Learning Resources

Offered by FSU: 

• Personal Academic Consultations - ACE offers undergraduate students an opportunity to meet one-on-one with an ACE instructor to review and make improvements to their study and personal success habits. These consultations, which are free and available only to current FSU students, involve assessing a student's need and developing a plan of action for reaching the student's academic goals.
• Study Skills & Habits - To academically excel in college, you must evaluate your assumptions regarding your study strategies and habits. Review the resources on this page on ACE's website to learn how you can establish the college-level study strategies and habits needed to be successful.
• Learning & Test Preparation - The learning process begins with your first week of classes and discovering your most effective and efficient study strategies for each class. Use the academic resources on this ACE page to identify appropriate study strategies and to develop a study plan that will help you ace your exam!
• Note Taking - One of the first steps to academic excellence is making good notes and reviewing them regularly to maximize your learning. You must take the time to learn key components of strong academic notes and establish your own effective note making style. Listed on this page from ACE are a few resources to help you get started.
  • Subject Specific Graphic Organizers - Graphic organizers involve the intentional manipulation of information by the learner through processes such as repetition, elaboration, and reorganization of the material in such a way that the new information is able to be stored in the learner’s memory and accessed for retrieval.
• Time Management - Managing time effectively is an essential skill for academic success. See the time management tools listed on this page from ACE to take control of your time and maximize every minute.

Offered on LinkedIn Learning: 

All current FSU students, faculty, and staff have free access to this resource, but if you have never used it before, you need to follow the quick instructions in the graphic at the bottom of the page to activate your account.

• Learning Study Skills - (1 hour 36 minutes) Whether you want to ace your next test or simply retain information better (at work or at home), good study habits are essential. This course offers tips for improving your reading speed and comprehension, creating detailed notes, committing the learning to memory, and even taking tests.
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World - (9 minutes) For many modern professionals, remaining electronically connected at nearly all times is the norm. And dealing with these constant distractions—from email, social media, apps, and so on—can wreak havoc on our ability to focus. This offers a brief review of strategies for regaining your ability to focus on a task without distraction.
• Developing a Learning Mindset - (31 minutes) Find your motivation to learn, explore how the brain acquires and retains information, and discover how to conduct a self-inventory that reveals what you've learned and how you learn best.
• Why Generalists Succeed and How to Learn Like One - (17 minutes) Generalists—jacks of all trades—get a bad rap. However, they possess a unique intersection of skills that can create new playing fields without competition from established masters. Being a generalist can also help you create innovative solutions and see problems from a clearer perspective.
• Building a Better To-Do List - (50 minutes) The key to enhancing your productivity is to build to-do lists that actually work. In this course, learn a new approach to creating to-do lists, find out how to better prioritize tasks, and discover proven day-to-day workflows to put into practice immediately.
• Learning Speed Reading - (58 minutes) Learn how to improve your reading speed and comprehension. Speed-reading is a skill everyone can benefit from, and this course provides proven techniques to improve how much information you absorb and how fast you absorb it.
• Finding Your Time Management Style - (1 hour 14 minutes) When it comes to time management strategies, one size does not fit all. To create your optimal workday, you must consider many factors, including the nature of your job, the level of interaction you have with others, and your personal preferences.
• Time Management Fundamentals - (2 hours 53 minutes) Learn how to get more done in the shortest time possible and avoid the obstacles and distractions that can get in the way of good time management. This course offers practical strategies for increasing productivity in three main areas: developing habits to be more organized and reducing clutter in your workspace; staying mentally on task and eliminate the to-dos you have floating in your head; and developing a time budget to get the most done during your workday and focus on your most valuable activities.

Offered by FSU: 

Critical thinking is a core tenet of Florida State University's educational standards and as such is woven into the curriculum of every major on campus. For anyone who is looking to further expand on these skills, the university also offers the resources below.

