Is Traveling During College Important And Worth It ?

By Sylvia Kohl

Common advice given to youngsters, especially college students, is to travel when you’re young and explore new places. But of course, that’s easier said than done. College students are trying to stay afloat in their classes, spending dozens of hours a week studying and reading, and attending mandatory classes several times a day. On top of that, they’re loaded with debt—an average of $30,000 per borrower, according to TICAS—and oftentimes, don’t have a steady source of income to provide them with the means to travel.

So is traveling while you’re still in college as important as it sounds?

The Benefits of Traveling in College

These are some of the reasons why “travel while you’re young” has become such popular advice:

• Learning new things. Traveling to new countries is also a good way to learn about other cultures, locations, and people. College is nothing if not a learning opportunity, so stacking a level of multicultural exposure with your class-bound academics is a way to enter adulthood as an even better-rounded individual.
• Going with roommates and friends. When you’re in college, you’re going to build lots of strong connections with the people you live with, study with, and randomly encounter. You’ll never get a chance to build bonds with that number of peers again, so take advantage of it. When your friends and roommates start looking for a hotel room in Florida for spring break, join them—you may never get this chance again.
• Taking advantage of college programs. Of course, college is also an opportune time to travel overseas with a study abroad program. Most universities and hundreds of organizations offer opportunities for young college students to travel to another country and study, often with most of the expenses compensated. It’s an inexpensive way to travel while still maintaining your focus on academics—and also having a strong experience that can open opportunities for your future career.
• Enjoying your freedom. You’ll have lots of responsibilities in college, but not as many as you’ll have once you graduate. Though exceptions exist, most college students don’t have a full-time job and don’t have families to take care of. In a few years, you’ll find it almost impossible to carve time in your schedule for a week-long adventure, so take advantage of this opportunity while you have it.
• Using hostels. Youth hostels exist to provide inexpensive, reasonable housing for young travelers. You won’t be able to use them forever, so consider taking a trip while you can still rely on them for inexpensive accommodations.

The Challenges (and Tips to Beat Them)

Unfortunately, there are also some challenges and drawbacks to traveling as a student:

• Paying for the trip. If you’re struggling with your budget, it may seem impossible to travel the world, but there are strategies you can use to overcome the cost burden. For example, rely on inexpensive accommodations, rather than hotels, and buy your food at local markets rather than going out to eat. You can also travel as part of a group to split most expenses and possibly get discounted rates—and don’t forget to do your research in advance to see if there are any sponsored travel opportunities through your school.
• Maintaining your academic standards. Keeping up your studies can be hard while you’re traveling. However, you can always reserve your travel for off periods, such as between semesters, or plan ahead so you can do your coursework while traveling.
• Staying safe. Being young in an unfamiliar area may make you a vulnerable target. Most youth hostels are reasonably safe, but since you’ll typically be staying with a group of strangers, it can be a bit unpredictable. Keep your wits about you, travel with a companion when you can, and do lots of research on an area before you start exploring on your own.

Is It Worth It?

If you go through your entire college experience without traveling, your life isn’t going to be ruined. However, there are some advantages to traveling before, during, and shortly after college that you can’t get again. The challenges are noteworthy but conquerable, so try to travel at least once during your tenure as a university student. You’ll have more opportunities to travel in the future, but there’s no time like the present.

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 7 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and beta-testing. This writer chose news about the increasing role of IT usage in colleges and schools as the most common topic for her articles.

 

How to be the Best College Roommate Ever

Dorothy Mitchell

Your college roommate is your new best friend. It doesn’t matter where you came from. This is the person who you’re going to be living with for at least the next semester. You owe it to them and yourself to create a harmonious relationship. There’s nothing worse than living in the same room as someone you hate

So how do you be the best college roommate in the history of ever?

Respect their Space

Want to have a smart home even in your dorm room? You can, and it all starts with deliberate organization. Don’t throw your clothes on their bed, lounge on it, or throw any of your nonsense over their space. It’s just basic manners. You don’t need to create solid boundaries in the room. Just show a little commonsense. If you do need to invade their space, you should ask them first.

