It’s not exactly going out on a limb to claim that digital media has changed the way we find and process information, but new research shows that the switch to digital media is changing the brain itself:

Scientists are beginning to document the traces that the Internet leaves on sensitive young brains. People who play a lot of action video games, for instance, process visual information more quickly than people who don’t.

Digital immersion affects the Net Generation in other ways, too. They don’t necessarily read from left to right, or from beginning to end. They’re more sensitive to visual icons than older people are, and they absorb more information when it’s presented with visual images than when it’s offered in straight text. This may help them be better scanners, a useful skill when you’re confronted with masses of online information.

Of course, changes in the way people think causes changes in the way they learn:

Kids have grown up to expect a two-way conversation, not a one-way lecture. This interactive reflex has a profound effect on what one academic has called their “habits of mind.” Instead of simply absorbing information—from a teacher or even a book—they go out and find it. As O’Shea’s story illustrates, the Net Geners use Google when they want to find out something. When they do so, they construct their own story, their own idea, rather than following the line of thought drawn by someone else in a book. This obviously doesn’t replace conventional book reading, nor should it. But what we’re seeing is a new form of literacy that many experts say is just as intellectually challenging as reading a book.

Let’s hope education can keep up! How do you think education needs to adjust to a digital world?

Video may have killed the radio star, but as Boston.com recently pointed out, it might also save you some time and money by giving you the opportunity to view speeches, class lectures and other thought-provoking content from the comfort of your home. Here are 10 great free video learning options online:

• Bigthink.com: Big-name talking heads (literally) like Deepak Chopra, Noam Chomsky, Adrianna Huffington, John McCain, Jonathan Franzen, Harrison Ford, Moby and Kanye West discuss issues and otherwise get stuff off their chests.
• Fora.tv: A large collection of speeches, discussions, interviews and debates from all around the world, on a wide range of topics.
• TED.com: Gathers over 200 speeches from the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, an annual gather that bridges those three disciplines. Speakers include Al Gore, Richard Branson, Jane Goodall, J.J. Abrams, Bono, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham and Tony Robbins.
• YouTube: Yes, YouTube. Amidst the throng of clips of people injuring themselves for 10 minutes of fame, you can find a host of video lectures from colleges, scientific video from NASA, news from Reuters, “smart” TV content from the likes of CSPAN, PBS and BBC, plus video from highfalutin publications like National Geographic and The New Yorker. Check out this list of educational options.
• iTunesU: This section of the iTunes Store features free lectures, audiobooks and videos from museums, public media organizations and colleges from around the world, including Yale, Oxford, Duke and Stanford.
• Edge.org: The video lectures on this site fulfill the mandate of the Edge Foundation “to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society.”
• OEDb.org: The Online Education Database includes a list of 236 open courseware collections, podcasts and videos.
• Scholarspot.com: Offers free educational videos, podcasts and ebooks on a wide range of subjects, from religion to sports, from economics to psychology.
• Freevideolectures.com: Links to hundreds video lectures, with a focus on science, technology, math and business.
• Freescienceonline.blogspot.com: Links to hundreds of science and math-related video lectures, for the true nerds amongst us.

Additionally, dozens of colleges and universities, like UC-Berkeley and MIT, individually offer free video lectures on their sites. Great, now there’s no excuse to be stupid.

Just a few hours after publishing my last post on the best free web apps for students, a confusing message came in through the contact form. I normally wouldn’t bother sharing this, but it’s a great example of the wrong way to use the web for word of mouth:

With the current financial crisis, it’s good to know college students can
still get a break on the tools they need to succeed in school. Throughout the
academic school year, Microsoft is offering eligible students the opportunity to
purchase Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 at a special student rate.

As part of Microsoft’s The Ultimate Steal program, eligible students must be
enrolled in a valid academic institution and carry at least a 0.5 course credit.
Students can find program details at http://www.theultimatesteal.com. At that
site, they can purchase Office Ultimate 2007 – including Word 2007, Excel
2007, PowerPoint 2007, OneNote 2007, Groove 2007 and the many other valuable
tools in the suite – perfect for outfitting a new laptop - for $59.95.

And, new this year, students can upgrade their purchase to include Office
Language Packs (want help with that Spanish homework?), Microsoft Office Visio
Professional 2007 (great for engineers or others that do a lot of diagramming)
and/or Windows Vista Ultimate (includes security, mobility and entertainment
features).

Given that Office Ultimate 2007 typically retails for approximately $600, this
is a deal that students cannot afford to miss.

Additional resources:
•Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/suites/FX101674121033.aspx
•Other products/solutions by which Microsoft is extending high-quality
education:
oMicrosoft Office Live Workspace: www.workspace.officelive.com
oMicrosoft Live@edu: http://get.liveatedu.com/Education/Connect/

Please let me know if you have any questions.

