Jennie Bourgeois

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Here is a terrific post from the Online College: Connecting to Your Future blog.

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If you’re a consummate procrastinator–despite your best efforts to be otherwise–then you’ve undoubtedly waited until the last minute to start that research paper or read that book more than once. Here you’ll find a collection of resources that can help you cram for tests, understand the main ideas of a work of literature, do your math homework and a whole lot more so your procrastination won’t send your college career down the tubes.

Study Guides

These study guides can help you understand literary metaphors, summarize readings and give you the tools necessary to muddle through the densest of texts.

1. SparkNotes: Whether you’re reading Shakespeare or something a little more modern, you’ll find helpful study guides and notes on this site.
2. PinkMonkey: Here you’ll find over 460 study guides you can use for free to better understand just about any work of classic literature.
3. BookRags: This site is home to study guides and summaries aplenty, as well as information for research topics.
4. Bibliomania: Search through study guides on this site by title or author.
5. Study Guides and Strategies: Try out this site for some ideas on how to study better as well as some more specifically designed study guides for reading and math.
6. CollegeCram: This site is a great place to find social learning resources from study guides to shared notes.
7. Bartleby.com: Lose your book? On this site you’ll find a collection of many works of literature as well as helpful study resources as well.
8. Free Book Notes: This site is essentially a free online version of CliffsNotes.
9. Shmoop: There are loads of literature guides available on this site as well as other teaching materials you can use for learning.
10. LitSum: If you didn’t bother to do your reading, you can find basic summaries of well-known books on this site.
11. GradeSaver: On this site you’ll find a great number of study guides as well as example essays and other learning tools.

Study Tools

Use these study tools to quiz yourself, solve math problems and cram at the last minute.

1. QuickMath: Use this site to get answers to math problems quickly and easily over the Internet.
2. Cramster.com: Join study groups, get answers to your questions and find help with textbooks on this study site.
3. TutorLinker: If you are struggling to work on your own, use this site to find a tutor to help.
4. FlashcardExchange: Create, study, print and share flashcards of all kinds on this site.
5. PocketMod: Make your class notes small so you can take them with you and study them anywhere you go.
6. StudyStack: On this site you can use flashcards made by others or create your own to use.
7. Quizlet: This tool can help you study more effectively for just about any subject out there.
8. Flashcard Machine: Use this tool to build helpful flashcards so you can study better.
9. StudyRails: Try out a free trials of this tool designed to help keep you organized, help you study and eliminate those pesky distractions available when you do work online.
10. Mathway: Use this tool to get easy answers to your math homework or to double check your work.

Sharing Notes

On these sites you’ll be able to share your notes and get notes from others from classes you might have missed.

1. Notely: On Notely you can store and share your notes as well as keep track of your assignments and schedule.
2. MyNoteit: Use this tool to take, store and share your notes in an online format.
3. NoteCentric: Get notes from others and share your own on this site.
4. Stu.dicio.us: This site acts as a social note-taking forum so you don’t have to work alone.
5. NoteMesh: Fill in any gaps there may be in your notes with help from this site and your classmates.
6. ShareNotes: With this site you can look through class notes for free and also make a profit selling your own notes.
7. GradeGuru: Share and search for notes from your courses on this site.
8. StudyBlue: This tool makes it simple to keep track of your notes and connect with others who have taken or are taking your courses.
9. ShareCourseware.org: Find free lecture notes on this site.
10. FruitNotes: This site acts as an online notebook, making it simple to share work with friends, make voice recordings and even add photos.
11. Helipad: Sick of searching through your notes for important facts? This tool makes it easy to store and search through all your notes.

Reference

If you need to look up any kind of basic information from word translations to a more intelligent sounding word, these tools will help.

