Students blog

College students need a productive space to study and work on assignments. While many students prefer to work in their room or apartment, often that space is shared with roommates whose academic schedules do not line up. For those students, it is crucial to find a space where they can focus. Even if someone feels comfortable in their current study space, trying new places can still lead to an even better studying experience.

How To Find a New Location?

Explore! Try new spots around campus: outside, different parts of the library, classrooms. Gather your study materials, walk around the campus until you find an inviting place, sit down, and try it out. If it doesn’t feel right, pick up and try somewhere else. Students often limit themselves to popular places, like libraries or outside the coffee shop. While those are great, do not be afraid to branch out and find somewhere no one has recommended. There are hidden treasures everywhere.

No One Size Fits All

People like different spots. Just because a bunch of people say the school library is perfect for them does not mean that it is for you. Everyone needs to find their own place. A spot that seems ideal for one student may be full of distractions for another. Determine how much noise level, light, and overall aura of the space is conducive to your study preferences.

You may even prefer different locations depending on the subject you are working on. If you’re working on flashcards or getting a reading assignment done, it may work to find a relaxing place outside or in quiet corner of the library. If you’re getting group work done, you probably want to find a space where you can sit around a table and have a conversation without begin shushed by a librarian.

Give it a Shot!

Many students can get pretty set in their ways with where they like to study, and that is totally understandable! People like structure and consistency, especially in school. But if you study in your bed, it can be hard to resist falling asleep. Working at the kitchen counter can lead to distractions from roommates. Finding the right place to work will lead to a more positive and productive study session.

If you ever feel like you want a bit of a change, try out a new space. There is nothing to lose, and it might lead to a pleasant surprise.

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MyLab, if you didn’t know, is a Pearson online learning platform that covers over 50 subjects and classes. MyLab has great features for both students and instructors. Two of my favorites are the homepage calendar and the “Show Me an Example” button.

Instructors also have a wide variety of ways to customize the platform. In the end, the wide range of features in Pearson’s MyLab benefit both the students and the instructors.

Getting Organized with the Homepage Calendar

The homepage calendar is one of my favorite features on MyLab. On the calendar, the days with assignments due have a small blue dot. The assignments are listed under categories. The most helpful is the one with the upcoming assignments. The homepage calendar is a terrific tool to help students get and stay organized.

A Little Help from the ‘Show Me’ Tool

Another one of my favorite features is the “Show Me an Example” button. This feature comes in especially helpful when taking math or math-related courses. If a student is having trouble working out a particular problem or part of a particular problem, clicking the “Show Me an Example” button will create a very similar problem. The platform will then walk the student through how to do the problem or part of the problem. It can help the student learn, reinforce a concept, and help with homework all in one. When I don’t fully understand a concept in class, I know I can use the “Show Me an Example” button to gain more mastery of that concept.

Instructor Resources

Instructors have some options in how they structure MyLab to align with how they want their students to learn in their class. An example of one way they can change MyLab for the students is by setting the maximum attempts each student has to answer a question. Another example is that an instructor can turn off the “Show Me an Example” button if they don’t want their students to use it. They can also pick the quantity of questions they want to assign as well as which specific questions. There are many more customizable features at the disposal for instructors to use at their preference.

Pearson’s MyLab is a great online learning platform no matter what class you are using it for. The wide range of features make it a valuable resources for both students and instructors.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started! 

As a college student, we are often stuck inside our own bubbles within our colleges and universities. There is a constant routine of going to class, studying, doing daily activities, and repeating the same things over and over. As time goes on, having the same routine can get tiring; college is a time to try new things.

Change Up Your Routine

One way to change your routine up is to become more involved on your campus. Campus involvement is something that can provide many professional, social, and fun opportunities. There are so many kinds of organizations on our campuses, and there is a chance that you can even create your own! Some kinds of organizations that would be great to be involved in are academic and social organizations, Greek life, or even organizations like student government. Most campuses provide a very diverse number of organizations that you can join.

