleges have been looking for ways to teach those who can not afford a traditional college course, or otherwise do not have the time to visit a traditional classroom. The internet is a low-cost distribution method and is a perfect vehicle for learning topics with both textual, audio and visual cues to assist the student.

The sites below offer free online college level classes to anyone willing to spend the time on them. Each differ – some have all of the materials online and some may want you to purchase (borrow?) a textbook to follow along with. Each of them offers complete courses with only one thing missing: the credit for the coursework to put towards a matriculated degree.

id="more-54572">

href="http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm">MIT OpenCourseware

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/mit.jpg" alt="online college courses"/>

Massachusetts Institute of Technology was a pioneer in offering online college courses and they still have the most diverse and in-depth collection of classes available anywhere. Their online offering is an archived version of real courses that have been taught at MIT, and you may need to purchase the textbook to follow along with the class. These courses come highly recommended.

href="http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/">Carnegie Mellon OpenLearning

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/cmu.jpg" alt="online courses"/>

Carnegie Mellon, based in Pittsburgh, PA, has a variety of courses available for anyone online. While the selection is not as great as MIT’s, many core courses are presented in an easy to follow online format. Their courses are similar to what a paying student would receive minus the course credit or access to an instructor.

href="http://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Acadamy

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/khan.jpg" alt="online courses"/>

Salman Khan began putting videos on YouTube to help with tutoring a cousin. When he started receiving feedback that they were helping a lot more people than just his cousin, he realized he was on to something good.

Today, there are over 1000 videos on KhanAcademy, which is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Most videos are about math. However, there are also many other topics that he explores. Even Bill Gates has said that he uses Khan to teach his kids about math. These are not college courses per-se, but the math he introduces in them are at college level and many people praise them for being clearer and easier to comprehend than actual college courses!

href="http://webcast.berkeley.edu/">University of California at Berkeley

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/berkeley.jpg" alt="online courses"/>

UC Berkeley has put online videos and audio of many of its most popular courses up on their Webcast website. They do not include the text materials which can be very helpful for taking online college courses. However, you can still learn a lot by watching the videos of the lecures.

They have lectures for ongoing courses and also historical class archives on their website, as well as videos of recorded events and one-off lectures.

href="http://itunes.stanford.edu/">Stanford University iTunesU

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/stanford.jpg" alt="free online college courses"/>

Stanford has made many of their courses and lectures available via href="http://makeuseof.com/tags/itunes">iTunes in iTunesU. This collection is great if you are on the go or want to listen to courses while commuting. They have an impressive collection of content available, all for free. The downside is that you need to use iTunes to view their content.

href="http://ocw.tufts.edu/">Tufts OpenCourseware

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/tufts.jpg" alt="free online college courses"/>

Tufts uses the OpenCourseware format to offer full content on a number of their programs. Worth mentioning from Tufts are their Medical and Dental school courses as well as selections from other courses.

href="http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/">Open University LearningSpace

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/learningspace.jpg" alt="free online college courses" />

Learningspace offers content from the Open University, based in the UK. This university pledges to be open and accepts many different kinds of students in its real world classrooms. It also opened up its content to anyone online. The online college courses are laid out extremely well and offer many different topics with skill levels going from beginner up to expert.

href="http://ocw.jhsph.edu/">Johns Hopkins OpenCourseware

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/johnshopkins.jpg" alt="online college courses"/>

Johns Hopkins is a respected medical school outside of Baltimore, Maryland. They offer a selection of courses from their school which would be of particular interest to medical students.

Get to work!

The sites above are free as in free beer. However, if you wish to make the most out of them you will still need to make the time commitment to sit down and watch or listen to the course content. You may not receive college credit for learning via these sites but you will definitely turn out a better person!