This is the foundation of creating a harmonious relationship in college.

How Much Noise are You Making?

Noise levels are a frequent source of disagreement. This is where the importance of collaboration comes in. Compare your timetables and base ‘quiet time’ on that.

For example, if your classmate has an 8am class on a Friday morning you know that you shouldn’t stay up partying until 3am the night before. Arrange your schedules based on your class timetables and you won’t get in each other’s way. Try to agree a quiet time in advance so everyone knows where they stand.

Clean the Place

A cluttered room is a sign of a cluttered mind. Regardless of whether you agree with this, nobody likes to live in a room that smells of sweaty socks and plates encrusted with dried pasta sauce.

Keep the place clean. You could organize a schedule for who cleans up or simply pledge to keep your own areas clean. It really depends on the sort of people you and your roommate are.

Do Stuff Together

Life doesn’t just have to be about rules. Forge a better relationship with your roommate by doing some stuff like cooking together. Not only will this help you save money and time but you’ll make a better relationship at the same time.

Compare your schedules and your habits and figure out when you’re both available. Even if you only cook together once a week it’s a great opportunity to bond. You could even cook together with some of the other rooms in your dorm and make a communal atmosphere. This solid relationship will pay off immediately but can also pay off in the future. Say your roommate find a great opportunity provided by some continuing education providers years after you’ve left college, you’d be top on their mind and they’d let you know.

Ask Permission When You Bring Someone Home

The both of you are always going to want to bring people back. But ask permission first. It might feel like you’re back home again asking your parents whether you can bring your friends over after school, but its common decency. Unless your roommate is a terrible person, or their finals are just around the corner, they’re always going to welcome you bringing guests into the room.
And when you bring someone over introduce them to your roommate. Get them involved and let them make a new friend too.

Last Word

Basic consideration and manners are the foundations of being a great roommate. If you get that down and you reach out to your roommate you’re going to have a great time in college.

Do you have any roommate stories?

 

Dorothy Mitchell is a freelance business writer and social media marketing consultant. She has worked as a writer, researcher, social media manager and business consultant with several companies, including Fortune 500 companies like LinkedIn, Microsoft, Cisco and PepsiCo.

6 Popular Ed Tech Resources For Teachers/Students:Pros and Cons

BY VERONICA HUNT

Any educator or student needs a set of tools to grow and succeed. We have prepared a compilation of six popular Education Technology (EdTech) resources. Although we divide them into two categories for teachers and students, these resources can serve for both audiences with the same efficiency.

FOR TEACHERS

LessonCast is a three-minute slideshow video created by teachers for teachers. The main purpose of this web-based tool is to present a short plan of a lesson or any instructional materials for workshops.

Pros

• The short length of a 3-minute clip allows teachers to grasp the main points of their peers’ techniques.
• This form of interaction allows making changes to a separate piece of content in the course of a discussion. You can record each slide independently from others.
• You can also add audio, transcripts, questions, comments, feedback, and even assessment tests in case you share a lessoncast with students.

Cons

• It serves as an additional resource and cannot substitute traditional preparation practices.
• To develop multimedia presentations novice teachers will require the participation of seasoned teachers who obtain more experience in certain issues.
• The tool offers few options to transform such videos for lessons and training students as well.

Edmodo is a learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers, students, and their parents collaborate beyond the classroom. It forms a digital portfolio of students’ achievements, enables distant learning, and provides non-tech teachers with easy-to-use features.

Pros

• The system collects various learning data, assignments, textbooks, and instructional guides. With its help, teachers can create tasks, follow due dates, attach files, add links, and even assess the submitted work leaving comments to it.
• An educator can also use Edmodo’s calendar setting dates for upcoming tests and other classroom events.
• For separate projects, you can divide classes to “small groups”. All assigned tasks as well as resources will be visible to a chosen group solely.
• Teachers and students can safely communicate and share resources within one platform that has a similar feed to Facebook.