No personalization? No reference to the content of the site? My guess is a Microsoft PR rep from Waggener Edstrom Worldwide has a web alert set up for phrases like “student” and “Microsoft”. Our site comes up, they find the contact form and paste in that handy message. Job well done.

Except not. They haven’t engaged us in conversation. Instead of taking this opportunity to explain the value of Microsoft’s products in a context that’s important to us, they’ve slapped us in the face with a canned PR message. We’re left feeling even more alienated and sympathetic to Google.

Word of mouth is about making the effort to genuinely connect with people, something a billion dollar marketing budget can’t replace.

For students who study online, having a good network of professionals and other students in your chosen field is a great way to exchange ideas, understand concepts, or just vent some steam.

These active online forums are run by professionals and students in health care, business, technology, law, criminal justice, and other academic fields (click a topic to jump to that section). Need help with homework? Have a question and no one’s around to answer it? Join up and post away.

(P.S.: If you know of any good student-savvy forums that should be on this list, feel free to suggest one in the comments below.)

Health care forums (top)

MedicalAssistant.net – There are a lot of medical assisting forums out there (they’re a chatty bunch), but this one is the target of frequent questions regarding certification, school and job hunting, and it’s run by a real online health care educator.
http://www.medicalassistant.net/medical_assistant_forum.htm

AllNurses.com – Administrated by a staff of RNs and other medical personnel, this nursing forum has categories for students and working nurses of all levels, and even includes an NCLEX forum to guide you through that test anxiety.
http://allnurses.com/forums/f196/

StudentDoctor.net – A large and varied community of doctors, student doctors and professionals in many areas of health care interact within the pages of this site, where you’ll almost certainly find something on the specialty you’re studying.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/index.php

RadiologyForums.com – An x-ray specific community that discusses patients, positioning, continuing education and job seeking.
http://www.radiologyforums.com/

Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography – the SDMS hosts a collection of ultrasound forums based on the different areas of sonography, but SDMS membership is required for entry. The author not being a registered sonographer, this link is mostly FYI.
http://www.sdms.org/lists/forumlist.asp

Business forums (top)

Find-MBA.com – Despite being hosted by a business, this forum gathers traffic from MBA seekers and MBA holders worldwide, with active discussions in the US, the UK, Europe, Australia, Africa and other countries.
http://www.find-mba.com/board

BusinessWeek – The name power alone gives this one credibility, and it’s rife with b-school, MBA and GMAT questions of all kinds from students like yourself.
http://forums.businessweek.com/bw-bschools/

Vault.com – This career and education info site’s MBA forum is a little awkward, with no real organization among the 522 topics lining the left-hand side. But discussions surrounding school admissions, cheating, career changes and other common topics may answer some of your questions, and it’s hosted by the same guy who fields questions in the forum above.
http://www.vault.com/community/mb/mb_main.jsp?forum_id=6095&ch_id=255

Technology forums (top)

PlanetAMD64 – Hardware buffs are drawn to this discussion board, which also attracts software buffs, system buffs and other reams of the technologically curious. Though a student element is not immediately apparent, it makes for a solid board of experts – including, undoubtedly, its fair share of “Trek-sperts.”
http://www.planetamd64.com/index.php?act=idx

DaniWeb – This community of over 400,000 IT enthusiasts is open to students in software and Web development, and covers many topics within and without, as long as you’re not looking for fast answers for your homework. It seems like a geek-chic kind of place.
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/

Ubuntu Forums – The Community Café is renamed to match certain strange holidays (National Talk Like a Pirate Day: “the Poop Deck”), and there is a hefty number of categories to choose from, including one for … Mac users…. Again, no special place set aside for students (sorry – those seem to be sparse in IT), but students are welcome to run amok in the general threads.
http://ubuntuforums.org/index.php?s=80e8652458fceaac8f60621319020f73

Law forums (top)

LawSchoolDiscussion.org – It seems like no one is quite as verbose as a law student, so be prepared for anything you post to be mercilessly ridiculed, or at least answered with a fair amount of asinine wisdom. This means you should probably do the same with your posts, if you don’t already. That being said, this forum has a board for pre-law, as well as law and grad students.
http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/

All4JDs.com – This lively group posts threads with titles like “Is McCain Palin’s Bitch?” and “Why the hell do we want to be attorneys?” Nonetheless, they are all law students with test anxiety like yourself, and they will doubtless welcome you among them after a gritting initiation rite.
http://jdjinx.com/

Top-Law-Schools.com – The site’s hyphenated URL and lead-generation flavoring may raise eyebrows, but the forum is real, active, and for once it almost seems serious. Separate categories for admissions, LSAT prep and minority law students, among others, promise the help you need, with an off-topic lounge where things degenerate quickly (“How can I make working udders?”)
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/index.php

Criminal justice forums (top)

Criminal Justice Online – With a highly organized board grouped into topics like leadership, technology and education, your questions will fit in somewhere. Participation comes from experienced officers and students alike.
http://www.criminaljustice-online.com/