1. Dictionary.com: Look up just about any word you could need the definition for on this site.
2. Wikipedia: While it won’t hold up as a citation on a research paper, it can give you a great starting point for your real research.
3. RhymeZone: Writing a poem or a song? This site will help you come up with great rhymes when you’re at a loss.
4. ArtLex: Look up art terms you don’t understand in this free online dictionary.
5. Webopedia: Don’t understand all those techie terms? This dictionary is here to help.
6. Dictionary of Algorithms: On this site you’ll find a collection of algorithms and other data structures.
7. Biographical Dictionary: Check out this resource for information on the lives of tens of thousands of people.
8. Roget’s Thesaurus: Make your writing sound fancier by finding synonyms in this free thesaurus.
9. BabelFish: Translate basic phrases and webpages from another language into your own with this tool.
10. WordReference: Look up words in English, Spanish, French, Italian and more on this site.
11. Visual Dictionary: If you’re more of a visually oriented person, this dictionary can help you understand a myriad of concepts.

Research

Augment and speed up your research with these helpful tools.

1. Ottobib: Simply enter in the reference information into this tool and you’ll get an instantly rendered citation in MLA, APA, and Chicago style.
2. Zotero: This Firefox extension can help you organize and track your research from beginning to end.
3. WizFolio: Manage your references and cite them when you’re done with this tool.
4. EasyBib: Use this tool to ensure that you’re citing your sources correctly when you turn in your paper.
5. Bibme: Add your reference material to this site and it will generate a bibliography for you.
6. CiteULike: This tool allows you to search for and manage a wealth of scholarly resources.
7. Delicious: Bookmark sites that look promising for research on this site.
8. Backpack: While designed with business in mind, this tool can be an excellent way to manage your research projects as well.
9. WorldCat: Find just about any book you could need using this site that searches the world’s libraries, letting you know where you can find it nearest to you.
10. Google Scholar: Use this search engine to scan through loads of helpful scholarly articles.
11. High Beam Research: Search through thousands of reputable sources for research materials using this site.
12. Diana Hacker: This site will help you to double check your citations to make sure they’re done correctly.
13. GoogleBooks: You can often find some extremely useful books you can look through for free on this site.

Writing

Improve your writing and get a little help in the process from these tools.

1. Viper Plagiarism Checker: Ensure that your work is free from any plagiarism by using this tool. With its help, you can make sure you’ve cited any resources.
2. Etherpad: Those who have to rush to turn in a group project can use this tool to work together at once online.
3. GoogleDocs: Take your writing with you whether you are at home or at the library with this online word processor.
4. Eduify: This site knows that writing isn’t always easy and offers tutorials, writing samples, help with citations and even stores your writing online.
5. Elements of Style: Check through this classic book to make sure you’re sticking to correct grammar and style.
6. Ultimate Style: Here is a more updated version of the Elements of Style you can look to for help.
7. Technical Writing: Those who work with more technical subjects should consult this guide.
8. WordCounter: This tool will tell you what words you’ve used most frequently in your text so you can make sure you’re not repeating the same things over and over.
9. Verbix: Use this tool to conjugate any English verb correctly.
10. Advanced Text Analyzer: Create a profile on this site and you’ll be able to use the text tools to analyze your work, determining a wealth of information that can help you improve your writing.
11. yWriter: Try out this word processor that’s designed just for writing stories and novels.
12. Scholar’s Aid Lite: The free version of this tool will give you a place to write your paper, organize your notes, cite sources and more.

Presentation

Use these tools to put together a last minute presentation.

1. Sliderocket: This online tool uses drag and drop functionality to make it simple to create great presentations.
2. Slideshare: Whether you’re working together or by yourself this tool will make creating presentations a cinch.
3. ZohoShow: Use this open source tool to build presentations, if you don’t have another program to do so.
4. Prezi: Create great presentations on the web using this impressive tool.
5. Jing: Use the free version of this tool to easy snap pictures of your screen and create great presentations.
6. 280Slides: Try out this presentation tool to make sure you’re prepared for your class.

Productivity

Remind yourself of your important tasks with these tools.