Cons

• An iOS application requires improvements since it lacks some web version functions.
• The absence of a customized assessment feature which could allow teachers evaluate students based on the particular criteria.
• The calendar is difficult to navigate even with the latest advancements.

Khan Academy is an online video library gathering thousands of helpful videos on various subjects.

Pros

• The resource helps educators engage students with interactive video tutorials and encourage independent learning.
• Math teachers can use a huge database of Math problems as templates for their classroom tasks.
• The tool helps to monitor the students’ progress. Eight out of ten educators confirmed it in a SRI survey.

Cons

• Using Khan Academy as a flipped classroom tool increases teachers’ workload and time for preparation to their lessons.
• Video tutorials can help acquire some basic skills only for high school programs.
• The catalog of subjects is incomplete since some grades lack resources.

FOR STUDENTS

Glogster is a desktop and iOS tool for creating multimedia posters. It combines all types of media to enrich and deliver your content message.

Pros

• Students can create interactive presentations, reviews, reports, and class projects producing multimedia glogs with pictures, text, and video.
• It synchronizes on any devices and gives an access to 40,000 learning resources.
• Simple editing and posting tools simplify the process of crafting a glog.

Cons

• The resource covers only 9 disciplines and 80 classroom topics whereas the design of templates is unpretentious.
• The tool requires the best internet connection. Besides, the website is rather slow to use it with other web-based programs.
• The students’ profiles are set to public and anyone having a Glogster account can get private information of other users.

Quizlet is a memory-boosting tool that serves as an interactive database of user-generated content. It can become your digital vocabulary and help you tackle any exam preparation without stress and confusion.

Pros

• A student can memorize terms and their definitions better through self-created sets of flashcards or already uploaded sets.
• It allows to add images to each term and definition. Audio is uploaded automatically.
• The tool has a set of interactive tests to train and check skills in a particular set.

Cons

• It is based on a term-definition algorithm so you can’t apply it to all aspects of learning process.
• Tests need further development because soon you get bored with the same training activities.
• Self-created sets of other students can have some mistakes since no one checks them.

StudentShare is an online database of academic examples. The resource gathers various types of already written and uploaded works by real students. Students can use such samples to follow the proper structure of an essay or other papers, their style requirements, and cope with referencing easier.

Pros

• The resource displays only those papers which are double-checked by a team of trained editors. It covers the whole range of academic subjects.
• There is an advanced search feature which allows to find a sample close to your topic.
• A variety of topics and subjects can become a good source of inspiration for students.

Cons

• The database lacks examples in several subjects like Archeology, Sports & Recreation, Performing Arts.
• Samples do not display the grade received for the particular paper due to private data issues.
• To use the resource you have to subscribe and choose a subscription plan.

We have analyzed only six EdTech resources for both students and educators. However, there are much more of them since every year new mobile apps appear trying to compete with other well-known services.

 

Author bio:

Veronica Hunt is an EdTech expert and an experienced blogger from Philadelphia, PA. She sees her purpose in providing her readers with up-to-date info in the spheres of marketing and psychology.

9 Tips For Improving Your College Writing Skills

BY MARCUS DANIELSON

 

Writing is an underappreciated skill that will probably be more useful in your career than you realize. College is the best time to sharpen your writing skills, so here are ten ways you can improve the way you write your assignments and dissertations.

 

1. Focus on the topic

The best writers know how to focus on the topic and tie in different thoughts and ideas to make their point. If you’re writing an essay on fashion journalism, for example, you could use your knowledge about internet marketing and the cotton industry to make a clear and concise point about the way journalism has evolved over the years.

 

2. Keep it simple

Keep your write-ups short and simple. Every assignment you get in college will probably come with a word count limit. While some writers struggle to meet the word count, others go way over the limit. The key to writing well is to stay as close to the word count as possible. Make your pieces relevant and informational without getting boring.

 

3. Find a writing spot

Silence is key. While people can work and study in a noisy environment, almost no one can write in it. You need to find the college library or a quiet spot on campus to write your important pieces.

 

4. Talk to the audience

Always keep the reader in mind while you’re writing. It helps to use the professor’s own lecture notes while writing an assigned essay, because it helps you tailor the piece for them.

