If you are a student, take a look at Stu.dicio.us, a new service designed for students that helps with organization and notetaking. Claimed to be a social notetaking service, Stu.dicio.us allows students to publicly save organized notes, manage a class schedule, and keep up to date with tasks using a time sensitive to do list.
I’ve seen products built specifically for students, but nothing quite like Stu.dicio.us. It’s simple, dead simple. As of now, students can organize themselves using a class schedule tool, note manager, and a to do list in an Ajax based interface with barely any clutter to be found. Students can also search other member notes, making Stu.dicio.us a social notetaking service. But what has me excited for the service are the features to come September 1st. Stu.dicio.us says to expect a grade manager to record test and quiz grades, a 1gb file manager to save documents and school related material, and Wikipedia integration for class notes. It is also said that they will be making the service more social with the adding of “friends” and a voting system for public notes. Makes me wish I didn’t graduate from college already so I can really put Stu.dicio.us to the test!
The schedule tool allows you to add classes to your account with basic information including class name, teacher, and the dates and times that you have the class. Once you have atleast one class added to your schedule, you can start adding to your todo list and notes manager for that class. The “Todos” area is a very basic to do list allowing you to add time specific tasks for things like project deadlines and the notes manager has, in my opinion, a very well done notetaking editor.
The Stu.dicio.us notetaking editor is one of the best notetaking tools I’ve used online. Too often I signup to notetaking services only to find a big textarea or WYSIWYG editor that makes taking notes unorganized. Stu.dicio.us is different. It doesn’t have many features like some notetaking tools out there, but it’s very fast, easy to use, and organized. You can even write a complete page of notes without ever taking your hands away from the keyboard. When taking notes for school, I learned to take fast notes writing structured lists on a subject and drilling deeper in each item of the list when needed, like an outline for an essay. Stu.dicio.us uses the same approach by allowing users save their notes in an outline type format along with any text formatting when needed (including Textile support). Notes are saved as the student types and when complete the note can be searched and downloaded as an HTML or Word Document.
One thing that bugged me with the site though was content. As far as I know, two people are involved in the development of Stu.dicio.us (Winton Welsh and Meredith Toher) and not much else can be learned by visiting the website. This is one problem that Sam Davyson picked up that I have to agree with. When first visiting Stu.dicio.us, I had no idea what the service was about (except for the hint in the name) or how the service could be of benefit to me. I couldn’t even find method of contact. My advice is that if you want to be taking seriously as an educational product, provide atleast an about section, maybe some legal print being its a social service sharing student notes, and a method of contact.
Overall, I like the direction of Stu.dicio.us and feel that it has great potential. It is clear that Stu.dicio.us knows what students want and the simplicity in the service makes it a joy to use. The hard part, I imagine, would be to get the service out to the not so “geeky” students ;-).
(Via eHub)
How does it line up to http://www.mynoteit.com/ ? I’m interested in your take on that. ^_^
August 8th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Make the weird domain names stop!!! Ahhhh!!!!
Seriously though, why do companies do this? It’s next to impossible for people to remember where all the periods go.
August 8th, 2006 at 9:32 am
Cool find Brian. I could see my daughter using this as she is starting junior high this year.
August 8th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Jojoface –
Thanks for mentioning mynoteIT. I had forgotten about the service and was trying to find it when I was working on the post. So, here are my thoughts on mynoteIT.
I feel that it has great features that any student would need, but they just aren’t presented all that well. To me, an overview page is extremely important and it should be the first page I see. An overview page would need to show me recent activity and how I am doing in school. mynoteIT has a homepage, but it doesn’t really tell you much. I would like to see a list of upcoming assignments, passed assignments, and easy access to all classes without leaving the main page (maybe in the form of a drop-down list). Also, if you are in a group, it would be nice to see some information about it as well.
I also feel the interface is a little confusing/cluttered and feel more intimidated signing into it then I do Stu.dicio.us, but that could just be me.
One thing though about your bringing up mynoteIT is it made me realized how many features it has. I was unaware of its grade tracker and user groups. I’ll be taking a better look at it tonight.
If Stu.dicio.us gets through their feature list which they have planned for release in September, the two services would be very comparable in terms of usefulness to a student. As of now, mynoteIT has Stud.icio.us beat, but a month from now, my opinion may change.
August 8th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Josh – Haha, tell me about it! I had to double check my spelling of the name every time I typed it. It’s getting to the point of typing del.icio.us now though where I don’t even have to think about it ;-). But yeah, you’re right. Companies using names such as this are starting to drive us all insane, haha.
Dennis – Good to hear. I find Stu.dicio.us to be one of the simplest systems I’ve used for notetaking and with the new features coming, it seems like a keeper to me. Hope it works out well. Let me know!
August 8th, 2006 at 10:16 am
??????2.0???????? » Archives » stu.dicio.us??????? says:
[...] ????stu.dicio.us?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????[ via Solution Watch ] [...]