1. Ta-Da Lists: Create an easy-to-use to-do list using this free tool, a big help in keeping your work on track.
2. Toodledoo: Organize your tasks and improve your productivity using this tool.
3. 30 Boxes: This online calendar can help make sure you don’t forget upcoming due dates.
4. Stickies: As you’re doing your research, use these stickies to make notes to yourself for later.
5. Remember the Milk: Whether you want to track your social schedule or make sure you get all of your homework done, this tool can help.
6. HassleMe: This tool will incessantly remind you of tasks you need to get done so you have no excuses about forgetting.
7. Bla-Bla List: You can use this list-making tool to create your own to-dos or create a set for your group.
8. Diigo: This tool will help you organize all of your important research and keep everything easy to find.
9. WebNotes: Manage and make notations on your research using this time-saving tool.
10. A.nnotate: Try out this tool to make searching for and storing information on the Internet easy and more productive.

Brainstorming and Organizing

Pull your ideas together and get your information organized using these tools.

1. Thinkature: This site allows users to create mindmaps of their ideas and easily share them with others.
2. FreeMind: Check out this free mind mapping software to better organize your ideas.
3. Bubble.us: Keep all of your material and ideas for projects in order with this tool.
4. WiseMapping: This open source tool makes it simple to lay out outlines and organize information for a paper.
5. Mapul: This tool takes a different approach to mind mapping, creating outlines that are much more organic in nature.
6. View Your Mind: Insert pictures, links and other information into your mindmap using this tool.
7. Gliffy: If a flow chart is more akin to what you need, then try out this free tool.
8. Mindomo: With this tool you’ll be able to organize, get productive, define goals and track what you need to get done.
9. Manage My Ideas: Try out this demo to get a leg up in organizing any project you’re working on.
10. DeepaMehta: Keep all of the information and ideas you’ve complied for your paper organized using this software.
11. The Brain: Pick your own brain using this mind mapping software that’s incredibly fully-featured.

Miscellaneous

From writing help to printable graph paper, these tools offer a range of assistance in finishing homework and projects.

1. ProBoards: Use these forums to post your homework and project questions.
2. Spreeder: Learn how to speed read using this site.
3. Printable Paper: Need specialized graph or printed paper but don’t have any lying around? It’s no problem with this site.
4. PDF Creator: This tool will help you to turn any kind of document into a PDF.
5. Box.net: Need to store some data online? This tool will make it easy to store and access the important things you need.

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The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) is pleased to announce the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) Checklist iPhone application.

YOU TUBE TUTORIAL:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=OtBA0F7tWSo

The IEP is an individualized program designed to support the educational needs of school aged students with disabilities.

This new IEP app helps parents of students with special needs become better-informed advocates by making IEP information easier to access.

The IEP app is offered free of charge in both English and Spanish.   To download the IEP Checklist app, visit the Apple iTunes store, and type IEP Checklist in the search box.

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Make no mistake! Leadership styles directly impact employee engagement, culture and business productivity. How long an employee stays and how productive they are is dependent on the relationship they have with their leader.

There is an ongoing challenge for leaders to continually improve productivity and staff retention. This can be achieved by improving engagement of their workforce through Emotional Intelligence. If you emotionally engage workers, they are by far more productive.

Emotional Intelligence is about one’s ability to perceive, understand, reason with and manage one’s own feelings, emotions, mood states and behaviour’s as well as those of others. It’s your ability that helps people cope with frustrations, control emotions and get along with others.

Our moods, feelings, and emotions influence us every day at work – to good or bad effect. Not only do they impact every workplace relationship and interaction, they influence fundamental areas like job satisfaction, engagement, and team morale.

Numerous studies have found people high in Emotional Intelligence are happier, healthier and more successful in their business, work and personal relationships.

Start developing your Emotional Intelligence TODAY!

Based on Daniel Goleman’s decade of research and model of emotional intelligence, the four (4) main components of emotional intelligence leadership are: -

o Self awareness
o Self Regulation
o Self motivation
o Social awareness

1. Self-awareness

Emotional awareness: (Recognizing your emotions and their effects).
- Know which emotions you are feeling and why;
- Understand the links between your feelings and what you think, do, and say
- Recognize how your feelings affect your performance and others;
- Have a guiding awareness of your values and goals.