Image credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-50974009/stock-photo-student-solving-a-problem-at-a-blackboard.html">Shutterstock />
/>Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/">MakeUseOf Answers! />
/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/&title=8 Awesome Websites to Take Free College Courses Online&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-awesome-websites-free-college-courses-online/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pelement-chemistry-study/" title="Study Chemistry and its Elements the Right Way with pElement">Study Chemistry and its Elements the Right Way with pElement (20 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/headmagnet-online-flash-card-stops-memory-decay/" title="Headmagnet – Free Online Flash Cards That Stop Memory Decay">Headmagnet – Free Online Flash Cards That Stop Memory Decay (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sites-law-students/" title="8 Best Websites for Law Students">8 Best Websites for Law Students (12 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-top-reference-sites-write-winning-research-paper/" title="6 Top Reference Sites to Write a Winning Research Paper">6 Top Reference Sites to Write a Winning Research Paper (6 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sites-free-video-lectures-top-colleges/" title="6 Really Good Sites with FREE Video Lectures from Top US Colleges">6 Really Good Sites with FREE Video Lectures from Top US Colleges (14 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-great-online-tools-to-improve-study-skills-and-get-better-grades/" title="3 Great Online Tools to Improve Study Skills & Get Better Grades">3 Great Online Tools to Improve Study Skills & Get Better Grades (8 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/handy-tools-for-students/" title="Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools">Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools (89 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-downloaded-student-tools-movers-shakers/" title="Top 10 Most Downloaded Student Tools [Movers & Shakers]">Top 10 Most Downloaded Student Tools [Movers & Shakers] (19 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-downloaded-educational-software-movers-shakers/" title="Top 10 Most Downloaded Educational Software [Movers & Shakers]">Top 10 Most Downloaded Educational Software [Movers & Shakers] (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/studeous-schools-teachers-and-students-unite/" title="Studeous – Collaboration Suite for Teachers and Students">Studeous – Collaboration Suite for Teachers and Students (20 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/collegefootball.png" />The air is getting crisp, leaves are changing colors and beginning their descent from the trees. One of my favorite seasons is upon us, at least in the northern hemisphere. That means fall has arrived, and it is also the beginning of the College Football season!

After cutting the cable and moving to free legal streaming via href="http://makeuseof.com/tags/boxee">Boxee and other services, we really haven’t missed much programming at all. I was worried that the one sport I do follow, NCAA College Football – or American Football as the rest of the world calls it – would have to be dropped since I hadn’t heard of any live streaming from ABC or ESPN, which carries the majority of the college football programming since it holds the major contract with NCAA. This year I seem to be in luck.

id="more-53533">

ESPN3

Fortunately for most home high speed internet users in the US there is a great option, with a caveat. href="http://espn.go.com/espn3/index">ESPN3 is the online ’station’ from ESPN which has a wide variety of sports programming, even beyond NCAA football. They carry programming from all of the other ESPN networks and that includes NFL Football, Baseball, Racing, Soccer and more. The quality of the stream is actually pretty good and scales depending on your bandwidth and processing power.

The caveat, and it might be a major one for you, is that ESPN3 is available only to users who subscribe to an ISP which has already paid for the privilege of streaming it. Basically, when an ISP signs up ESPN whitelists your ISP’s IP address ranges only allowing access to their service to those ISPs who have paid for it.

If your ISP is not one of the cooperating ones, you will be forwarded to ESPN Player and prompted to purchase the college pass which is about $20 a month. The screen looks like this:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/espnplayer.png" />

However if your ISP is one of the href="http://espn.go.com/espn3/affList">participating affiliates (some of the larger ones are AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and Road Runner), visiting the player will bring up a list of currently live streaming games:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/espn3list.png" />

After opening the href="http://espn.go.com/espn3/index">main site, click on a game and a new window pops up with the streaming player.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/espn3player.png" />

The quality of the video will automatically adjust based on your CPU and bandwidth available, and while not full HD (eg. 720p or 1080i) the quality is pretty decently and looks good at a normal television set distance. Click href="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/espn3full.png">here to see a full screen screenshot of the feed at the 4 out of 5 level. I never hit 5/5 even though I should have plenty of bandwidth and a Core i7 CPU, so I’m not sure what the ‘full’ feed looks like but would be curious if anyone has a screencapture of it!

Other Options

Not all College Football games are carries on ESPN/ABC, however. There are a few options although I have not found any of them to be as reliable, and of questionable legality, as the ESPN feeds. You can sometimes find your game on href="http://www.ustream.tv/">Ustream or href="http://www.justin.tv/directory/featured">Justin.tv – do a search for your team’s name. I also seemed to find a lot of games online at href="http://www.channelsurfing.net/">ChannelSurfing which may work in a pinch.

