Best Note Taking Apps

Looking for some new apps?  Want a high-tech way to take notes?  Here are some hot apps that can help you get the best of both worlds…

1.   Penultimate – Hand-write notes right no your ipad.  To do this, you’ll need a stylus but, penultimate features smooth, realistic handwriting simulation with multiple paper styles and a variety of pen color options.  When done, you can search your text, save your ideas to Evernote, and share single page images or full PDF notebooks.  Cost: Free

2.   Bamboo Paper – Notebook – Also Hand-write notes right no your ipad but, what makes this app special is that bamboo paper has creates its own stylus - Wacom.  The app allows you to save your notes in Dropbox and Evernote and there is even a feature to allow you to post your ideas to Facebook and Twitter. Cost: Free or you can unlock the full version, which gives you unlimited notebooks for $1.99.

3.   MyScript Notes Mobile - Not only can you handwrite your notes, but you can turn your notes into text so that others don’t have to try to figure out your handwriting. Your handwritten notes are also searchable and you can look up definitions of words, or search for them on the Internet. The app also lets you use a wide variety of gestures to edit text and you can import PDFs for annotation, or add images to your document. Files can be saved to Evernote and Dropbox and can be posted on Facebook or Twitter. This is one of those apps that utilizes everything the iPad’s technology offers to create an exciting and inventive app. Cost: $7.99.

4.   Notability – Type and handwrite notes using this app.  It also includes a full-featured word processor with the ability to spell check, add bullet points, and more. You can annotate PDFs, so if your professor sends out a worksheet, you can write notes directly on the iPad without having to switch to a different app. The most useful feature of this app is that it records audio. You can record a lecture while taking notes. The app syncs what you type with what was recorded so that, when you go back over your notes, if something you wrote doesn’t make sense, you can tap a word and it will play back the section of the lecture that took place at that time. Cost: $1.99

5.   My Sketch Paper - This is less of a note-taking app and more of an idea-sketching app, but I felt that is was important to include it for our creative readers. Users can take notes using the text editor and freehand sketch ideas, or simply doodle in the margins. Cost: Free.

More can be found at iDownloadBlog.com.  Original article written by Lory Gil on April 23, 2013.  

Conquer Note Taking to Succeed in Classes

Ever heard of the Cornell Note Taking System?  Watch this video, try it, see if it helps you…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t_Vzeq5L3g

 

 

National Kick Butts Day

http://www.kickbuttsday.org/about/

Tools for Success: Preparing for a Job Interview

With summer just around the corner, it is not too early to start looking for a summer job, internship or service learning opportunity.  Once you have applied, it is time to prepare for the interview!  To prepare for a successful interview, consider:

Interview Appointment: Once you get the call for the coveted interview, be sure to get the date/time,  full name, address (building number) and telephone number of the person that will be interviewing you.  Immediately place the information in your telephone calendar and/or planner (keep a back up).

Research: Explore the company or organization website and search for recent news articles. Be prepared to share what you have learned about the company accomplishments, mission and goals.  They will be impressed to see that you have done your homework.

Practice: Research interview questions and practice your responses.  Just as when studying for a test, or preparing for a presentation, it is important to practice early and not cram your thoughts and responses briefly, the night before.  Think of impressive illustrations from your past employment, personal and educational experiences.  Be familiar with group projects and ways that you have contributed as a team player.  This is your chance to shine – be prepared!

Test Drive:  Even if you are using public transportation, take the time to make a practice run to the interview location.  One blogger shares a story of a failed interview writing the applicant “arrived 30 minutes late for his interview [because] he had programmed his GPS too quickly the night before, and had entered the street address as ‘Drive’ instead of ‘Place’.”  

Dress for Success:  The first impression you set may be based on what you are wearing and how you appear.

Resume: Be sure to bring an up-to-date copy of your resume for each person on the interview committee.  If you can, carry it in a portfolio from your College.

Follow Through:  Be sure you have business cards or names of the employees that interviewed you so that you can follow through with a thank you note.

