We’ve submitted our proposal for SXSW 2011 Interactive! Make sure to vote for our presentation now through August 27th and help us get to SXSW!  If selected, our presentation will cover:

1. How the academic social web is influencing student study habits and behavioral learning patterns
2. How academics can leverage emerging technology to enhance student performance on course evaluations
3. What the value is for institutions and students alike
4. What the future implications that openness and vast access to collaborative information have on the overall educational community
5. What can be done now to leverage web 2.0 in the student segment

Click here to vote now

New tech trends show that colleges are becoming increasingly web 2.0 savvy and more students are online now than ever before. Smart phones, netbooks, laptops and other devices that can access the Internet have become mainstream on many campuses and open access to educational resources online is becoming a popular trend. Now students can find their textbooks, professors and even classes online and sites like GradeGuru are being used by students across the country to help students collaborate with their peers and acquire better study habits. Here’s a look at how universities are wising up to new digital trends:

Virtual Orientation – A room full of strangers and tons of information your not sure you’ll ever remember make you nervous? not to worry, you can orient yourself online…

• The University of Denver: To put students at ease,  the University of Denver offers each freshman  an interactive CD at orientation. The CD covers topics normally found in the university handbook, offers interactive scenarios performed by Denver students, information on the city’s transportation system, and a guide to restaurants and cultural activities. Also included in the CD are faculty profiles, course descriptions and information about the health and social issues of life in college.
• Indiana State University: To accommodate distance learners, Indiana State offers Virtual Knowing Sycamores – Distance, an online video orientation that acquaints students with the university email, gives information about the Career Center and connects students with faculty members that teach distance education classes. Indiana State offers a similar virtual orientation for transfer students.

Handpick Your Roommate Online- Gone are the days of hoping that a vague housing survey will set up a match with the perfect roommate.

• The University of Utah: Students at the University of Utah fill out a personal housing profile online. Then, they complete an automatic roommate search, which generates a list of top potential matches. Students can then contact possible roommates through the school’s site.
• San Francisco State University: Incoming students are given the option to add their name and e-mail address to a list of freshman who want to choose roommates. From there, students consult social networking sites to refine their roommate search, and can then contact potential roommates via e-mail and text messaging.

It’s clear that digital trends are more prevalent on college campuses across the country. The use of the social web is becoming increasingly popular in the classroom as well as in different areas of student life. These back to school trends appear to be just the beginning of the transition into a tech savvy college environment.

Karen Deer from  St. Louis Today’s Post Dispatch released an article covering money saving tips for back-to-school. In the article GradeGuru is highlighted as a free knowledge sharing network where students can find class specific study materials and learn collaboratively. The article also offers suggestions on how to best go about your back to school shopping to maximize savings.

For the full article visit: STL Today- Spend Smart

GradeGuru will be participating at the Diversity Leadership Program this upcoming weekend. The Diversity Leadership Program,  by Monster.com, gives college students the opportunity to develop life and career skills, network with industry-leading employers and create relationships with other high-achieving peers.

In addition to The McGraw-Hill Companies, employers such as Macy’s,  Enterprise, AT&T, DCMA and Verizon will be present at the conference to meet with students.

Students who participate in the program “will connect with companies for one-on-one coaching on career pathing while collaborating on the importance of diversity and leadership in the workplace,” according to the program’s About Us.

Angela Santiago will join colleagues from The McGraw-Hill Companies to represent the GradeGuru team and will be highlighting the Guru Careers Program which helps Bronze,  Silver and Gold Gurus find internship and career opportunities. She will also be discussing the Campus Brand Ambassador program an on campus internship that develops students grassroots marketing skills as they work with the GradeGuru team  to build brand awareness and gain professional experience across the country.

The second post following my internship here at GradeGuru, has just gone up on the UDress blog. It features new projects I’ve taken on, like the revamp of GradeGuru’s FAQ page. The post also features the things I love most about being in the city and some of my favorite places in New York.

To read the full blog post visit: http://udressmag.com/real-wide-world/372-gradegurumcgraw-hill-internship-part-2.html

PakInnova has released a list of the top 4 must have tools for students, just in time for the start of the fall semester! The list features GradeGuru, GoogleDocs, LectureFox and EverNote and describes how students can effectively use each tool for the best results.

For the full blog post visit: 4 Must Have Tools for Students

MakeUseOf has posted GradeGuru’s Top Ten Student Tools for 2010, a compilation of online student technology and tools that students will find useful this upcoming year, regardless of field or level of study.  The list covers all aspects of study, including chat, note-taking, collaborating on assignments, and even maximizing dorm space.

You may be familiar with a few of the tools, such as Skype and Chegg, but the list includes several newcomers as well, including:

• StudyRails, a planner which allows students to plan their study time in order to complete assignments on time. StudyRails helps students manage their time effectively through features such as blocking distracting websites, and will even send you text message reminders when it’s time to get to work!
• Study Tracker – the iPad app. by GradeGuru that helps student track their performance – students can record their study time and grades per class to monitor their effort and outcomes

These tools offer the ability to manage all aspects of your academic career, from brainstorming and quizzing yourself to scheduling dates with the library. It’s time to start planning for the upcoming year. Will you be prepared?

For the complete list of tools, visit: GradeGuru’s Top Ten Student Tools for 2010

ABC News released an article today about the trend towards college students sharing notes through online knowledge-sharing networks such as GradeGuru. The article, “More Students Paying for Class Notes,” explores the future of university level note-sharing in a world where students are increasingly using social media and online networks as tools for academic support and peer collaboration.

The article cites GradeGuru’s growth to over 300 universities in two years as an indicator of the rapid rise in demand for online communities centered on student collaboration. It highlights communities such as GradeGuru as not only serving as a note-sharing center, but also a forum where students can “build online communities, form study groups, and give feedback by rating each other’s notes.” GradeGuru is unique from the other sites mentioned in that all content on the site is available for free.

Skepticism of student online communities is addressed in the article, as some instructors believe students use note-sharing services as a substitute for going to class. GradeGuru founder Emily Sawtell said that based on McGraw-Hill Education’s research, students who use GradeGuru don’t attend class any less, instead using study materials found on GradeGuru as additional support. Further debunking the idea that students use collaboration tools as a substitute for doing their own work is cited support from academia, including GradeGuru’s recent selection as a 2010 CODiE Award Finalist.

As for GradeGuru’s success, Sawtell states, “I’d like to think it’s [successful] because it serves a need. It really taps into an activity that students wanted to be able to do, and it makes it now more efficient and gives students more reason to be open and collaborative with their peers.”

For the full article, visit: More Students Paying for Class Notes

GradeGuru will be presenting this week at the annual Campus Technology conference, the nation’s premier higher education technology conference where leaders in higher education discover and share the latest in applications, social software, and immersive platforms.  Held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston from July 19-22, GradeGuru will join organizations and universities including Oracle, Elluminate, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, among others in focusing on technologies of strategic interest to the mission of higher education.

The speakers, presenters, and panel members at the Campus Technology conference are “technology visionaries and thought leaders in higher education,” according to the organization’s About Us.

Kevin Cafaro will represent the GradeGuru team at the conference and host a presentation titled “Digitizing Student Learning Through Collaborative Networking.” The session, held Wednesday, July 21 at 2pm, will delve into how social media and web 2.0 collaboration technologies have the potential to influence student behavioral patterns and transform the way instructors educate by empowering students to help themselves and each other.  If you are in the Boston area, feel free to stop by and check out GradeGuru’s Poster Session!

For a list of other Campus Technology 2010 presenters, visit CT 2010 Poster Sessions.