Also, if streaming online is not your cup of tea and if you live within the broadcast area of the major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, you may be able to pull in their video Off The Air (OTA) using a TV tuner such as the HD Homerun from href="http://www.silicondust.com/">SiliconDust or href="http://www.hauppauge.com/">Hauppauge HVR line of products. This isn’t streaming or even watching it online, but it does provider a cheaper alternative than paying for Cable TV.

The Future of Sports Streaming Online

With more and more content providers offering live events online for stream (NCAA March Madness is another example), it is good to see such a high quality content available, even if it isn’t totally free (even though it technically is free to the end-user, you are paying or it indirectly with your subscription to high speed internet). With more and more people ‘cutting the cable’, we will see more content being offered to ISPs as a way to create more revenue from non-cable subscribers.

Finally a warning – some sites that I did find are definitely of questionable legal standing and also may install spyware on your PC. Make sure not to click on ‘OK’ if they want to install a plugin, especially Internet Explorer users. If they are looking for a credit card number, I would also shy away since there is a good chance these are scam sites trying to offer something for nothing.

How do you get your streaming sports online? Other major networks, such as Fox, do not yet offer online streaming as far as I know. Do you have any other sites you would recommend? />
/>Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/">MakeUseOf Answers! />
/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/&title=Catch Your Favorite Team & Watch Live College Football Online For Free!&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-favorite-team-watch-live-college-football-online-free/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/enjoy-college-humor-flickr-digg-content-tv-boxees-apps/" title="Watch CollegeHumor, Browse Flickr and Read Digg News On Your TV with Boxee’s Apps">Watch CollegeHumor, Browse Flickr and Read Digg News On Your TV with Boxee’s Apps (18 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/boxee-beta-an-app-that-will-change-how-you-think-about-television/" title="Boxee Beta – The Best Media Center App for Your TV">Boxee Beta – The Best Media Center App for Your TV (30 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-sources-watch-fifa-world-cup-2010-online/" title="10 Sources To Watch The FIFA World Cup 2010 Online">10 Sources To Watch The FIFA World Cup 2010 Online (11 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-videos-in-the-firefox-sidebar-with-youplayer/" title="Watch Videos In The Firefox Sidebar With YouPlayer">Watch Videos In The Firefox Sidebar With YouPlayer (18 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-youtube-videos-easy-learn-card-tricks/" title="The Top 10 YouTube Videos With Easy To Learn Card Tricks">The Top 10 YouTube Videos With Easy To Learn Card Tricks (2 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-movies-on-internet-youtube/" title="The Secret To Watch Movies On The Internet With YouTube">The Secret To Watch Movies On The Internet With YouTube (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/play-and-download-youtube-videos-on-your-mac-with-mactubes/" title="Play and Download YouTube Videos On Your Mac with MacTubes">Play and Download YouTube Videos On Your Mac with MacTubes (9 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/mubi-social-network-watch-movies-online-free/" title="Mubi – A Social Network To Watch Movies Online For Free">Mubi – A Social Network To Watch Movies Online For Free (18 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-watch-ncaa-sports-games-online-for-free/" title="How To Watch NCAA Sports Games Online For Free">How To Watch NCAA Sports Games Online For Free (17 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-keep-flash-videos-full-screen-on-a-second-monitor/" title="How To Keep Flash Videos Full-Screen On A Second Monitor">How To Keep Flash Videos Full-Screen On A Second Monitor (22 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iStock_000000743931XSmall-copy.jpg" alt="how to write a college essay"/>We have already class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-reasons-diigo-tastes-better-than-delicious/">covered why Diigo, a web bookmarking and annotation service, is a powerful tool for managing bookmarks, but why stop there?   class="vt-p" href="http://www.diigo.com">Diigo can be a very useful tool for helping you to write a college essay or research paper.

Since the Internet is a tool that most students use to do research, and since most research papers are based on quotes used from various sources, Diigo provides a way to not only bookmark your sources, but also to manage and access your quotes, notes, and analysis.

The following are some suggested guidelines for using Diigo.

id="more-51679">

Step 1: Determine Your Thesis

The best way to do research is know what your thesis is for a given topic. So if you’re writing a controversial issue paper on gun laws or gun control in the U.S., you will want to develop your opinion about a particular aspect of the issue.

