by Michael Cahlin

1. Sharpen your typing skills. The best way to prepare for school - and life afterward - is to improve your typing speed and accuracy with a $19 program like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. This dramatically reduces the time it takes to conduct Internet searches, write papers, and take notes. You'll also amp up in-class concentration because you're not dividing attention between the keyboard and the lecturer. Test your speed at TypingTest.com.
2. Learn shortcuts. You only need to know less than a dozen basic commands to write most papers and presentations: open, save, close, print, change fonts, adjust formatting, and check spelling. Must-have software for student success like Microsoft's Word and PowerPoint are chock-full of helpful tutorials and keyboard shortcuts, generally accessible with a right-mouse click.
3. Create charts and diagrams. In less than an hour, you can learn to do so, and then insert them into a document. This simple trick - along with using digital pictures and short one-to-two minute videos - pays monster dividends. Artwork and video breaks up the text, makes reports look more professional, and subliminally helps teachers build a positive mental image about you.
4. Templates rule. Don't reinvent the wheel. Templates inside Word, PowerPoint, and Excel can quickly create presentations, charts, and diagrams. You'll find more - along with clip art and media - free on Microsoft's Web site. My caveat: Keep special effects like spinning graphics and music to a minimum. Simple presentations are often more effective, and often professors prefer text-only submissions. For additional tips, check out Microsoft Student 2006.
5. Become noteworthy. Nothing is more frustrating than taking furious class notes and not being able to decipher them later. For free, the Cornell Note System helped me get organized, keep track of my thoughts, and create study sheets for easy review for tests and assignments. Start at: www3.baylor.edu/~Michelle_Pettijohn/modifiedCornell.htm.
6. Find it on the Web. Chances are you know how to find information using a search engine like Google. But you can get better, faster, more targeted results by learning two or three simple search secrets buried in every search engine's help section. For example, on www.google.com/help/refinesearch.php, you'll discover how to use quotation marks for names and phrases as well as power connecting words like "and," "or," and "not" that let you find documents by playing two keywords off each other.
7. Find It on Your PC. "I know it's in here somewhere." I can't tell you how many times I've uttered those words while desperately searching my hard drive for a file. Free desktop search toolbars like Google (http://desk top.google.com), MSN (http://toolbar.msn.com), and Yahoo (http://desktop.yahoo.com) can track down anything on your PC.
8. Master Blackboard. Most colleges and distance learning institutions use the Blackboard Learning System, an electronic bulletin board that allows teachers and students to share content, post and respond to lesson plans and assignments, and leave feedback. If your school offers an orientation, take it. Also, get your professor's e-mail address, just in case.
9. Refine feedback responses. Most distance learning courses require that you read and access work from fellow cyber-students. Refrain from Net shorthand like "brb" or "lol." Craft responses carefully. Check grammar, spelling, and punctuation before posting anything. Shoot for a 100-word maximum response and never leave scathing negative feedback.
10. Prepare a "Plan B." One thing I've learned writing hundreds of tech articles is bad things happen to good technology at the worst possible times. Save schoolwork often. E-mail copies to yourself, or better yet, save files to a USB flash drive or CD. Scout local Internet cafés, just in case your ISP goes down. It's better to be safe than a PC patsy.