 

5. Proofread

No matter how good a writer you think you are, you always need to proofread your work. Even a quick glance over the finished draft will help you weed out a few silly mistakes. Use an online grammar checker and a plagiarism checker to make sure the work is error-free and completely original.

 

6. Get someone else to proofread

Proofreading yourself is fine, but it’s rarely enough. Get someone else to look at your work and they’ll find problems you would have missed completely.

 

7. Master Google research

Google is bound to be your best friend at college. Every piece of data or authoritative source you find will come through an in depth online search. Learn how to use Google effectively and you’ll end up with better data and information than your peers.

 

8. Style Guides

MLA or APA styles are going to take a lot of time to master, but your college probably prefers one over the other for all your work. You need to go over the specific style guide your college requests to make sure the format is correct.

 

9. Practice

Like math, writing is a skill that develops over time. A ton of practice and regular writing can help you churn out quality work by the end of the semester.

 

These nine tips can help you boost your writing skills and deliver top-notch assignments throughout the semester. But writing is a skill that will help you throughout your career. So, take the time to master it now.

 

Bio: Marcus Danielson is a traveler and world-citizen,who believes in the power of education and enjoys spreading it. He also takes pleasure in reading, watching old movies, and taking pictures.

8 Ways To Choose The Best College Courses

BY KATE LARSON

 

There’s no doubt college is going to be completely different experience from high school. Not only are there hundreds of different courses to choose from, but you’re expected to pick them all by yourself. Planning and covering all the fields you find interesting could get tedious. So, here are eight simple tips that could help you select the best courses:

 

1. Consider all options

Again, there’s a lot of options in college and the only way to break them down is through a process of elimination. Start by eliminating courses that you’re either ineligible for or not interested in. Then pick the ones you’re most passionate about and create a ranked list.

 

2. Create a schedule

You might be interested in a number of different classes, but you don’t want any of the classes to clash. Aim for about four or five courses throughout the semester and pick the ones that are spread out over the week. This leaves you with enough of time to get rest and catch up with notes.

 

3. Speak to an adviser

Colleges always have an adviser on hand to help you out. If you’re confused about the courses or setting the schedule, speak to the college adviser. They can’t answer everything but at least they can guide you through the process and make things a little bit easier.

 

4. Check eligibility

Whether you’re studying advanced calculus or environmental journalism, you need to meet the criteria to be accepted onto the course. Your educational background and scores will help you eliminate a ton of courses and narrow the focus down to the ones that suit you best.

 

5. Strike the right balance

If you’re over enthusiastic, you may be tempted to jump into challenging courses head-first. Difficult courses will take up too much of your time later in the semester and could make you feel burned out. Instead, try to strike the right balance.  Start slowly, work your way up, and pick classes that require different types of assignments so you can multitask.

 

6. College credits

AP or IB programs could have helped you gain some college credits in high school. These useful credits can help you meet the core requirements in certain fields, which will make picking a class much easier.

 

7. Work on your writing skills

Take at least one writing class during the semester. Writing is an incredibly underappreciated skill that’s just as valuable in the corporate world as it is in academia. Regardless of the course you pick, writing is a crucial skill you’ll always need.

 

8. Plan ahead

The earlier you register the more likely you are to get a seat in the classes you really want. Plan ahead and sign up for classes as early as possible.

Picking the perfect courses and classes in college is not easy. You’re probably too young to make this crucial decisions without a few mistakes. But follow these eight tips and focus on your passion to figure out where you fit in.

Bio: Kate Larson is a college student and aspiring blogger, who takes care about the environment and personal well-being. She enjoys travelling and reading, as well as writing novels.

5 Free Online Resources to Help Students Combat Anxiety

BY KIMBERLY EVANS

Anxiety is the most common mental health challenge facing college students. As anyone who suffers from the panic, fear, and helpless feelings associated with the various forms of anxiety knows, it can be crippling.

There is still an unjustified stigma associated with anxiety and mental health challenges in general, but there is help to be found online.

These 5 free online resources offer you the help you or a friend may need.