Having a thesis in mind can help you narrow research, even if you change your thesis during the process.

Step 2: Using Diigo Tools

Before the Internet and Google, research papers were done using reading material in the library and note cards for recording and managing quotes and analysis. The content of the note cards were in turn used to write the paper. Diigo’s highlighting tools and your Diigo library can serve as your note cards.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bookmarktools.png" border="0" alt="how to write a college essay" width="510" height="147" />

Before you start doing research using Internet resources, open your Diigo account/library and create a list for your topic. This list will be used to manage all your bookmarks and highlights. This management tool will save you lots of time and provide you with a way to access your research from any computer.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/createa-list.png" border="0" alt="write college essays" width="580" height="419" />

If you have never used Diigo before, you will want to open a free account and install the Diigo bookmarklet, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.diigo.com/tools/diigolet">diigolet, in your favorite web browser (click on the Tools icon on the class="vt-p" href="http://www.diigo.com/index">Diigo homepage to get instructions for setting up a bookmarklet for the browser you use).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bookmarklet.png" border="0" alt="write college essays" width="398" height="353" />

Using the Diigo toolbar, you can easily bookmark and annotate sources just as you do with paper documents.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/diigolist-1.png" border="0" alt="write college essays" width="425" height="521" />

You might consider color coding your highlights, e.g., yellow for quotes that support your thesis, and green for quotes that are against your thesis.

Step 3: Using Your Highlights & Notes

As you do your research using Diigo, you will of course find all your bookmarks, highlights, and notes saved to your Diigo library and list page. Your list page even has a permanent URL, which means you can access it directly.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gunlawslist.png" border="0" alt="how to write a college paper" width="579" height="484" />

With your page open, you can simply copy and paste your quotes as you write your paper. Since the URLs for your sources are also saved, they can be easily put into the bibliography in your research paper.

If you’re working on a group research project, Diigo can be used for the same purpose. Simply create a group for which everyone can bookmark sources to.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/groupdiigo.png" alt="how to write a college essay" width="355" height="172" />

If you are a student, let us know if this is a good idea for doing Internet-based research. Also please share other online tools that you use to get papers written. />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!

href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof"> src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fbfeedfooter.png" />

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/&title=Use Diigo To Help Write Your Next College Essay or Term Paper&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diigo-write-college-essay-term-paper/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-downloaded-student-tools-movers-shakers/" title="Top 10 Most Downloaded Student Tools [Movers & Shakers]">Top 10 Most Downloaded Student Tools [Movers & Shakers] (19 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-top-reference-sites-write-winning-research-paper/" title="6 Top Reference Sites to Write a Winning Research Paper">6 Top Reference Sites to Write a Winning Research Paper (6 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-downloaded-educational-software-movers-shakers/" title="Top 10 Most Downloaded Educational Software [Movers & Shakers]">Top 10 Most Downloaded Educational Software [Movers & Shakers] (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-google-android-applications-students/" title="The 4 Must Have Android Phone Applications for Students">The 4 Must Have Android Phone Applications for Students (7 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pelement-chemistry-study/" title="Study Chemistry and its Elements the Right Way with pElement">Study Chemistry and its Elements the Right Way with pElement (20 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pauker-easytouse-java-flash-card-program/" title="Pauker – An Easy-To-Use Freeware Java Flash Card Program">Pauker – An Easy-To-Use Freeware Java Flash Card Program (14 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/notely-helps-students-get-organized-online/" title="Notely Helps Students Get Organized Online">Notely Helps Students Get Organized Online (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/teaching-history-csi-style/" title="Make Classes Fun By Teaching History CSI Style">Make Classes Fun By Teaching History CSI Style (15 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/improve-your-memory-with-free-flash-cards-for-pocket-pc/" title="Improve Your Memory With Free Flash Cards for Pocket PC">Improve Your Memory With Free Flash Cards for Pocket PC (5 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/flipr-free-tool-to-make-flash-cards-online/" title="iFlipr: A Free Tool to Make Flash Cards Online">iFlipr: A Free Tool to Make Flash Cards Online (0 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com