There is an abundance of informational blogs and tips focused on interview skills and questions.  A few to consider exploring include: EmploymentGuide.com,  Barbara Pachter & Associates and About.com-10 Top Interview Tips.  For an engaging and interactive approach, consider Student Lingo’s online workshop, Mastering the Job Interview, available free to NOVA Students. 

Not sure where to start in your job search?  ELI’s webinar, Exploring Career Options and/or Conducting a Job Search can help you get started.

When interviewing, do not hesitate to ask questions.  To determine if your career goals will be met, you are interviewing them as well.  Good Luck!

How De-Cluttering Your Space Can Free Up Your Thinking

As you gear up for the holidays and preparing for New Year's Resolutions, clearing out the clutter is a good one to add to your list. In a previous article, I talked about the importance of clearing your mind of clutter. As a follow up to that piece, this article will illustrate the importance of how clearing out your space can lead to more mental freedom and clarity of mind. We all know that our minds can get cluttered with all of the things that we have to do on a daily basis from work demands, to academic assignments to extracurricular activities. However, do we really take the time to see how much our space in which we live could be cluttering our life and mind? It seems to be human nature to accumulate more stuff as we live more and work more and crave more space in the process. Yet, when we reflect back to when we lived in our first apartment or college dorm room, we were forced to live with less. You might agree that there is a certain freedom that came with less things and less space to accommodate those things and less strain on our minds that gave us the ability to focus on more important priorities such as term papers and major exams, spending time with friends and relationships. When we are constantly consumed by where to put our stuff and/or losing something and ruminating over where we put it, we are taking time away from the things that matter most and diverting our focus from the things that really need our attention such as spending extra time preparing for that math exam.

Statistics show that we have three times the space that we had 50 years ago and that personal storage is a 22 billion dollar industry. However, people are still taking up space as they accumulate possessions over time. In the process, we are not necessarily happier beings, but rather more confused and discombobulated than ever.

In his website, Graham Hill discusses the importance of “editing ruthlessly” – actively purging our space of clutter and “clearing the arteries of our lives”; letting go of extra articles of clothing or things that we don’t need. He also discusses the idea that less is more or smaller space is more appealing and how multifunctional sinks and housewares can help us manage our space in multiple ways depending on how many guests we are serving and organize our things to create more space. All of these approaches lead to more time and freedom to address more important priorities and/or reflect on important decisions. When making a purchase, he encourages us to think of “will this make me happy” or is this just something extra that I don’t need or won’t use?

For more information on this topic, visit the following link.

Ordering Your Official NOVA Transcript

As the fall semester comes to a close, many students wonder how to transfer the classes they just finished to another school. Other students who have received tuition assistance from an employer may need a transcript to verify that they successfully completed their class. An official transcript can help in both instances. Luckily, it's easy to order one online. Here's how...

1. Log into My NOVA 
2. Click on VCCS SIS:Student Information System
3. Scroll down to Academic Records
4. Click on 'Request Official Transcript'.
5. Enter the requested information to order your official transcript.

If you have finished all of the classes you intend to take at NOVA, you may want to order an extra 'sealed' copy to keep in a file. That way, if you ever need to verify your education at NOVA, you can do so without having to wait for a transcript to be mailed to you. Then, when you use your sealed copy, you can just order a replacement without any time pressure.  For complete instructions on ordering your transcript, please click here.

Congratulations to everyone who successfully completed classes this semester!

Forwarding your Student Email

When juggling school, life, work, and family, it is very easy for important events and deadlines to get lost in the shuffle. When it comes to events and deadlines related to your schoolwork and life at NOVA, we try to keep you informed through this blog, Twitter, Facebook, and through emails to your student email account.

Your professor, the Financial Aid Office, the Business Office, and the Central Records Office will also send important communications that you would need to be aware of to your student email account. If, however, your student email account isn't the one you are used to checking every day, you might miss something important.

Thankfully, your student emails can be forwarded to another email address automatically, or you can set up your student email to receive emails from all of your other email accounts, so you can check everything in just one place.