• Critical Thinking Initiative - The goal of this program is to enhance critical thinking skills among Florida State University students through instructional development, campus-wide programming and co-curricular engagement.
• Critical Thinking Guide - This guide was created by the library and includes resources for teaching or learning critical thinking in general and in specific disciplines.
• ENT3607 - Learn the latest tools for fueling innovation to confront the vexing, complex and wicked challenges of our day. This course, designed by Ken Baldauf at the Florida State University Innovation Hub, teaches methods common to human-centered innovation frameworks such as Design Thinking: empathizing with people in given situations, framing and reframing problems, ideating, prototyping and testing solutions.
• PHI2100 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking is an introductory logic course offered through the Philosophy Department. It is intended to provide students with an understanding of and practice in using reasoning to support conclusions and decisions. The course emphasizes acquisition of the skills necessary to draft clear, persuasive arguments and is particularly useful for those planning to further studies in fields such as law or business.

Offered on LinkedIn Learning: 

All current FSU students, faculty, and staff have free access to this resource, but if you have never used it before, you need to follow the quick instructions in the graphic at the bottom of the page to activate your account.

• Decision-Making Strategies - (47 minutes) Learn the art and science of business decision-making from leadership trainer and coach Mike Figliuolo. Mike outlines the four styles of decision making—autocratic, participatory, democratic, and consensual—and reveals which styles are best suited for specific situations. 
• Critical Thinking - (1 hour 6 minutes) Critical thinking is the ability to think reflectively and independently in order to make thoughtful decisions. By focusing on root-cause issues critical thinking helps you avoid future problems that can result from your actions.
• Creative Thinking - (47 minutes) While we often think of creativity as an inherent trait, anyone—whether they're an artist or an actuary—can learn how to be more creative. In this course, explore the different ways to learn creativity, and discover how to be more creative both on an individual basis and in a team setting.
• Creativity Bootcamp - (48 minutes) Think you're not creative? Think again! Creativity is a skill—one you can develop with practice. In this course, you'll explore some common misconceptions about creativity, learn the hidden value of the "stupid idea," and, through the course of the exercises, discover the three bootcamp commands for energizing your creative process.
• Learning Brainstorming - (43 minutes) Invented in 1948, brainstorming is still the dominant technique when it comes to idea generation. It combines creativity, problem solving, and group discussion. In this course, learn about brainstorming in the modern age including rules and techniques that will help you set up and run more-effective creative brainstorming sessions.
• Take a More Creative Approach to Problem Solving - (27 minutes) Because creativity is such a powerful changemaking force, countless myths have sprung up around it, the most dangerous of which is that “you either have it or you don’t.” Building on insights from improv, design thinking, comedy writing, and startup incubation, the lessons in this course offer you concrete tools for creative thinking.
• The Five-Step Creative Process - (19 minutes) The creative process isn't just "generating ideas." The reality is it's a five-step process, and ideation is only one of those steps. The entire creative process is made up of objective finding, data gathering, problem design, ideation, and selection. Understanding the role of each step enables us to ensure that we generate the most effective solutions. 
• Critical Thinking for Better Judgement and Decision Making - (56 minutes) The pace of change and volume of information we encounter in daily life make it hard to think through decisions. Instead, people often rely on biases and rules of thumb, which trap them into drawing faulty conclusions. In this course, learn how to upgrade critical thinking to avoid deceiving fallacies, spot misleading cognitive biases, craft better arguments, hone judgment, and improve decision-making.
• Internet Safety for Students - (55 minutes) Along with being a core part of building digital citizenship, internet safely is an essential skill for students. This course explores how students can protect themselves by understanding the nature of Internet-based threats and learning about the protection options and tools built right into most web browsers and mail systems.
• Strategic Thinking - (38 minutes) Strategic thinking is the ability to think on a big and small scale, long and short term, and into the past and the present. This course teaches managers and leaders how to use strategic thinking to guide the direction of their teams and come up with solutions to key business problems. 

Offered by FSU: 

• Self-Help Resources from the Counseling Center - The Florida State University Counseling Center (UCC) maintains this internet site as a service to the University community. It is intended as a resource to inform and to educate. Included are direct links to other internet sites that we believe may be helpful.
  • Upcoming Events Hosted by the UCC - This page will host information about current and upcoming trainings, workshops, and wellness events hosted by the University Counseling Center.

Offered on LinkedIn Learning:

All current FSU students, faculty, and staff have free access to this resource, but if you have never used it before, you need to follow the quick instructions in the graphic at the bottom of the page to activate your account.

