Online Learning Tips: Research and Assignment Tools, Accessories

Last, but certainly not least, you need some help when it comes to writing and homework (not that you can’t do it, but a little extra help is always welcome, right?). When it comes to writing papers and doing assignments, it always helps to have someone to take a second look at your work. A second perspective always helps to make sure you have completed all the steps, and are right on track.

Secondly, if ever you have to conduct research for a project or paper, it can be hard to know where to go to get research (or how to keep track of it once you’ve found it). With resources like Instapaper, CiteuLike and others, you won’t have to worry about keeping track of your information ever again.

First, the research tools:

Instapaper:

There have been many times when I have found the perfect site that’s full of the information that I need. Problem is, I can’t keep my computer on for two weeks so I don’t lose the resource. So, what do I do? Well, there are bookmarks, but you don’t see those right when you pull up your browser. How do you remember that you have that resource? Instapaper, that’s how. If you use Google Chrome as your default web browser, things couldn’t be easier for Instapaper users. All you do is save all your links and site info to Instapaper, and it keeps track of it for you. If you use Chrome, you can just add the link straight to your browser (saving you a step). It really is quite handy, and a great resource for research.

CiteULike:

With CiteULike, you need to know what you’re looking for. Often times, we have a research topic, but we have no idea what we need to know in order to make a good paper. If you use CiteULike, you just type in the applicable keywords and it brings in all the relevant research you need to write a coherent argument. Once you find the articles you need, you can save them to your profile on CiteuLike for later use.

iCyte:

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Once you find the research, read it and figure out what bits you need for your project, what do you do with the rest? Also, how do you remember what it was you wanted the next day? With iCyte, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You look up an article with iCyte, and once you find the most desirable pieces, you can make notes, highlight and keep tabs on the sections you want.

After the research is done, you need to complete the assignment. So, how do you make sure that your work is top-notch? This last section will show you different online resources you can use to make your assignments pristine.

Wordweb:

How many times have you wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the correct words to use? With Wordweb, that won’t happen with an assignment ever again. To get the service, you go online and download the Wordweb package. After you’re done installing, you can go to any word processing program, highlight a word and hit Ctrl+Alt+W (so hit the buttons control, alt and w) and you will get a whole list of synonyms and antonyms to choose from. It really is quite useful when you get a little stuck.

PDF Creator:

How often have you created a great resume, or any other document, only to find out that the person you’re sending the document to, doesn’t have the same program? Then, you can’t send the item, because they can’t read it. Well, problem is now solved. If you go online and look for a PDF creator, you can transfer any word document into a pdf in seconds. Then, you have a universally recognized template to send any document.

These are just a selection of the different tools that you have available to you. Make sure that whenever you do anything for school, that it is your best work. These tools will help ensure that you are doing the best possible job. Trust me, it’s worth the effort.

Byline:  Jordan Freis is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers helps people determine if an online education is right for them and helps them search for online courses that can help them reach their goals.