Research websites

As a college student, you are going to spend a lot of your time, researching, and learning new concepts.

If you feel like you are suffering from anxiety, or perhaps that a friend might be in trouble, then this broad, detailed website is a good place to start your research.

It covers the root of anxiety, different types of anxiety and multiple self-help techniques designed to help you overcome that overwhelming panic.

Training program

MoodGym is a free resource that is ideal if you are looking for ways to learn about depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges that the modern student must face.

As the name suggests, this website is designed as a training room to help you learn techniques and strengthen elements of your own psyche to overcome your “negative” feelings.

This is an ideal starting point if you are aware that you do suffer from anxiety and are looking for ways to overcome your challenges on your own.

Apps

There are loads of benefits associated with downloading an anxiety treatment and support app like This Way Up.

Focused specifically on social phobias and social anxiety, this app is like having an anxiety specialist in your pocket. You can access help at any time and people will never know – they will just assume you’re looking at something on your phone.

This easy-to-use, simple program offers a blend of comics and classroom type lessons – just like the lectures you already attend.

eBooks

There are thousands of free eBooks available that are written on almost any topic from business development to pest control and, of course, overcoming anxiety.

Written mostly in the self-help style, these are great resources to help you digest your fears and figure out what is holding you back.

Another great benefit of this type of eBook is that they offer you mobility – you don’t have to book time with a therapist to discuss anything. Instead, simply add a chapter to your daily reading and you’ll start feeling better because you understand what’s happening.

Forums

If you do feel like sharing your feelings anonymously within a forum, then find one that is suited to your needs. These are all free and will allow you to express yourself without the pressure of interaction.

Access help

The important thing to remember if you are feeling anxious is that you are not alone. Thousands of students have the same fears and phobias that you do.

Use the resources above and find something that works for you – the Internet is a big place and it’s full of people who are trained and ready to help you find yourself again.

 Kimberly Evans is a writer, traveler and Internet chatter. She writes for The Huffington Post and covers stories about businesses and lives that inspire her.

10 Tips for Your Freshman Year At College

BY MARY OSBORNE

Starting a new college could be a nerve wrecking experience. You walk into a new institution where you know absolutely no one and have to spend the next three or four years there. So, here are ten tips for your freshman year at college that will, hopefully, make your life easier:

 

1. Engage with the experience

College is what you make of it. You can spend time working out and hang out with friends or you could speak up in class, get to know the professors, and learn an interesting new skill. Basically, these four years are all yours to experiment with, so engage with the experience and take the time to shape your life.

 

2. Learn beyond the curriculum

Life will, eventually, teach you way more than you’ll ever learn in the classroom. But that doesn’t mean there’s no space for organized learning. Reach out and grab every ounce of knowledge you can. Learn beyond what the college offers by joining a cooking class or learning online. You can focus on reading and learning as much as possible during college, so take advantage of it.

 

3. Save money on books

Buy the books online or loan them from a friend who’s done the same course. College textbooks can be really expensive.

 

4. Get a job

Experimenting with starter jobs while you’re in college is the best way to build experience and get to know the world outside. A job that ties into what you’re learn at college will help you in ways you can’t even imagine.

 

5. Don’t lose old friends

Take the time to reconnect with old friends and regularly go home to see family. Everyone needs a support structure and you have to maintain the network you have back home.

 

6. Find yourself

Be silly and irrational while you’re still young. Learn from your mistakes and take every experience as a stepping stone to finding yourself. Every success or failure you have at this stage will shape you into the adult you’ll be forever.

 

7. Balance work and life

Your years at college will fly back faster than you expect. Most students spend their nights partying, days at lectures, and countless hours in the library completing assignments. There are projects and deadlines that will eventually clash with all your personal and professional commitments. Balancing work and life is probably the most important skill you’ll learn in college.

 

8. Relax

Don’t let the pressure and anxiety get to you. Take a breath and relax.

 

9. Stay healthy

Use the college gym and walk to wherever you can. As you sharpen your mind in class, it’s important to avoid neglecting your body. Sleep well, eat right, and workout as much as you can at the college gym.

