Starting the new semester can be difficult, but as long as you have the right hook-ups and know-how you won’t have to be breaking out the sepuku blades this time around.
Many of us already have laptops or other ways to get online, so here are a few FCC sites that you should bookmark to ensure success:
Blackboard— This site is one of the many ways that your instructors will provide you with your class syllabus and assignments for the semester, and is also a great way to help keep track of what’s going on in what class. This site is especially helpful for the non-multitasker and also helps to cut down on the over all paper count which will save both your back and your wallet. A connection to Blackboard can be easily found through the Fresno City College home website. You’ll want to change your password to something that you’ll remember, but not something too easy once you login.
Windows Outlook (student e-mail)— If your teachers need to get a hold of you this will be how they do it. There are many advantages to having the student e-mail besides: it allows you to keep your school stuff and your personal stuff separate so that nothing gets mixed up or forgotten, it can help you stay on top of your schedule and assignments, as well as maintain contact with your instructors in case you have any last second questions. The student e-mail has a link through the Fresno City College home page.
Web Advisor— This site is one we’ve all had to mile our way through and little bit at a time, trying to make sense of our schedules and sign up for whatever we could get our hands on, but despite it being a little hard to navigate for new users, Web Advisor is one site you’ll want to make sure you keep handy. It can help you keep track of your financial expenses, track payments for your classes, give a brief look into what you can expect from a new class, as well as delve into the world of financial aid and all that comes with it. Easy access to Web Advisor can be made through clicking the link found on the Fresno City College home page.
Aside from FCC related sites that can help you stay on top of things with your classes, there are several websites that can help you get ahead on your classes. And no, I’m not talking about Wikipedia.
Many of us will have a lot of essays and papers to write this year, so here are a few great sites to help make sure that your essay is not only well written, but accurate and original.
Dictionary.com— As the name suggests, Dictionary.com is an online dictionary which allows you to double check the meaning of words before you use them in your paper.It also allows you to find synonyms for words allowing you to add some flavor to your essay.
WordHippo— Along the same lines of Dictionary.com is WordHippo.com but with a few little twists that make it a little better. First of all, it’s called WordHippo, which everyone can agree is a fun name, but more importantly it gives a larger number of words when searching for a synonym or antonym, and also allows you to search for words that rhyme for use in songs or poems for our creative writing majors, and you can ask to use a word in a sentence in case your vocabulary assignment is giving you a real lip chewer. As an added bonus, it allows you to translate your word into another language. This site is a useful tool for students who will need to be frequently writing papers.
Plagiarismchecker.com— We’ve all been in a situation where your teacher wants you to submit your essay or paper through some kind of plagiarism checking program to make sure you didn’t copy and paste the entire thing from Wikipedia, and after countless late nights and several proofreads, you find that your completely original essay sounds too much like something someone else wrote, and you fail. Well, now you won’t have to worry if someone out there is psychically channeling your paper, you can just use Plagiarismchecker.com to make sure that when you turn it in, your original work reads through as original as it truly is.
So now that we’ve covered several electronic ways to make sure that your semester is hassle free, let’s explore some on campus ways that you can stay ahead.
The Library—Text books are going to be one of the most expensive things you’ll have to contend with this year, and while it may be easier to get a text book, some of us just aren’t able to contend with the prices. So a little trick that helps to pinch the pennies is to go to the library and photocopy as much of the text books you need. The Library has a copy of most, if not all, of the text books required by the school in one form or another, and you can almost always photocopy what you need for your weekly assignments. Short of borrowing someone else’s book, it’s a good way to make sure you can get your homework done.
Used Book Store— Yes, this is technically across the street from the school and not actually “on campus” but it’s still a great tip. The used text books stores across the street have a variety of text books from past semesters, and while many teachers will be using an updated version of their text book, there will still be many who are using a book from perhaps a previous semester. All you need to do is cross your fingers and see if one of these stores has a copy of the text book you need in good condition for a much smaller price than the bookstore on campus.