Productivity, Confidence, & Focus

• Be More Productive: Take Small Steps, Have Big Goals - (27 minutes) Want to be more productive? Researchers tell us it’s the small stuff that leads to big changes over time. Learn how to develop a productivity regimen using time-tested strategies for making incremental but powerful changes: goal setting, habit formation, and honest self-assessment.
• Overcoming Procrastination - (24 minutes) Is procrastination preventing you from achieving the goals you want or need to accomplish? In less than half an hour, this course can help you identify why you delay and how you can overcome your procrastination habit once and for all. 
• Successful Goal Setting - (24 minutes) Even your loftiest goals are possible if you approach them strategically. In this course, you'll learn top tips on setting—and achieving—goals, explaining how to take small steps that can help you make your bigger plans a reality. 
• Getting Things Done - (30 minutes) Join world-renowned productivity and time management expert David Allen as he walks you through his five-step process for Getting Things Done®. He shows you how to stay on top of your work and avoid feeling buried by it, while carving out space in your life to do more meaningful things. 
• Improving Your Focus - (56 minutes) In our hectic world, time management alone doesn't cut it. To truly increase your efficiency, it's crucial that you improve your focus as well as tend to your calendar. In this course, a productivity expert helps you develop the survival skills to both avoid daily distractions and stay focused on what's most valuable. 
• Building Self-Confidence - (18 minutes) Confidence is crucial to personal and professional success. People who aren't confident tend to miss out on new challenges, relationships, and opportunities. The good news is self-confidence is self-perpetuating; once you develop it, confidence can buoy you from one situation to the next.
• Developing Self-Awareness - (1 hour) While a multitude of factors can go into the making of a successful person, nearly all individuals who achieve high levels of personal and professional success have a keen sense of self-awareness. In this course, learn how to become more self-aware in order to develop yourself personally and enhance career progression.
• Breaking out of a Rut - (33 minutes) Most people have experienced a rut, whether it manifests as a lack of ideas, follow-through, or enthusiasm. Sometimes it's just boredom that comes with routine. This course will help you identify the type of rut you're in and its cause, and then break out of it with a series of short-, mid-, and long-term creative nudges.
• Success Habits - (3 hours 18 minutes) Habits have been identified as the key to success over the long term. This course delivers valuable and practical success tips on topics such as the relationship between success, money, and happiness; emotional intelligence; goal setting; organization; purpose; and creativity.

Mindfulness, Stress Management, & Happiness

• How to Have a Great Day, Everyday - (22 minutes) Live your best day, every day. This course reveals actionable insights from the latest science behind better living, in this course adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job.
• De-Stress: Meditation and Movement for Stress Management - (36 minutes) Stress is toxic. Finding healthy ways to eliminate stress—to de-stress—is critical to a happy, healthy life. This course introduces a series of guided meditation and movement exercises that allow your body and mind to relax and refocus. Instructors from Desk Yogi leads you through grounding techniques to clear your mind while you’re seated at your desk.
• Chair Work: Yoga Fitness and Stretching at Your Desk - (33 minutes) Find time for fitness. Learn simple yoga and stretching exercises you can do at your desk. The instructors at Desk Yogi have adapted traditional yoga poses into exercises that are suitable for any small space. 
• How to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed - (43 minutes) Feeling overwhelmed is common. It’s a sign that the demands on your time and energy have surpassed your ability to cope with them. In this course from a stress expert and performance coach, you can learn how to identify and conquer that overwhelmed feeling—so you can remain focused, productive, and in control in the face of whatever comes your way.
• Embracing Resilience - (53 minutes) Resilience is one of the most common traits of successful, happy people. Developing your resilience will not only help you to cope with challenging situations, but it can help you reach peak performance and enhance satisfaction, both in your personal and professional life.
• Managing Stress for Positive Change - (57 minutes) In this course, learn what stress is, exactly; how you can train yourself to use stress in more effective ways; and what managers can do to reduce employee stress when an organization experiences difficult times.
• Mindfulness Practices - (2 hours 3 minutes) Mindfulness helps you be more effective in today’s busy world. It reduces stress, increases focus, and improves your ability to deal with challenges, both at work and at home. With regular practice, mindfulness can change the course of your life.
• Happiness Tips - (3 hours 31 minutes) Get a new happiness tip to help you live a happier life. Coach Chris Croft provides practical, actionable techniques for finding more time for the things you love and maximizing your day-to-day happiness. 

