Hey Gurus,

My name is Mary Claire Kilmer-Lipinski and I am the new student blog editor and social media intern for GradeGuru. I am a senior Strategic Communications major with a Marketing minor at Miami University in Ohio. Last semester, I was a Campus Brand Ambassador for GradeGuru. This semester I decided to switch over to editorial and social media and provide a student perspective to GradeGuru’s digital presence. I am excited to connect with current and new readers.

Throughout the semester, I will be blogging about different trends related to college students, learning, and educational technology. I will also be inviting professors and students to participate in the conversation and contribute thoughtful articles. Blogs have always been an important source of news in my professional and personal life. Previously I worked with Time Out Chicago, Zig, and Delta Zeta headquarters. At Time Out Chicago, I was in charge of researching and learning about social media and how to implement a social media strategy for Time Out Chicago using Twitter and Facebook pages. While juggling the social media project, I was also working at Zig, an advertising agency in Chicago.

In my free time, I live in a house with ten girls and enjoy being a second semester senior. Most of my time is consumed by job searching but if I have some time to spare, I love watching reality TV. As trashy as it can be, it is interesting to see how the dynamics of television has changed with these TV shows; plus the characters are great entertainment.

Hopefully this post lets you know who I am and where I come from. I am excited to see where this semester takes us. Let the blogging begin!

Are there any specific topics you’d like me to cover this semester?

Have an idea for the next GradeGuru tool that would make your assignments, papers, projects easier? We want to hear from you! Tell us what type of applications would help you the most with your classwork. If we end up using your idea, we’ll give you credit and 1,000 GradeGuru Bonus Points.

INSERT GRADEGURU TOOL IDEA HERE

We are happy to announce that since the launch of our Guru Careers Program we have secured several of our top gurus with interviews for internships and entry level positions with our corporate partners!

Congrats Gurus! keep up the good work and good luck as you go through the interview process!

Are you a Silver or Gold Guru that landed an interview through our Guru Careers Program? We’d love to hear from you! Email our Careers Specialist Angela Santiago at angela_santiago@McGraw-Hill.com and let us know!

Out of the loop? Don’t worry…keep uploading and sharing your study materials and you’ll be a Silver or Gold Guru in no time. As a Silver or Gold Guru you gain access to our Guru Careers Program which connects our Silver and Gold Gurus with recruiters from leading companies and organizations for internships and other career opportunities.

Are you a graphic designer, interested in graphic design or know someone who is? submit your application for the GradeGuru Design Challenge and enter to become our next freelance designer.  The winner of the competition will earn $100, have their design implemented as part of McGraw-Hill Education’s first web startup (nice for your portfolio) and then become our ongoing freelance design consultant  at a rate of $20/hour. The Deadline is March 8th, 2010.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR DESIGNS

There are two ways to enter the competition:

1. Design a GradeGuru Facebook Page

One of the first projects for our design challenge winner will be to redesign our Facebook page to include a multi-page, user-friendly layout that communicates the GradeGuru brand and motivates users to become fans. For the submission, we would like to see how you would design the landing page of Facebook.com/gradeguru.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Include the GradeGuru logo and brand identity
• The goal of the landing page is to capture the attention of new viewers, turn them into fans, engage them with our content
• Don’t worry so much about the copy
• The page should include the GradeGuru logo, buttons

Fan pages we like: AT&T, Pringles, Adidas

2. Design a stylish GradeGuru t-shirt for a national online giveaway contest

Design styles we like: American Apparel, retro athletic jerseys, Japanese pop art, urban pop art (graffiti inspired)

Brand assets

• GradeGuru Blog
• GradeGuru Blog About Page (logos included)
• GradeGuru Privileges
• GradeGuru Vimeo Video Channel

GradeGuru was just announced as a finalist for the 2010 CODiE award for the “Best Educational Use of a Technology Device”!

About the Award Category: The Best Educational Use of a Technology Device category awards the best educational software solution, either curriculum or administrative, designed for technology hardware devices, including handhelds, PDAs, tablets, laptops, interactive white board or integrated hardware/software solutions.