To forward your student emails to another account, follow these steps:

1. Log into your student email account by logging into MY NOVA and selecting your student email from the list of choices
2. Then click where it says Settings in the upper right corner of the screen
3. Then select Forwarding and POP/IMAP from the top row of the menu
4. Select the Forward a copy of incoming mail to:
5. Enter the email address you want the mail forwarded to

Just keep in mind that all information which would be protected by privacy laws that an employee at NOVA would send you through email must be sent to your student email account to ensure a level of security. When you forward an email to another address, you take responsibility yourself for protecting your privacy regarding that information. Remember too, that your professor will need you to respond to him or her using your student email, so you may not be able to just reply from a forwarded email. Instead, you might need to log in to your student email account to respond.

The Bookstore's Return Policy

Do you know the Bookstore’s Return Policy?

It can be a bit puzzling and varies by time period, product, and whether you bought it online versus in the store. To clarify, here is the policy – straight from the bookstore’s website.

Returns and Exchanges at Alexandria Campus Bookstore:
We will gladly accept returns/exchanges for online textbook purchases at the bookstore. Make sure you have your customer invoice/receipt when returning or exchanging your textbooks.

Returns and exchanges made in your on-campus bookstore must adhere to the same timeframes as returns or exchanges processed through the mail.

TEXTBOOKS
A full refund will be given in your original form of payment if textbooks are returned during the first week of classes with original receipt.

- With proof of a schedule change and original receipt, a full refund will be
   given in your original form of payment during the first 30 days of classes.
- No refunds on unwrapped loose leaf books or activated eBooks.
- Textbooks must be in original condition.
- No refunds or exchanges without original receipt.


GENERAL READING BOOKS, SOFTWARE, AUDIO, VIDEO & SMALL ELECTRONICS
A full refund will be given in your original form of payment if merchandise is returned within 14 days of purchase with original receipt.

- Opened software, audio books, DVDs, CDs, music, and small electronics may
   not be returned. They can be exchanged for the same item if defective.
- Merchandise must be in original condition.
- No refunds or exchanges without original receipt.


ALL OTHER MERCHANDISE
A full refund will be given in your original form of payment with original receipt.

- Without a receipt, a store credit will be issued at the current selling price.
- Cash back on merchandise credits or gift cards will not exceed $1.
- No refunds on gift cards, prepaid cards, phone cards, newspapers, or
  magazines.
- Merchandise must be in original condition.


Returns and Exchange Process by Mail :
Textbook returns must be postmarked during the first week of classes. Your return or exchange should include a completed Return/Exchange Form and proof of schedule change, if applicable.

The Return/Exchange Form is included as part of your original shipment. If you do not have the Return/Exchange Form, submit the following information with your return/exchange:

- Name
- Address
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Order # (if available)

*Send returns/exchanges to the store. Send returns/exchanges via prepaid shipping. The bookstore will not accept returns/exchanges via COD. We are not responsible for lost return/exchange packages. Therefore, we highly recommend that you insure any mailed returns/exchanges. The credit for your return will be applied to the form of payment used to make the purchase. Allow up to two credit card billing cycles for the credit to appear on your statement.

Buying Books with Financial Aid

Ordering books from the bookstore can be a daunting prospect if you have never done it before. But really, the procedure is fairly simple. You can order the textbooks you need online and pay for them using your Financial Aid award any time between now and May 27, 2012.

To obtain your books this way, go online to the ELI Bookstore, order your textbooks/ supplies, then check out. When you come to the screen where you can choose a payment method, first look above it for a paragraph in red (shown below). Read the paragraph and use the link labeled “Click here” to download an authorization form. You will need to complete this form and email or fax it to the fax number or email address listed on the form.

Then, in the Payment section, look for the Student Financial Aid option. Enter your student ID number and check the box next to “I Accept Student Financial Aid terms and conditions.”



To figure out how much you can purchase using Financial Aid, look at the amount you were awarded and have ACCEPTED for this semester. Subtract your tuition from this amount. The remaining amount is what you can use for purchases from the bookstore. Shipping costs can also be covered by your financial aid if you have enough.

