Disclaimer: This post is intended for people who are smart, responsible, and organized.  If you are majoring in beer and the opposite sex, this advice is not for you.  You need to read college advice written by people who will tell you to put your nose to the grindstone and never let up.

Myth Number 1: Never miss a class

This is generally good advice.  Most professors test heavily on material covered in lectures, so you need to either be there or get notes from someone else.  You can often get a feel for how the professor will test by listening to lectures.  Some professors require attendance and base part of your grade on it.  However, there are a few situations in which skipping class can actually help you work more efficiently.

• The professor is an ineffective lecturer and you can learn the material by studying the textbook.  This works best with math and science classes.  I once had a trigonometry class where the textbook was so well written that I could learn the material better by staying home and studying than by listening to lectures.  Homework assignments were posted on the course website, and the professor did not require attendance.  I made sure I had tests and due dates on my calendar, and I dropped off homework at the professor’s office each week.  I earned a B in that class.  It would have been an A, but I got lazy during finals week.
• Recitation sessions that slow you down.  I spread my general education classes throughout all four years, which meant I took several freshman-level classes as an upperclassman.  Some of the 100 level classes had “recitation sessions” in addition to the lectures.  The recitation sections were run by teaching assistants, and provided a way to reinforce concepts and collaborate on homework.  After a couple of sessions in one class, I realized that I could do the work faster on my own.  I talked to the TA, who told me I could just turn in my homework and leave if I preferred.  I did that for the rest of the semester and earned an A in the class.
• You have a test or project in another class that is distracting you from the one you are sitting in.  If you are sitting in Class A worrying about the paper you have to turn in tomorrow for Class B, you should probably go work on your paper.  Just make sure you get notes from someone later.

Myth Number 2: Always buy the textbook

I nearly choked on my morning orange juice when I read this one.  This is good advice some of the time, but with the exorbitant price of textbooks, you don’t want to buy anything you don’t absolutely have to have.  You also don’t want to have to haul extra weight around if you don’t have to.

Unfortunately, it took me a long time to wise up on this one.  I bought a lot of books that I never even touched between the first week of classes and textbook buyback at the bookstore.  Among other things, I was concerned about paying the higher price of a new book later if I didn’t buy the used book now.

Here are some suggestions for determining whether you really need the book:

• Talk to a friend who has already taken the class from that professor.  Find out which books they used and which they didn’t.
• Talk to the professor on the first day of class.  Find out whether you will be tested on material that is in the book but not covered in lectures.  Find out whether the book will be used in class.  If the answer to these questions is no, then you don’t need the book.  Even if the book will be used in class, you might be able to work out some kind of sharing arrangement with another student.

Myth Number 3: You need the latest edition of the textbook

Textbook publishers gratuitously print new editions every few years, even if there is no new material.  It’s a scam, and is usually done for no other reason than to make more money.  Mrs. Fencepost once painstakingly compared a current edition to the previous edition, and found them to be nearly identical.  The publisher had moved one chapter and changed a few of the end of chapter questions.  Ironically, some of the changes included errors in the new edition that weren’t in the old.

Some professors are more sympathetic than others in this regard.  Some will go so far as to include page numbers in the syllabus for the previous edition.  Others don’t care which edition you use, but you are on your own for finding and reading the right section.  It helps if you have a friend in the class who will let you compare your book with theirs when necessary.

Myth Number 4: Always pick classes that challenge you

All universities have a core curriculum, often called general education, that all students must take to graduate.  The idea is that you will graduate as a well-rounded individual, able to understand and converse on a variety of topics- not just your specialty.  I applaud this idea.  My degrees are in music performance, but some of my favorite classes were on history, economics, and psychology.  I use concepts from my major to make a living, but I use concepts from general ed classes to understand the world and the people around me.

That said, the fact is that during most semesters, you will eventually go into what I call “survival mode.”  In other words, no matter how jazzed you were about your classes at the beginning of the semester, you will eventually get to a point where you are struggling just to keep up with all of them.  Homework, tests, and papers all blur together, and YOU JUST WANT TO NOT BE STRESSED OUT ANYMORE!!!  Having one or two “easy A’s” can be a real sanity-saver and prevent burnout.

Myth Number 5: Work hard all the time and don’t party

Even the most dedicated students need to unwind sometimes.  Find some things to do for fun, and a few friends to do them with.  You’ll be happier and more efficient if you do.  If you don’t have time for fun, you are probably taking too many credits.  No one is going to die if you take longer than 4 years to complete your double-major in chemical engineering and microbiology with minors in owl stuffing and didgeridoo performance.  You can have all the academic and monetary success in the world, but if you don’t take some time to enjoy it, what’s the point?

Besides that, much of your success in life will happen through your friends.  Socializing isn’t a waste of time- it’s an opportunity to build connections that just might help you find a job, fund a business, or get a promotion some day.

The most important learning you do in college won’t happen in class.  Moving away from home, taking control of your life, and trying new things (some of which your mother wouldn’t approve of) is part of growing up.  Along the way, you’ll learn what works and doesn’t work for you.  It’s fairly likely that you’ll change your major at some point, possibly more than once.  You may decide to study abroad for a semester, or take some time off and travel.  The beauty of being an adult is that you can make those choices, and you don’t have to apologize for them.  What kind of life you choose to build for yourself is up to you.