Offered by FSU: 

• Graduate School Preparation - ACE and several other campus offices provide a variety of resources to help you plan and prepare for that important step, including free workshops and materials about the decision to attend graduate school, the application process, financial aid, and study tools and tips for admission/entrance exam preparation.
• Test Preparation Courses - (Note: These courses are not free, but FSU alums receive a 10% discount) Our test preparation courses were designed by a team of former standardized test item writers and test preparation experts. Our experienced and professional instructors are highly trained and care about your success. 

Offered by Peterson's: 

• Peterson's Testing & Education Resource Center - If you are studying for a graduate school exam, you can use the following link: https://guides.lib.fsu.edu/terc to find free graduate school prep materials and sample exams. Students should type "Test Prep" or the specific exam they are taking in the search bar, and the results will show the current resources available. Note:FSU students will still need to create an account on this site to gain free access to the graduate prep exams.
  Alternatively, FSU students can visit Strozier and/or Dirac and head to the Scholar Support Desks to have access to physical Test Prep materials such as GRE, MCAT, LSAT, etc.

Offered on LinkedIn Learning:

All current FSU students, faculty, and staff have free access to this resource, but if you have never used it before, you need to follow the quick instructions in the graphic at the bottom of the page to activate your account.

• Test Prep: GRE - (6 hours 44 minutes) The GRE is the most common graduate school entry exam and is also accepted by many business schools. In this course, full-time GRE tutor Vince Kotchian guides you through a complete preparation plan for the exam. He extensively covers the three major components of the GRE: analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. He also outlines the structure of the exam, explains how to study effectively, and provides test-taking strategies.
• Preparing for the GMAT - (6 hours 17 minutes) Prepare to take the GMAT business school entrance exam. In this course, Vince Kotchian offers an in-depth exploration of the GMAT to give you the most effective tools to maximize your score. Vince reviews all GMAT question types, offers detailed strategies, and provides tips for studying and taking the test. Learn how the exam is structured and scored and try sample questions from each of the GMAT's four sections: Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, and Writing. 

Offered by FSU: 

• Consultation Appointments - Reading-Writing Center tutors act as a practice audience for students’ ideas and writing, helping them develop their writing in many areas.
• Research Guides - These librarian-created and curated resources are a perfect starting point when researching for a paper no matter what subject area you're working within.
• Citation Guide - In this guide created by the library you will find resources for MLA, APA and Chicago styles of citation. In addition, library guides and tutorials for various citation management programs such as RefWorks, Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote Basic are available in this guide. 

Offered on LinkedIn Learning:

All current FSU students, faculty, and staff have free access to this resource, but if you have never used it before, you need to follow the quick instructions in the graphic at the bottom of the page to activate your account.

Writing & Editing

• College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay - (1 hour 56 minutes) In this course, writing instructor Leigh Ann Chow covers planning, drafting, editing, and polishing an unforgettable college essay. These lessons will not only help improve your chances of getting into a top-choice school, but also make you a better writer once you get there.
• Writing a Research Paper - (1 hour 56 minutes) Have to write a research paper? Learn tips for writing an A+ paper that will wow your professors. In this course, learn how to prepare for, and write, polished research papers by discovering how to brainstorm, select your best ideas, collect and categorize research, and write the paper, while following along with practical, real-world examples.
• Editing Mastery: How to Edit Writing to Perfection - (4 hours 41 minutes) Most editors can capably fix the spelling, grammar, punctuation, and typos in a piece of writing. It takes a different skill set to turn dry, disorganized prose into writing that is beautifully organized and bursting with life and energy. In this course, learn a powerful technique—deep editing—that can help you transform nearly any piece of nonfiction writing into magnificent, sparkling prose. 
• Editing and Proofreading Made Simple - (39 minutes) Most professionals can't afford full-time proofreaders. With some simple tips and extra attention to detail, you can edit your own writing and make sure it's as polished as possible before you hit send.
• Ninja Writing: The Four Levels of Writing Mastery - In this course, instructor Shani Raja—a former editor for the Wall Street Journal—shares tactics that can help to take you to the summit of flawless writing. Here, Shani explains how to tap into the power of the four levels—narrative, paragraphs, sentences, and words—to sharpen your writing so that it stands out from your peers.
• Writing in Plain English - (1 hour 51 minutes) Plain English is writing that is clear and straightforward, targeted at the appropriate reading level, and free of jargon, wordiness, and clichés. In this course, learn the characteristics of plain English and the importance of learning to write clearly, and introduces some online tools you can use to analyze your own writing. 
• Writing with Impact - (1 hour 1 minute) There's no such thing as generic "good" writing. Writing quality—and impact—comes from how well it fits its purpose. This course shows how to give all your writing more impact, regardless of its purpose. 
• Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer - (5 hours 8 minutes) Join Shani Raja—a former editor for the Wall Street Journal—as he shares practical techniques for making your writing sparkle. Shani dives into the mindset of an elite writer, spelling out the key principles that help great wordsmiths keep their writing purposeful, concise, and pleasurable to read. 