If your textbooks and supplies cost more than your available financial aid, remove some items from your cart until the total plus shipping is less than or equal to your remaining available financial aid. Then order the rest of the supplies that you need in a different order and pay for them by whatever other method you wish to use.

Have you filed your taxes yet?

Many people put off filing their taxes because they think it’s complicated or it costs a lot of money. But did you know that if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is $57,000 or less that you can use free tax software? Approximately 70% of all taxpayers’ AGI is less than $57,000, but many don’t take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Using the FreeFile service through the IRS, you have access to many well-known tax companies software to complete your taxes. So don’t wait any longer! Check out the IRS Website for more details.

Success Webinar

Would you like to learn some tips and strategies for being successful in distance learning courses?  If you answered yes to this question you may be interested in participating in the following webinar:

Strategies for Success in Distance Learning Courses Webinar, Wednesday, February 8,  12:15 pm – 1:00 pm.

This 45 minute webinar for NOVA students will focus on strategies for success in distance learning courses offered through ELI.  Topics covered will include study skills, tutoring/support services, and time management.  The webinar is free, but registration is required.  Register online at http://bit.ly/A0gdBz. 

Be in the Know: Forward your NOVA E-mail to Personal E-mail

To forward your student emails to another account, follow these steps:

1. Log into your student email account by logging into MY NOVA and selecting your student email from the list of choices
2. Then click the "gear icon" in the upper right corner of the screen and click on Mail Settings
3. Then select Forwarding and POP/IMAP from the top row of the menu
4. Select the Forward a copy of incoming mail to:
5. Enter the email address you want the mail forwarded to

If you run into any difficulty, feel free to email a Success Coach for help: ELISuccess@nvcc.edu

Are you ready for the Semester?

In this week before the Spring Semester begins, it is a great time to prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, and socially for your classes.  Over the next four days, our student blog will help guide you to prepare the areas of your life so that they will be support you as you gain your education.  Students who are successful in their coursework are often the ones who have a clear idea of why they are taking classes in the first place and what they hope to gain from completing them.  They plan out the time in their schedule that they intend to spend on their coursework in advance.  They recruit friends and family to support them in their education goals and provide cheerleading when the semester gets into its tougher periods.  Often, they set aside their own ‘classroom’ area where they will do the work of the course.  All of these work together to support good habits that will help you succeed in an online course.  Over the next four days, we will focus on one of these strategies and how you might implement it in your own life.

Overcoming Concentration Barriers

When you get up to your ears in term papers, projects and tests, as you juggle your myriad of other daily responsibilties, those long hours of studying and preparing for exams can sometimes lead to burnout and concentration problems. Below are some strategies to help you maintain focus and concentration during these difficult moments of "studier's block".

• Preview the material and find areas where you might have further questions to maintain your interest in what you are studying. Writing some questions down that you can come back and answer once you have completed your reading or review will be especially useful.

• Set daily study goals. For example, rather than set a goal to study a particular subject, put your mind to creating a specific objective such as reading 12 pages of your English text and answering the first three review questions. That way, you will have a clearer picture that you have accomplished something.

• Vary your study activities by alternating between outlining, reciting the concepts, then taking notes. Using multiple ways to reinforce your learning will increase your likelihood of remembering concepts and will go a long way in preventing burnout. This will also address different styles of learning and exercise brain regions that you don’t normally use. For instance, saying concepts into a tape recorder is more likely to stimulate your auditory regions while outlining will keep your visual learning receptors active.

• Interrupt the tendency to daydream. The more aware you are of this tendency, the more likely you are to get past it. At the moment you start to daydream, set your intention to force trivial and irrelevant thoughts from your mind and restore your focus by quickly reviewing what you have read. Another strategy is to get up and walk around; distance yourself from your study materials; by standing up, you can redirect your thinking to the task you are working on. Practicing your control of daydreaming is a good habit to get into as this is one of the strongest barriers to keeping on task.

• Apply your learning. Relating concepts to aspects of your life and/or creating examples that apply to your life or people you interact with ensures that your learning becomes meaningful and real; this will increase your ability to recall the information more effectively.