© 2009, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.

I previously wrote about using MyPhoneExplorer to synchronize my Sony Ericsson w580i with my Google Calendar, but did not provide instructions.  One of my readers emailed me recently wondering how to set up Google Calendar synchronization.  Here are the instructions I gave her, along with some screenshots:

1.  Click on the “File” menu and choose “Options.”  A popup menu will open.

2.  Choose Sync from the list on the left of the popup menu.

You should now see the word Sync in bold to the right of the list.  Under Sync, you should see “Contacts” and “Calendar.”
3.  Choose “Google” from the drop-down menu under “Calendar,” and click the “Advanced” button to the right of the menu.

4.  Enter your your Google email address and password.  Once you enter your username and password, you will see a list of all the calendars in your account, and you can choose which ones you want to synchronize.

You will also need to select your preferred synchronization method from a list of options.  I recommend choosing “Sync Both,” and checking the following boxes:

• “Compare only changed events (faster”
• Show confirmation window before MyPhoneExplorer makes any changes

This way, you can enter appointments into either calendar and have them synchronize to both.  Also, you can view a list of proposed changes and make sure they are correct before changing anything.

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© 2009, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.

GoogleStore

Wouldn’t it be great if Google had a utility for finding stuff in the real world?  I’m not talking about a list of stores that carry an item- I mean a custom search for when I’m at Albertson’s and can’t find the Ramen Noodles or an employee who knows what they are (yes that really happened).  Something that would tell me “Aisle 14, halfway down, right side, bottom shelf.”  Google allows you to do custom searches that include only the websites you specify, why not real world locations too?

GoogleHouse

I would also like to have my apartment indexed for search.  I’m somewhat disorganized, and I often lose a few seconds or minutes hunting for something I set down and forgot about while thinking about something else.  In those moments, I would gladly trade less essential body parts for a search engine that can index the contents of my house and provide me with a list of places to look when I type in “can opener”, “overdue library book”, or “TV remote.”

GoogleMind?

Wouldn’t it be great if every time you forgot something you wanted to say, or a critical piece of information supporting your point of view, you could use a search engine to find it?  How about an index of all the stuff you studied for that killer final exam but can’t remember in the heat of the moment, or of clever things to say when you meet people for the first time.  They could even have an ad-supported version where businesses could pay to have thoughts of their products inserted into your mind when you search for a related item, just like the “sponsored links” sidebar on a Google search results page.

The possibilities are endless!  Think of how much more we could get done if we never forgot or misplaced anything.  I think this could be the solution to all our economic woes, if only Google would get with the program.

© 2008, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.

GooSync is a utility that allows you to synchronize your Google Calendar with a variety of portable devices, including Windows Mobile Pocket PC’s and smart phones. I downloaded it to my Toshiba e330, which runs Pocket PC 2002. According to GooSync’s site, I could also use it with my Sony Ericsson W580i cell phone if I wanted to.

GooSync has both a free and a premium version. The free version will only sync calendar data, while the premium version, which costs about 20 pounds per year (GooSync is in the UK), will also sync contacts and tasks. I’ve found the free version to be perfectly adequate for my needs.

User Interface and Functionality

To install GooSync, I first had to register for a free account. I then downloaded a .cab file to my desktop, transferred it to my Pocket PC via ActiveSync, and opened it through my mobile device’s file explorer. The process took about 10 minutes. I had to enter my Google Account username and password on the mobile device the first time I used the software, but you don’t have to share that information when you register.

To use GooSync, you have to be connected to the internet, either by syncing with your desktop, or by using a wireless connection. Many cell phones can synchronize over the air. In my case, I open GooSync from my mobile device’s start menu, tap the “Start” button, and wait while the software does the rest. Syncing takes about one minute.

I’ve found GooSync to be very good at updating the right calendar, with one exception: Cutting and pasting appointments can confuse the free version. I used the cut and paste function to move several appointments on my mobile device. When I synced it later, GooSync placed both the old and new appointment times on both calendars. I guess you have to change your appointments manually if you use this utility.

Complaints

I attempted to use GooSync with my Sony Ericsson W580i cell phone, but it does not seem to have the option of syncing the phone through a USB cable.  Instead, I would have had to sync over the air and pay for data usage.  To sync my phone, I use a free utility called MyPhoneExplorer that syncs my phone and GCal without using data.

Conclusion

I’m very pleased with this software. Other synchronization solutions are available, but many of them require the installation of multiple software programs in order to work. GooSync appears to be the simplest.  It installs with minimal hassle, and with the exception of the cut and paste function, works smoothly and quickly. I would give this utility 4 out of 5 stars.

Further Reading

For more information, see the following links:

1. http://www.goosync.com/ – GooSync’s home page
2. http://andrewterry.com/2006/11/13/going-ga-ga-over-goosync/ – Another GooSync review
3. http://mytreo.net/archives/2007/09/goosync-for-your-treo.html – Review by a Treo owner
4. http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/GooSync_Premium_and_the_search_for_freedom.php – This review is more in-depth and technical

© 2008 – 2009, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.