Accurate self-assessment: (Knowing one’s strengths and limits)
- Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses;
- Reflect on and learn from experience;
- Be open to candid feedback, new perspectives, continuous learning and self-development.
- Show a sense of humor and perspective about themselves.

Self-confidence: (Sureness about one’s self-worth and capabilities).
- Present yourself with self-assurance; have “presence”;
- Voice your views that are unpopular and go out on a limb for what is right;
- Be decisive, able to make sound decisions despite uncertainties and pressures.

2. Self-Regulation

Self-control: (Managing disruptive emotions and impulses).
- Manage your impulsive feelings and distressing emotions well;
- Stay composed, positive, and unflappable even in trying moments;
- Think clearly and stay focused under pressure.

Trustworthiness: (Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity).
- Act ethically and are above reproach;
- Build trust through their reliability and authenticity;
- Admit your own mistakes and confront unethical actions in others;
- Take tough, principled stands even if they are unpopular.

Conscientiousness: (Taking responsibility for personal performance).
- Meet commitments and keep promises;
- Be organized and careful in your work.

Adaptability: (Flexibility in handling change).
- Smoothly handle multiple demands, shifting priorities, and rapid change;
- Adapt your responses and tactics to fit circumstances;
- Be flexible in how you see events.

Innovation: (Being comfortable with and open to novel ideas and new information).
- Seek out fresh ideas from a wide variety of sources;
- Entertain new solutions to problems;
- Generate new ideas;
- Take fresh perspectives and risks in their thinking.

3. Self-Motivation

Achievement drive: (Striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence).
- Be results-oriented, with a high drive to meet your objectives and standards;
- Set challenging goals and take calculated risks;
- Pursue information to reduce uncertainty and find ways to do better;
- Learn how to improve your performance.

Commitment: (Aligning with the goals of the group or organization).
- Readily make personal or group sacrifices to meet a larger organizational goal;
- Find a sense of purpose in the larger mission;
- Use the group’s core values in making decisions and clarifying choices;
- Actively seek out opportunities to fulfill the group’s mission.

Initiative: (Readiness to act on opportunities)
- Be ready to seize opportunities;
- Pursue goals beyond what’s required or expected of you;
- Cut through red tape and bend the rules when necessary to get the job done;
- Mobilize others through unusual, enterprising efforts.

Optimism: (Persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks).
- Persist in seeking goals despite obstacles and setbacks;
- Operate from hope of success rather than fear of failure;
- See setbacks as due to manageable circumstance rather than a personal flaw.

4. Social Awareness

Empathy:
(Sensing others’ feelings and perspective, and taking an active interest in their concerns)
- Be attentive to emotional cues and listen well;
- Show sensitivity and understand others’ perspectives;
- Help out based on understanding other people’s needs and feelings.

Developing others:
(Sensing what others need in order to develop, and bolstering their abilities).
- Acknowledge and reward people’s strengths, accomplishments, and development;
- Offer prompt and useful feedback and identify people’s needs for development;
- Mentor, coach and offer assignments that challenge and grow a person’s skills.

Leveraging diversity:(Cultivating opportunities through diverse people).
- Respect and relate well to people from varied backgrounds;
- Understand diverse worldviews and be sensitive to group differences;
- See diversity as opportunity, creating an environment where diverse people can thrive;
- Challenge bias and intolerance.

Political awareness: (Reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships).
- Accurately read key power relationships;
- Understand the forces that shape views and actions of constituents;
- Accurately read situations and organizational and external realities.

5. Social Skills

Influence: (Wielding effective tactics for persuasion).
- Fine-tune presentations to appeal to the listener;
- Use strategies like indirect influence to build consensus and support;
- Orchestrate dramatic events to effectively make a point.