August 8th, 2006 at 11:56 am
Thank you for your comments about our service. We have a lot planned for the future, so I hope you all will stick around.
Right now we are technically in beta, so much apologies for the lack of introduction. I invite you all to read more about our plans at http://blog.dicio.us/articles/2006/08/06/stu-dicio-us-fall-re-launch
As always we want to hear your opinions, please e-mail us at contact@stu.dicio.us .
August 8th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
EduGenic» Blog Archive » stu.dicio.us says:
[...] A note sharing, schedule and to do lists tool web service. SolutionWatch has a review for this service. What is unique is that it is a service dedicated to students from the start. stu.dicio.us Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
August 8th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
I would recommend you review http://www.mynoteIT.com like JOJOFACE said, mynoteIT blows stu.dicio.us away. Its got hundreds of more features, a GREAT WYSIWYG editor and tons more. Maybe even to a comparison article so students can decide which is more benificial to them.
August 9th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Lots of traffic says:
[...] We would also like to thank Lifehacker and Solution Watch. [...]
August 9th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
i really like where studicious is going, but it doesn’t work on safari :( so its a no for me
August 9th, 2006 at 6:32 pm
What I Learned Today… » Blog Archive » Social Notetaking says:
[...] I just read about Stu.dicio.us on Solution Watch. Claimed to be a social notetaking service, Stu.dicio.us allows students to publicly save organized notes, manage a class schedule, and keep up to date with tasks using a time sensitive to do list. [...]
August 10th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Social Intelligence » Blog Archive » Stu.dicio.us - social notes for students - Social Networking Watch List and Analysis says:
[...] (via SolutionWatch) Posted by justin.smith Filed in college, bookmarking, academic [...]
August 20th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
I don’t see the value in making it a social application. Just build a solid app. that is actually useful to people and then leave it alone. Innovating a new market that should not exist in the first place is not innovating at all.
I agree with the comments on the name. So they have been deceived by two Web 2.0 lies. Use a funky dot-dot-dot name and add social networking to anything.
September 2nd, 2006 at 3:16 am
stu.dicio.us | Mentiras Piadosas says:
[...] Vía Solution Watch [...]
October 6th, 2006 at 4:18 am
Did you Know? » Blog Archive » Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 1 says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
October 28th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
ANDREAS’ BLOG OF JUST EVERYTHING » Blog Archive » Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 1 says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
October 31st, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Wu Di’s Myth » Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: Part 1 (2 thumbs up!) says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
November 24th, 2006 at 9:26 am
?????? » ?????web2.0???????? says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Stu.dicio.us???????????????????Stu.dico.us?????Facebook???????Stu.dicio.us? [...]
December 9th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
tip-wm.net » Blog Archive » Sharing Notes and Class Content says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us – Social Notetaking for Students [...]
December 12th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
web live :: Back to School with the Class of Web2.0: Part 1 :: January :: 2007 says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
January 13th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
windstable - » ?????web2.0???????? says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Stu.dicio.us???????????????????Stu.dico.us?????Facebook???????Stu.dicio.us? [...]
January 27th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Bloc de blocs - Ús dels blocs en Educació Superior / Stu.dicio.us y Personal Learning Environments says:
[...] Como comenta Brian Benzinger, de momento uno de los puntos débiles es la información que muestra en la portada de la página, que no explica muy bien en que consiste o cómo funciona. Aunque aquí el uso de Facebook no sea tan popular como en otros países, y por lo tanto la potencialidad de esta herramienta quede limitada, habrá que seguir su evolución y analizar sus posibilidades. [...]
July 11th, 2007 at 4:02 am
TIP Community » Sharing Notes and Class Content says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us – Social Notetaking for Students [...]
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Back to the School with the Classes 2.0 « Dani3lella’s Weblog says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Back to School with the class of Web 2.0 « Jess’ Weblog says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
September 19th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
I can’t see how to get started using stu.dicio.us! There is no indication on the main page, once I am logged, in as to what to do next! I like the sound of your review and can see a place for this with my students. Am I so dumb or is this not user-friendly? Please advise…I believe we should be using web.2 tools where they serve a sound purpose and this has huge potential.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
That website seems to be down. i did come across a different cool college note taking website: http://www.sharenotes.com. Right now they are giving away 10 free 16 gig ipod touch .I signed up in less then a minute and have already uploaded most of my old notes/exams, hopefully i get one of those ipods!
February 14th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Daniel Neamu Blog » Stu.dicio.us - Web 2.0 for Students says:
[...] Via SolutionWatch October 5, 2006 | In web20 | [...]
May 8th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Web 2.0 resources in Education | New Technologies and 6th Forms says:
[...] Stu.dicio.us: Student organizer and social notetaking tool where students can create a schedule, track their grades, manage a to do list, store files for classes, and write public notes in an outline-like format. Stu.dicio.us also allows students to connect with friends and soon will include Facebook integration. More on Stu.dicio.us. [...]
June 8th, 2008 at 3:31 pm