Study aids.

I don't think I've ever given sensible advice for studying. (That James Wee guy who did that whole email interview with me probably found that out when he knew I sleep in the weirdest of times.)

But this time, I'm actually giving sensible tips. Yes, I'm introducing you to 3 web tools that I think will help you in whatever it is that you're studying/working on. You might have heard of some of them, but if you haven't, read on. And if you've heard of the first one, I still want you to read it.

1. Google Docs.
http://docs.google.com

We all know that Google Docs is amazing as a Microsoft Office alternative. It's got most of the features, plus it's online, with more collaboration features, and free.

Well, what you probably didn't know is that it can be used to do forms and surveys! Yes, all you JC students with your project works and Survey Monkey stuff. You can use Google Docs to create surveys, embed some code that it generates on a website/blog, and the responses get tabulated "automagically" in a nice table. Just follow the instructions on this link and collect those quantitative/qualitative data (it's a form tool, so it can collect both.)

I tried using it to collect the study hours from the people in my cell group last time (N422), and it worked quite well, except for the part where some people didn't really key in their details. But the point is, people used it, and they didn't have much problems. So, it should work with your project, too! Give it a shot!


2. del.icio.us
http://del.cico.us (or else, http://www.delicious.com )

I've tried this tool ages ago, and then I stopped using it after 3 log-ins. But recently, I found myself actually using it as a handy go-anywhere bookmarking tool that I can use for saving links to articles that I can share during Psychology class (see my del.icio.us page for an example of a real-life application of this tool - I saved 2 links for my Psychology class, which was doing Gender Behaviours).

The basic idea is that you put links into Del.icio.us in the same way you'd put into your bookmark bar. Then, when you're on a different computer, those bookmarks will be on a handy website, ready for you to access. You can also use it to share links with others, or subscribe to certain tags. The MacBreak Weekly Podcast team used to (and I think still does) use del.icio.us to gather news stories and picks to talk about during their show by asking people to tag "MBWideas". That's one possible application of this web tool.

Go ahead. Try it. See if it meets your needs.

3. Dropbox.
http://www.dropbox.com

Dropbox is to the thumbdrive what Del.icio.us is to the bookmark bar, and what Google Docs is to Microsoft Office. It's an online storage solution. And a generous one, too. 2GB for free! And, if you introduce 4 other friends to Dropbox via a referral programme (click here for my referral!), you could get up to an additional 256MB*4=1GB!

It's really handy if you're too lazy to dangle a thumbdrive wherever you go. Just make sure there's an internet connection on the PC where you intend to access the files!


There you go! I hope that helps!

[p.s.: I'm on the school PC. For some reason, it forces me to type URLs in posts manually, but allows hyperlinks. That's why I only post full links for those which I can remember in my STM/LTM. Sorry if this post looked a bit "phishy".]