• Schedule a regular interval of time in which to complete your work. For example, if you give yourself a deadline for which to complete your work within 2 hours, and at the end of that time period, you reward yourself, it will keep you motivated to complete the task in a timely and efficient manner. You could say, if I complete these readings from 6-8, at 8:00, I will meet a friend for tea.

• Pace yourself by chunking the information and taking short breaks in between. When you have a long and intensive paper or project, it is best to spread it out over the course of several days, rather than completing it all in one time segment.

• Organize your work by outlining the order in which you need to create the task and making it a point to preview the material first and create a summary and/or conclusion last. Previewing the material gives your mind the foundation for which to remember the concepts and organize how to break down the information into smaller steps.

For more information on this topic, visit this link.

Are you ready for your next interview?

During the week of October 17^th ELI will be offering part 3 of the three part job search webinar series.  The 45 minute Interviewing Skills Basics webinar will focus on the basics of conducting an effective job interview.  Topics covered will include preparing for an interview, tips for remaining calm and staying focused during the interview, answering questions, and following-up after the interview.   Register and view the complete schedule of free webinars. 

Create your own payment plan

Planning ahead financially can save you time, stress, and money, and leave you with more energy and time to focus on your coursework!

If you are like many students, you may not be able to pay tuition in one lump sum and therefore choose to enroll in NOVA's Deferred Tuition Payment Plan, Nelnet. The Nelnet payment plan allows students to pay their tuition in increments - payments can be deducted from a bank account or charged to a credit card once a month. If you have made the last payment on your Nelnet payment plan, and know you plan to take classes next semester, now is a great time to plan for next semester’s tuition expenses.

To do this, you can work with your bank or credit union to set up a separate account for next semester’s tuition and books. Many banks and credit unions offer special savings accounts for educational purposes with higher interest rates, so you may earn even more money for your tuition as you save! By automatically transferring funds from your main account into this “special” savings account, you can easily save for next semester. Because you are already used to making a payment on the 21st of each month, why not keep it simple – setup the automatic transfer on this same day moving forward.

To calculate an optimal monthly payment, estimate your tuition and book costs for next semester. If you are planning to take 12 credits, for instance, estimate your tuition cost by using the current tuition rate, and then add about $100 per class for books and supplies. Then subtract any amount you expect will be covered by Financial Aid. Divide that amount by the number of months between now and when the payment for your classes is due. The payment deadline for Spring 2012 classes is December 17th and open enrollment for Spring will begin November 14th.

Planning ahead can give you a feeling of greater control over your finances—a priceless feeling in these current times!

What is your resume saying about you?

During the week of October 10^th ELI will be offering part 2 of the three part job search webinar series.  The 45 minute Resume and Cover Letter Basics  webinar will focus on creating an effective resume and cover letter.  The purpose of a resume and cover letter, types of resumes, presentation styles, and important information to be included in a resume and cover letter will be addressed.  Register and view the complete schedule of free webinars.  

Need some help with your job search?

Are you currently looking for a job or getting ready to conduct a job search?  During the month of October ELI will be offering a series of webinars focusing on the job search.  The first webinar in the series, Conducting a Job Search, will begin next week on October 4^th and be repeated on October 6.  View the complete schedule and register now for the free webinars. 

Buying Textbooks and Supplies for your ELI Class

You can now order Spring semester books online and pay for them by credit card or by using your Financial Aid award. To obtain your books, go online to the Alexandria campus bookstore.

Books ordered online will start being processed December 31st. If you elected to have your books mailed to you, and order before December 31st, you should receive the books within the first 10 days of January.

For directions on how to use financial aid to order books and supplies online, see this blog post.

If you found this information helpful, please let me know by commenting on this post! =)

NOVA Tip: Request your transcript online

As another semester winds down, visiting or transient students often have questions about how to transfer the credits they completed at NOVA back to their home institution. It's easy! You can request transcripts online through NOVAConnect and expect a two-day turnaround time. Check here for detailed instructions.