Communication: (Sending clear and convincing messages)
- You’re effective in give-and-take, registering emotional cues in attuning their message;
- Deal with difficult issues straightforwardly;
- Listen well, seek mutual understanding, and welcome sharing of information fully;
- Foster open communication and stay receptive to bad news as well as good.

Leadership: (Inspiring and guiding groups and people)
- Articulate and arouse enthusiasm for a shared vision and mission;
- Step forward to lead as needed, regardless of position;
- Guide the performance of others while holding them accountable;
- Lead by example.

Change catalyst: (Initiating or managing change).
- Recognize the need for change and remove barriers;
- Challenge the status quo to acknowledge the need for change;
- Champion the change and enlist others to pursuit it. Model the change expected of others.

Conflict management: (Negotiating and resolving disagreements).
- Handle difficult people and tense situations with diplomacy and tact;
- Spot potential conflict, bring disagreements into the open, and help de-escalate;
- Encourage debate and open discussion and create win-win solutions

Building bonds: (Nurturing instrumental relationships).
- Cultivate and maintain extensive informal networks;
- Seek out relationships that are mutually beneficial;
- Build rapport and keep others in the loop;
- Make and maintain personal friendships among work associates.

Collaboration and cooperation: (Working with others toward shared goals).
- Balance a focus on task with attention to relationships;
- Collaborate, share plans, information, and resources;
- Promote a friendly and cooperative climate;
- Identify and nurture opportunities for collaboration.

Team capabilities: (Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals)
- Model team qualities like respect, helpfulness, and cooperation;
- Encourage all members into active and enthusiastic participation;
- Build team identity and commitment;
- Share credit.

Raising emotional awareness takes commitment and practice. Leading with feeling has a Ripple Effect through an entire organization, benefiting everyone through collaboration, greater focus on business objectives, higher performance, and increased bottom-line results.

Michael has over 23 years experience in the Banking and Finance Industry and has enjoyed great success in the corporate and small-medium enterprise business environment. Michael’s expertise includes one-on-one executive coaching, executive team development and coaching, change management, and leadership development.

For more information visit http://www.rippleeffectcoaching.com.au.

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Dr. Stephen Covey, a well-known and compelling speaker and mentor on leadership, ethics, trust and enhanced performance, has spoken to viewers and audiences all over the globe. Dr. Covey is also a best-selling author of many books, including The SPEED of Trust (if you have not read this, you need to!). Dr. Covey shared the #1 behavior to build trust in a video on iLearningGlobal. Do you know what #1 behavior is? Read on…

Dr. Covey was asked out of the 13 behaviors, if you could only pick one behavior to work on, what is the most important to build trust? All 13 are important, but according to Dr. Covey, keeping commitments builds trust faster in a new relationship and creates long-lasting relationships.

Making commitments, keeping commitments, and repeating this cycle will increase trust and do it quickly. You need to do what you say you are going to do. However, this can also be a dangerous behavior if you over-compromise and do not deliver. If you do this repeatedly, you may not have a second or third chance to regain the trust of your customers, prospects, colleagues, family members, or friends. And, you will lose all credibility and this can attract a lot of attention.

Now, do not let this scare you… You can not be afraid to make commitments as this is not the nature of our crazy world today. Commitments are part of everyday life and business. Making commitments builds hope; keeping commitments builds trust.

So, how do you earn new business and trust with a new prospect? Make and keep commitments and the trust level will increase and it will increase fast. Find commitments that create and add value for your prospects. And, tell your prospects what to look for (signal your behavior).

Dr. Covey talked about a friend of his who is a CEO of a company and this CEO has a philosophy and strategy when starting any new relationship. The CEO states to his new prospect that any good relationship is based on trust. When he makes a commitment, you can count on that and he will deliver. He is signaling his behavior and when he delivers on his commitments, the relationship develops and grows quickly.

So, if you say you are going to do something, then DO IT! Keeping commitments is a great behavior to build trust and build it fast. Remember, this is not just about business… You can do this with your family members, friends, co-workers, networking groups, prospects, and customers. Making and keeping commitments is THE fastest way to build trust and when you do this over time, you will build a reputation of “wow… he/she does what he/she said she was going to do” and guess what?