Grammar & Style 

• Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing - (41 minutes) With easy-to-understand examples, Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty shares ways you can instantly make your writing better, including using active voice, writing with rhythm, and using commas like a pro. She also dispels a few common grammar myths, gives pointers for breaking up run-on sentences, and much more.
• Grammar Foundations - (2 hours 11 minutes) Proper grammar improves the clarity of your writing and increases readers' confidence in your ideas. This course will help you apply the basic principles so you can avoid making the most common mistakes. Learn about the different parts of speech, possessive rules, the difference between writing vs. spelling numbers, and more. 
• Advanced Grammar - (2 hours 8 minutes) Losing confidence in an idea—even a spectacular one—is easy if it's communicated in an email or letter riddled with grammatical errors. In this course, you review basic grammar rules and then focuses on more advanced grammar principles such as using correct words, locating incorrect grammar in sentences and paragraphs, and reviewing parts of speech, punctuation, and proper sentence structure.

Other Writing Advice

• Writing Under a Deadline - (33 minutes) Writing is a creative process—but when you add a ticking clock to that process, it can send the muses into panic mode. With just a little guidance from a pro, you can learn to face project deadlines with cool confidence. 
• Learning Typing - (47 minutes) Stop the time-consuming hunting and pecking at the keyboard and learn how to type properly. In this course, you'll discover the advantages of knowing how to type, find out where your fingers should be positioned and which finger to use on each key, practice your positioning, and learn how to type for speed and accuracy.
• Writing Email - (1 hour 13 minutes) Discover the secrets to writing powerful emails your colleagues will read and answer by crafting your message and delivery. In this course, you will learn how to write emails for maximum readability and impact. Discover how to craft a compelling opening, how to message the right people at the right time, and how to leverage etiquette to use email as one of many communications tools.
• Writing Speeches - (1 hour 53 minutes) Need to give a speech and don't know where to begin? A well-written and organized speech greatly reduces the anxiety around delivery, and can help win over audiences in a way the written word just can't match. 
• Writing Articles - (29 minutes) Articles are an effective tool for communicating complex ideas and stories in a friendly, credible, and easy-to-follow way. In this course, you can learn how to write and publish an article of your own. 
• Writing a Compelling Blog Post - (44 minutes) Publishing your thoughts and ideas is easier than ever. The internet has given everyone a platform. But without engaging content and precise writing, you might not attract an audience. Discover content, structure, and style strategies that will make your blog posts irresistible and keep readers coming back for more. 
• Technical Writing: Reports - (2 hours 30 minutes) Technical reports are the cornerstone of research projects and stand-alone routine investigations. Writing reports correctly is important. Whether you are a researcher responsible for your own reports or a technical writer interpreting the work of others, this course will help you generate clear, concise, and complete technical reports. 
• Business Writing Principles - (1 hour 32 minutes) Discover the secrets to effective business writing and crafting messages that others want to read and act on. Judy Steiner-Williams, senior lecturer at Kelley School of Business, introduces you to the 10 Cs of strong business communication and provides you with before-and-after writing samples that give you the opportunity to apply each principle and sharpen your communication skills.