Judging is based on:
• Appropriate for users in diverse instructional settings
• Appropriate use of a technology device
• Overall visual/program aesthetics
• Provides information and support for users
• Software design successfully targets designated student or educator needs

About the CODiE Awards: The CODiE Awards, originally called the Excellence in Software Awards, were established in 1986 by the Software Publishers Association (SPA), now the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), so that pioneers of the then-nascent software industry could evaluate and honor each other’s work. Since then, the CODiE Awards program has carried out the same purpose – to showcase the software and information industry’s finest products and services and to honor excellence in corporate achievement and philanthropic efforts.

Visit WSJ on Campus to read the full article

If you’re used to high school work, college assignments can be pretty intimidating. In this article, The Wall Street Journal walks you through the best ways to approach assignments; a college sophomore shares her top study tips for finals; and an expert on study tools reveals how to cut through the anxiety and do your best work.

Jeff Wendt from Today’s Campus recently sat down with our founder Emily Sawtell to discuss the motives behind GradeGuru and what changes she foresees in the future for the educational technology landscape.

Check out some of the Q&A from the segment:

How might GradeGuru benefit a college?

It provides a ready ability to build community and camaraderie among classmates.  Commuter schools, community colleges and online schools benefit greatly when they provide such.  Also, any college or university can use GradeGuru to help students improve their study habits, and thus improve student performance without taxing faculty.

Do you see a killer app on the horizon?

Many of the magic apps of the future will be driven by two success factors.  Do they serve students well?  Do the apps themselves inter-operate well?

To learn more see the entire segment here: Today’s Campus Q&A with Jeff Wendt

GradeGuru Link List tool from The GradeGuru Team on Vimeo.

Update: GradeGuru Link List is now available as a Firefox add-on.  To install visit Firefox: GradeGuru Link List

We’ve just released the GradeGuru Link List- a time-saving tool for instructors and students alike. Instructors can easily create annotated reading lists with a single shortened URL to share with their students. Students can then access the assignment with one simple link.

If you are working in a group and want to share a bunch of links with your comments, or save a set of online favorites with your notes for a paper that you might use later, just create a Link List, capturing the URLs as you go and Link List will provide a single destination URL.

How to install and use:

• Go to gradeguru.com/tools
• Make sure your Bookmarks Toolbar is visible
• Drag the Link List icon up to your Bookmarks Toolbar
• Start aggregating your links as you browse the web

Watch our Video Tutorial:

GradeGuru Link List from the GradeGuru Team on Vimeo

Our panel discussion titled - The Future of Social Media in Higher Education, was a huge success!

The event helped add to the ongoing discussion regarding Social Media and Academia. The panelist offered invaluable insight on where they currently see the Higher Education landscape and where they see academia going with the increased usage of Social Media.

The event kicked off with a special introduction by Social Media Week founder Toby Daniels.

Emphasized throughout the event was the need for student engagement in academia. The panelist stressed the importance of engaging with students and creating a social interaction that goes beyond the  current forms of communication established by universities today.

Live coverage was available via UStream and Twitter- where the audience actively followed and commented on the discussion.

Guest also gained insight into some of the tools being developed by the McGraw-Hill Student Innovations Lab.

Those who were not able to attend the event can access the video coverage here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-future-of-social-media-in-higher-education-mcgraw-hill-digital-innovation-showcase

Thanks to all those who attended and a special thanks to our panelist:

• Adam Ostrow, editor in chief of Mashable.com
• Dr. Kathleen P. King, professor at Fordham University and president of Transformation Education LLC
• Greg Verdino, VP strategy & solutions at Powered and author of microMARKETING
• Mary Casey, New York University student and founder of Jatched.com
• Vineet Madan, VP strategy & business development at McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Our founder Emily Sawtell, recently contributed to Dan Northern’s CollegeThrive.com where she shared her insight on how students can leverage the internet to boost their grades and ensure academic success.

Want to learn what resources are available to help you achieve high grades? Check out the full post here: http://collegethrive.com/use-the-web-to-boost-your-gpa