RealPolice.net – Students and cadets can go to veterans for advice in the Rookie’s Resource area, and the general public can use the Ask-A-Cop section to get advice from real officers. A pretty large number of categories and more than 37,000 members keeps this one pretty active.
http://forums.realpolice.net/

Academics (general ed forums) (top)

College Confidential – This general college discussion board includes topics filed under pre-college, admissions and grad school, as well as a café for irrelevant college life discussions. There’s even an online degree section, if that’s your bag.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/

Physics Forums – As the name suggests, this board contains forums in physics, as well as in astronomy, math, engineering and other sciences, frequented by over 113,000 members. Not too shabby.
http://www.physicsforums.com/

Math Help Forum – Like the physics forum above, this one is straightforward, with no-nonsense forums on college-level algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics and business math. I don’t understand any of it, but f(x) = 2 x(2) + x(3) log x = you getting the help you seek.
http://www.mathhelpforum.com/math-help/college-university-maths-help/

The Literature Network – Poetry, philosophy and religion: everything you need to get into a lengthy, scholarly debate with a drunken college guy in Idaho at 2 am. An author’s quote board will even give you some academic ammunition.
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/index.php

The Writers’ Beat – Post your work for feedback, or get advice on writing quandaries such as killing characters, or not killing your readership. It also makes for some good reading.
http://forums.writersbeat.com/

If you’re a blossoming writer in the midst of your college career, or even just an opinionated or knowledgeable college student who knows how to pick up a pen, you might be yearning for ways to get your work out there.

Fortunately, most colleges and universities are hives of activity when it comes to publishing, broadcasting and information dissemination. It’s the one place where people in every professional field are crammed into the same 10 square blocks, reading and listening to the same media. It’s the perfect opportunity to launch your publishing career, or at least vent your proto-philosophical musings. Here are seven ways (other than the Internet) to distribute your enlightened penmanship:

The student newspaper – You’re lucky, because most student newspapers aren’t too stingy with what they choose to publish – unlike the real world, where people have the bottom line to consider. If you were to stroll into your student paper’s office with a smile, a handshake and, say, a brief discourse on the residual effects of ‘60s counterculture on modern TV sitcoms, there’s a good chance it would see the light of day in the commentary section. It might have to wait for some vaguely relevant news to come along, and you may have to poke them a little when it does, but this is a good place to start. Just ignore the bad copy editing.

On-campus magazines – every university has them, and they sometimes take some hunting to find, but your school’s English department can likely point you toward at least a few student literary publications hungry for inspired content. Timing isn’t too important here, because they aren’t usually too organized. But they’re read by literary minds, faculty, and people who can appreciate good prose. Just make sure that’s what you’re giving them, because they tend to take themselves seriously.

Essay contests – Swallow your “cool” and talk to an English professor about this option, because while essay contests have a dork stigma, the winners end up in student manuals and lit guides for other students to read and learn from. Does your writing carry a point? Are your arguments well thought out? Are you observing the basic rules of grammar and syntax? Then you might have a shot. Just don’t act embarrassed about it among your peers, or your life will be ruined.

Local publications – Along with college campuses comes college towns, and their publications can be as inviting as the student ones. They’re often marketed to include the college demographic, and they’re probably also covering the floors of your school’s halls, indicating readership. Their standards are a little higher, and you may have to be professional to show you’re not wasting their time, but it’s worth it to give them a call to find out how to pitch a commentary. A word of warning: These publications are technically part of the “real world,” so make sure your essay is credible and well thought out, or the real world will write nasty, critical letters.

Student radio – Many colleges have their own radio stations, and college radio is notorious for pioneering new, inventive ideas and formats that would never fly with “bottom line” people. Getting in contact with your student station could potentially lead to an on-the-air reading of at least a passage or two. It’s also smart to use the station to promote your work when it appears in other media outlets.

Guerilla – Since college is all about activism and grassroots, one way of spreading your educated ramblings is good old campus pamphleting. If you design a flashy cover for your essay, print up a few hundred copies, and place them in prime spots around campus (next to newspaper racks, outside of the English department, or around whatever department most closely relates to your subject matter), interested people will grab copies. It might cost a little to print, especially if you are long winded and eat up page space, but if your topic is good you may stir up some campus buzz.

Start your own pub – A long-term version of the above path, starting your own publication is entirely possible in college, though it’s a horrendous amount of work. The multinational pop-culture magazine Wonka Vision was started in 1997 by then-college student Justin Luczejko in his Philadelphia bedroom with no outside funding; national independent magazine Synthesis began in 1994 in the Chico, CA apartment of then-college student Bill Fishkin using a dot-matrix printer and a credit card. Even though the current economy isn’t what it was then, if you want to create a magazine around whatever topic interests you, it’s at least worth a try. The Magazine Publishers of America have some advice for anyone interested in this, and something may even eventually appear on this site. Go for it, Plato.