 

10. Tackle finances

The average college student leaves with a huge pile of debt. Add credit cards, rent, groceries, and travel to the list and you can see why college is the best place to learn how to budget and handle your personal finances.

College is likely to be a wonderful experience. Don’t be nervous and follow these ten tips to make the most of these crucial years.

Bio: Mary Osborne is a blogger and educator from Boston. She enjoys reading, discovering new places, and meeting new people. Mary believes that we can make this world a better place by respectfully treating our environment.

How To Reduce Exam Anxiety

BY DANIKA McCLURE

Exam anxiety is a problem felt by students everywhere. In fact, according to the American Test Anxieties Association, as many as 18-40 percent of students experience moderate-high levels of test anxiety, and few of those students ever seek help in reducing their anxiety symptoms.

With help and proper preparation, students can reduce their exam anxieties significantly, enabling them to take exams feeling entirely more confident.

For professors hoping to make a difference in the study routines of students’ whose college experience is plagued by test anxiety, there are a number of test taking strategies that you can implement in order to best help your students. Once put into practice, students will feel more confident and at ease when taking pop quizzes, weekly tests, and even midterms and finals.

Here are a few tips professors and students can use to survive their exams.

Consider Using Technology to Help Students Prepare

It goes without saying, technology has truly transformed today’s classrooms. There are a number of applications that teachers can utilize in order to help students in their classrooms, especially when it comes to studying for exams.

One of the most common feelings that students have during test taking is that they are ill prepared. Even students who peruse and agonize over the material before testing often report feeling unprepared during exam time.

One way this can be overcome is through online exam testing software. Software of this nature enables students create a bank of questions, and software algorithms will randomize questions that students can use to quiz themselves and better prepare for their exams.  

By repeatedly self testing, and completing these tests, students can feel confident walking into their exams.

Encourage Students to Share their Exam Preparation Strategies with Each Other

Constance Staley, who authored the Fourth Edition of Community College Success, suggests that professors make time for their students to share their own study techniques with each other.

As students listen and share, they’re bound to pick up a new study tactic that could help them better prepare for their tests and ease their performance anxiety.

“Put students in groups of three for about five minutes to discuss their best ideas about how to prepare for tests,” Shaley suggests. “After five minutes, come together as a class, and go around the room and ask each student to explain one technique. Students cannot repeat techniques. What may come out of the discussion is that different techniques work for different students, but that particular themes emerge that hold true for everyone.”

While this may not be an ideal solution in large lecture classrooms, small group breakouts and study sessions can prove beneficial to a number of students.

Help them to Unlearn Behaviors that Hinder Test Taking

As Linda Wong notes in her book, Essential Study Skills, there are a number of sources of stress that students attribute to their test taking anxiety:

 

• Under-Preparedness
• Past Experience
• Fear of Failure
• Poor Test-Taking Skills

Wong suggests that by giving students the ability to talk to other students, they can come up with strategies to overcome those attitudes and behaviors that are hindering their exam success.

Remind Students that Self Care is Important During Exam Time

While studying is certainly one factor to success when taking exams, self care is an equally important aspect in reducing test anxiety. Students may feel pressure to spend every waking moment studying, but it’s highly important that they allot time in their busy schedule to rest, reconnect with their classmates, and remove themselves from a stressful study environment. This doesn’t mean that students should procrastinate–rather, this downtime is to be used as a prescription to put in more focused work at the appropriate times.

Eating well and sleeping well are also important test factors that students often neglect when exam season rolls around. Although all-nighters are touted as popular study techniques, in truth, studying and not sleeping only makes anxiety more severe. Eating well is also an important factor, so make sure students know that nutrition is a vital key to their brain function during exams.

Test taking anxiety is a problem for a number of students of any age. As such, it’s important that professors are aware of how to best help those students who are easily overwhelmed during exams, and provide practical tips to help them better succeed in college.