This kind of reputation is money in the marketplace!

To your success and dreams,
Andrea Petoskey

Note: Have you been making and keeping your commitments? Tell the truth… Learn more about How to Build Trust.

If you are tired of working tons of hours, spending tons of dollars, with little results, it is time for a change. Learn my exact blueprint to generate free leads, which in turn, will build your business. Click here TODAY - Exact Blueprint for Success!

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Self-Advocacy for High School Students with Disabilities

NEW PODCAST SHOW

from the DISABILITY LAW LOWDOWN

February 11, 2010 – The Disability Law Lowdown podcast just posted a podcast about self-advocacy for high school students with disabilities. Jacquie Brennan discusses a new information sheet published by the Pacer Center (www.pacer.org) that provides valuable information for high schoolers about how to plan for their future by taking an active role in IEP meetings and transition planning, whether the transition is to employment, post-secondary education, or independent living. It is so important that students learn to advocate for themselves so that goals that are set, and plans that are made, include the desires of the student and not just those around the student.

The Disability Law Lowdown podcast is available at www.DisabilityLawLowdown.com, as well as on iTunes. People can listen to the podcast directing from a computer or can download it to an MP3 player, like an iPod.

The Disability Law Lowdown provides the latest information about disability rights and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other disability-related topics. Subscription is free.

The Disability Law Lowdown is a project of the national network of ten ADA Centers across the country, offering technical assistance and training in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. Contact the Center that serves you by calling 1.800.949.4232 v/tty. The Disability Law Lowdown is available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

To subscribe or listen to archived podcasts visit DisabilityLawLowdown.com

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• Transition 101: High School to Adulthood (slideshare.net)

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Feb. 8-12, 2010
Bill Newell, Principal Washington School for the Deaf

“Deaf people can do everything except hear.”

Many readers of Deaf Culture Question of the Week are probably
familiar with that famous expression by I. King Jordan, past
president of Gallaudet University.

Two weeks ago in DCQW the convention related to
writing about people who do not hear using either a capital
“D” Deaf or a lower case “d” deaf was explained.

To review, Deaf with a capital “D” means “identifying with
and belonging to a linguistic and cultural minority group.

Lower case “d” deaf refers to the condition of hearing loss. So
when one writes “deaf person/people” it means a person who has a
hearing loss. And when one writes “Deaf person/people” it means a
person belonging to and identifying with Deaf culture.

So now to the question of the week.

Let’s change the quotation just a little. Suppose we add an
“And,… as the first word of the sentence. When you read that
sentence which meaning do you attach to it?

a. And, Deaf people can do everything except hear. (An
affirmation that people belonging and identifying with Deaf
culture can succeed.)
b. And, deaf people can do everything except hear. (An
affirmation that people belonging to a disability group can
succeed.)

******************************

Answer: This exercise shows that the meanings of things are
socially constructed. Each individual interprets what they read,
hear or see based on their life experiences, background
knowledge, values and perceptions. Possibly a Deaf Culture
Question of the Week reader who is Deaf (identifies with Deaf
culture and uses American Sign Language) will interpret I. King
Jordan’s quotation as an affirmation of Deaf culture. Possibly a
reader who considers him/herself hearing impaired (deaf and
belonging to a disability group) will interpret the quotation as
an affirmation that people challenged by the disability of
deafness can overcome these challenges. Hearing parents, friends,
allies, and those people who claim the privilege of working with
d/Deaf people will each have their own interpretation. We cannot
really know what I. King Jordan meant to communicate.
What do you think he meant?

Which meaning do you think I. King Jordan had in mind when he
said “Deaf people can do everything except hear!” We can’t tell
because the rules of capitalization in English require the first
word of a sentence to start with a capital letter.

There is another possibility. The convention in the answer d/Deaf
would cover both meanings. But we still don’t know what I. King
Jordan actually intended.

Note: Previous DCQW are located at our WSD website.

Click Here

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