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Top (Free!) Tools for College Students
You're a college student, so you're always on the go. You may be doing course work at home, at work, and in multiple spots on campus. Here are some of the top (Free!) tools that can help you out. Access:
Top Tip: Sign Up Now
Sign up for these sites at the beginning of the semester when you have a little time to explore so you're good to go when you really need it later in the semester.
One Stop Sites
These sites may not have it all, but they come close. If you take the time to create an account with one or more of these sites, you get access to lots of things that can help you out as a student.
iGoogle
Get easy access to Docs, bookmarks, Gmail, Talk and lots more. Top student app: Google Docs. Requires free account.
My Yahoo!
Get bookmarks, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger and more. Top student app: My Yahoo!. Requires free account.
Windows Live
Hotmail, Messenger, calendar and more. Office Live is a handy (free!) place to save your documents online. See All services. Help Central. Top student app: Office Live. Requires free account.
Bookmarks to Go
Can't find that great site you used before? Get bookmarks to go!
del.icio.us Just the bookmarks. The easiest to use. Requires free account.
iGoogle
Get easy access to bookmarks, Gmail, Talk and lots more. Requires free account.
My Yahoo!
Get bookmarks, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger and more. Requires free account.
Top Tip: How to Use Google
We've all searched Google, but there is so much more you can do. Find our how to use iGoogle, Google Docs & Spreadsheets and much more in COM Library's How to Use Google Guide (PDF).
Citation Builders
See more citation sites from COM Library's Citation page or get help from How to Cite MLA Style (pdf) or How to Cite APA Style (pdf). The EZ symbol on these guides indicates databases that help you cite articles.
Citation Machine
Create citations by entering information into fields on the page in APA, MLA, Turabian, or Chicago style. Good to know:
Make sure you select the correct style!
Citation machine will cite MLA print resources perfectly, but is not accurate for MLA non-print sources.
OttoBib
For books only, easiest to use. Enter the ISBN of your book(s) and get it back in MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian format.
UNC Citation Builder
From the University of North Carolina Libraries. The Citation Builder illustrates how to cite some common resources in the APA, MLA and CBE/CSE citation styles. It's great for print resources, but articles from databases are not be cited correctly in MLA style. You can also look up rules for in text citations and get example citations for various types of resources from the Citing Information page.
hotmail
From Microsoft. Like gmail and Yahoo! mail, hotmail is integrated with other functions, such as chat and other Windows Live features. Help Central. Requires free account.
Yahoo! Mail
From Yahoo. You can chat or text from your inbox, add RSS feeds, search your email, choose connections view to see the emails from people you know, and more. The World's Best Email. Requires free account.
Top Tip: Email Yourself
When you forget your USB or floppy drive, you can email yourself documents you want to save so you don't lose all your work--or use Google Docs or Windows Live under Office Applications & File Storage.
Office Applications & File Storage to Go
Get access to free office software and save your files online so you can access them anywhere--no jump drive needed! For OpenOffice you need your own computer, all the others listed are web based.
Google Docs
Create basic documents from scratch, start from a template or upload existing files.
You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more.
Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. So go ahead and upload your existing files. Take the tour. Watch the You Tube video. Google Docs Help. Requires free account.
Microsoft Office Live
Currently in beta version.
Easy-to-use Web-based program that helps you collaborate on documents, notes, spreadsheets, presentations, and lists. Office Live has designed various workspaces that you can use or create your own. See the predesigned workspaces of most interest to students, below. Learn More or Watch the Video.
Requires free account.
designed for essays that help you plan your thesis,
study group workspace that helps you manage group projects
class workspace organizes class materials, notes and assignments.
OpenOffice
Free open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
Zoho Show
Online tool for making presentations. Zoho Show's pre-built themes, clipart and shapes coupled with features like drag-and-drop makes it an easy application to use. Help. Requires free account.
Other Handy Tools
Book Finder: Textbooks
BookFinder.com searches to find the best prices on textbooks. Just enter the ISBN or title and author.
GoogleReader
Google Reader keeps track of your favorite news sites and blogs. You can share with your friends with just one click, add to your website or blog and even access through your mobile phone browser. Take the tour
Flock
This free social browser is based on Firefox, but with social functions built in to help you share and keep track of your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, RSS feeds and much more. Take the tour.
meebo
One stop social network login.
Keep in touch with friends on any IM network (AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk and Gmail, MySpace IM, Facebook Chat, and more!) and chat with people in Meebo Rooms by adding your social networks to your Meebo account. There is no software requirement, you just go to Meebo to keep track of your friends. You can even get a chat widget to post on your sites and blogs.
MynoteIT
Designed for college students. With MynoteIT, you can take, edit and share notes online, search and share notes with classmates, manage tasks with your to-do list and assignments with your calendar; upload Word and OpenOffice documents, images of scanned notes and audio notes; keep track of all your grades in all your classes and store your teacher's contact information to easily contact them anytime. You can even access your notes on your mobile phone via mynoteIT Mobile. Requires free account.
Top Tip: Sign Up Now