Danika McClure is a writer and musician from the northwest who sometimes takes a 30 minute break from feminism to enjoy a tv show. You can follow her on twitter @sadwhitegrrl

How to discover and improve your student leadership skills

BY DANTE MUNNIS

At an early age, parents and teachers can determine whenever a kid has leadership skills. It plays a vital role in developing a successful career and it oftentimes takes over someone’s technical skills. This certain type of skill is important for students to learn because it can build confidence and authority within themselves and their peers.

However, not everyone is born a leader. To some, being a follower is enough for them to survive the cutthroat professional world. But developing this certain skill is important for student’s future. These are traits of a good leader:

1. Good leaders are also good followers

As quoted from Aristotle, every good leader starts with being a great follower. Leaders delegate tasks to their followers, they lead a certain community, and they are sure of themselves. But before they become great leaders, it all started with them following basic rules, such as school regulations or wearing the proper dress code in school.

Being a leader means abiding by the rules and being a leader a leader in school means listening to your group mates and classmates. Without this, a good leader is nothing when he or she has no one to lead.

2. Good leaders have initiative

This means having the mindset to not wait for other people to give the task, especially if the student knows he or she can handle them and finish properly. Sometimes, taking initiative correlates to going beyond what is expected of him or her.  In every environment, taking initiative or simply by being proactive can be developed to great leadership skills because taking more responsibility means you have the right mindset when you started setting the goal.

3. Good leaders are critical thinkers

Great leaders have the ability to anticipate problems even before it occurs. As students, there are different challenges that come in their way with school, personal activities, and school work. Leaders know how to manage expectations, and they especially know how to get the job done, well, and on time.

Apart from this, students who are proven to be leaders know when the opportunity arises and when to take advantage of such opportunity.

4. Good leaders are effective listeners

Leaders understand that to lead a classroom, they must know how to listen. If a leader does not possess listening skills, they will not receive the feedback from their peers. They would not know what others think and how to resolve them.

Communication skill is essential for leaders to hone and develop. It can be through verbal, emotional, body language, or hand gestures.

5. Good leaders are great motivators

Leaders must be able to positively inspire other people, through their work, influence, and personality. In every classroom, there are classmates who sometimes feel down because of different factors. In developing leadership skills, students must have the influence into leading them on the right path and direction. For example, if their peer has trouble with their academics, they can seek help to websites who offer their needs such as Pickwriters.com to help them get started.

6. Good leaders are disciplined individuals

Leaders know how to execute the goals they set for themselves. For example, if a student has a clear vision or great ideas, they will not become a product if they do not have the proper discipline. For example, a group work is due the following week. During your meeting with them, you start formulating ideas that are interesting and creative, but others think they are too risky. As a leader, you should be disciplined enough to know your boundaries and limitations. You should also consider how the plan will benefit not just you, but your teammates as well.

Becoming a good leader means being self-disciplined, while ensuring others on the team are also disciplined.

7. Good leaders are constantly learning

No one is perfect. As individuals who want to develop leader skills, they must understand that everything we do in life is a constant learning. Knowledge is power, and learning is never ending.

8. Good leaders know how to delegate

Good leaders do not take all the responsibility all to themselves. They are able to delegate important task equally, while taking responsibility to handle the task he made for himself. Projection as a leader can come from different factors, such as:

• Good leaders inform the team that everything is divided equally
• Good leaders empower the people they work with
• Good leaders are ready to handle the task, if a person is having a hard time with it
• Good leaders are involved with all the development in a certain task
• Good leaders know they are responsible for the outcome of a project or task

In addition, delegating tasks does not mean they will sit there, looking pretty. They delegate the task to help them lead themselves.

9. Good leaders handle conflicts well

Even in school, good leaders know how to handle different kinds of people, even when they are troublesome or not. They handle conflicts in an orderly manner and they find solutions to resolve them accordingly.

This means leaders have the ability to see the positivity in a negative place. They are honest and frank. While this trait of a leader requires a lot of courage and command because pointing out the mistakes of someone can sometimes be taken differently. As a leader, they must understand that there are always two sides in every story.