Schedule Time for Involvement

As a college student attending classes and being involved, I have had issues with keeping the perfect balance between my academic, social, and work lifestyles. One thing that I did to perfect the balance between everything was to create a planner and schedule out my weeks ahead of time. When you take time to create a schedule and put information into a planner, it can tremendously improve the balance of everything that you are juggling.

Start Each Semester by Noting All Due Dates

When you are in multiple different classes, it can be hard to keep up with certain deadlines. At the beginning of each semester, I put all the due dates for all assignments, quizzes, and exams into my planner. This gives me the big picture when I look at my planner every week and see the things that I must complete for my classes. Another helpful tip is to color code your classes when you write down all the deadlines so that when you look at your planner every day, you can quickly see which class is which. You can also add a color for your organization meetings and events.

Overall, campus involvement is something that every college student should try out. It is important to branch out and put yourself out there to experience the wonders of what colleges can have to offer. It is also very important to keep a good balance between all the things to ensure that you can be successful and work hard towards the end goal, which is obtaining a degree and graduating.

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started! 

My grandparents have a special place in my heart. I am blessed to know all four of them well and live close to them. September 11th, 2022 is National Grandparents Day. I never gave this day much thought, but as I enter nursing school my schedule has become much more demanding. I constantly miss family gatherings and I worry that my grandparents might suddenly pass away, and I didn’t have time to send them a text. So, this year I am not going to take them for granted. I want to honor them the best that I can while I still have them.

If you’re lucky enough to have a grandparent in your life, here are five ideas for keeping that connection strong – even while you are busy with your college studies!

Cook With or For Them

Even though my grandmother has shared some of her special recipes with me on a recipe card and has told me her little cooking secrets, mine never come out the way hers do. Learning a grandparent’s recipe with them might be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. They will be happy to teach someone their recipes.

Or prepare them one of your own recipes and just enjoy the meal together. Sometimes this is more fun and healthier than eating out.

Make Them a Card

My love language is definitely words of affirmation. Telling someone the things I love about them is my favorite way to show appreciation. I grew up in a crafty home where my mom let me make cards for my friends with her Cricut machine. In making a card for my grandparents, I can put pictures, their favorites quotes, quotes from themselves, hand-drawn pictures, or anything I like. Consider making a hand-crafted card for your grandparents, too. Fill the card with words of affirmation and drop it in the mail.

Make ‘Em Laugh

Telling my grandparents funny stories or imitating them makes them laugh a ton. Showing them funny movies or singing silly songs make them giggle. Sometimes playing cards makes them laugh since they are so tickled. I love watching the Make ‘Em Laugh clip from the movie Singing in the Rain, which leads into my next idea…

Watch a Movie Together

Each of my grandparents has different tastes. My abuela loves murder mysteries while my grandma prefers romantic comedies. Both my grandfather and my abuelo love documentaries that teach them something new. But they are suckers for musicals with romance. They sing the songs loudly by heart to my grandmothers and make them blush. It makes them feel young again. Make time to find a film you can enjoy together.

Record Their Stories

My grandparents fled Cuba in their teen years during the late 1950s when Fidel Castro was taking over Cuba. They have amazing stories of growing up in such a beautiful country. There are lots of stories about what happened on the way to the States and how they acclimated. The tales of how my grandparents met could be made into movies. I remember them well now, but my children might not. I could tell my grandparents my desire to carry on these stories to the next generation and record them with my phone as they tell their stories.

My goal is to do at least one of these things for my grandparents soon. Even calling them or texting them on a regular basis is important. They did so much for me growing up so I want to return that service the best that I can. Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas to maintain strong ties with your grandparents, too!

Do you have a compelling story or student success tips you’d like to see published on the Pearson Students blog?  If you are a college student and interested in writing for us – click here to pitch your idea and get started!