Importance of student leadership

As students, challenges and struggles always come in front of us. As we learn in and outside the school, we take these challenges to help us become better people in the future.  Developing leadership skills is important for every student because this skill can take them to different places, both in their professional and personal endeavors. The bottom line is, leaders are important in our society. Whether you start your own company or work for a company in the future, this special type of skill will be helpful and are beneficial for you.

BIO: Dante Munnis is a blogger and idea maker from Stockholm who is interested in self-development, web-related topics and success issues.

 

5 Ways To Increase Diversity In Your College Experience (and Why It Matters)

By Sylvia Kohl

Most people attend college for two reasons: to gain more knowledge and to develop the skills necessary to land a stable, long-term career. Of course, most students also get excited about the prospect of meeting new people and partying, but the main “goal” of college is intellectual and skill development.

However, there’s another goal you should add to your overall college experience: diversity, in every sense of the word. College is your opportunity to experience new people, new ideas, new customs, and new perspectives that you might otherwise never encounter, and it’s vital if you want to make yourself a better worker and a better person.

The Benefits of a More Diverse Experience

These are just some of the benefits you’ll enjoy by partaking in more diverse experiences:

• Broadened perspectives. You won’t be limited to your worldview, and you’ll be able to consider things from more angles.
• New likes and dislikes. There’s a host of likes, dislikes, and interests out there that you still haven’t discovered.
• People and opportunities. It never hurts to expand your personal network of contacts.
• Memories, stories, and information. Even “bad” experiences eventually become entertaining stories to share.
• A foundation of openness. Experiencing diversity in college will make you a more open and inviting person for the rest of your life.

How to Have a More Diverse Experience

Those benefits sound great, but how can you actually have a more diverse experience? What does that even mean?

1. Find a more diverse campus. Your first step is to find and attend a college with a penchant for diversity. Not every college is equal in this regard; some are larger, with a propensity to attract students from all over the world, while some are smaller and tend to attract locals and remain tight-knit. Look for colleges with a specific diversity program and goals, if you can. Of course, you may already be attending college; in that case, it doesn’t make sense to switch. Instead, consider looking outside your own university for those experiences if necessary.
2. Experiment with other cultures. Most colleges offer a number of different cultural exposure opportunities. These may include guest speakers, classes about different cultures, or student groups and organizations that teach about and celebrate cultures from around the world. Track these opportunities down and partake in them; experiment with international cuisine, learn about new traditions, and meet people from another side of the world. You’ll be grateful you did.
3. Take classes outside your comfort zone. Most colleges offer far more classes than any one student could ever take. Unfortunately, most students fill up their class schedules in the same way; they choose some mandatory classes, look for major-related classes that they’re already comfortable with, then choose a handful of random “interest” classes to fill in the gaps. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it prevents you from seeing as much diversity and breadth as you could. Look for classes different from what you’d ordinarily take—ones that will challenge you and force you to think in new ways.
4. Attend meetings for various groups and organizations. Your college probably has dozens of different regular meeting groups and organizations on campus, representing multiple different cultures, perspectives, ideologies, and interests. Obviously, you’ll want to go for some that already fall in line with your current interests, but make it a point to attend meetings for some that don’t immediately interest you. This is one of the only ways to discover new interests you didn’t know you had—and even if you end up hating the experience, you’ll still walk away with a good story to tell.
5. Talk to everybody. This is the most important step, and it’s the easiest one to take (for most people). No matter where you go or what you’re doing, make it a point to talk to people. Talk to other students in your class. Talk to people walking in the street. Talk to people in various groups. The more people you talk to, and the more different those people are from you, the better. If you’re introverted, this may take some practice before you feel comfortable doing it, but it’s worth it. Everyone has a story to tell and a perspective to share.

If you follow these five steps, you’ll be able to get more out of your college experience. You’ll walk away with a broader range of knowledge than you’d get in the classroom alone, and you’ll meet people and try things you love. It’s still important to focus on your academics and develop yourself along your career path as much as possible, but take the time to break out of your comfort zone as well. You may never have this opportunity again.

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 8 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and she convinced that learning process doesn’t stop after years in school and university.