how to make assignments on laptop

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Forums Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Study Skills

How to Use a Laptop Effectively As a Student

Last Updated: October 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Amy Bobinger, BA . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 355,433 times.

A laptop can be a great tool for helping you in your studies. Being able to type up your notes and papers makes writing and editing easier, and it can help keep you organized. In addition, accessing the Internet puts you in touch with a world of information that can help you understand any subject. However, being on your laptop can leave you vulnerable to distractions, both in the classroom and at home, so it's important to be mindful of how you use this technology.

Things You Should Know

• Follow the guidelines for laptops in class placed by your teacher or school.
• Be aware of your classmates and make sure your laptop isn't causing an interruption or being a distraction.
• Retype your notes so you can organize them better or make them easier to read.

Best Strategies For Using a Laptop In Class

• You can also include questions that you might have. Then, when you're studying, you can try to find the answer to those questions in your notes or textbook.

• Even if it only takes a second to close a notification, it could cause you to miss something important that your teacher says.
• You can also use airplane mode to disable your internet completely while you're in class.

• For instance, you might install an extension on your web browser that blocks you from going to certain websites during school hours or while you're studying, or that limits how many hours you can use those sites during the day.

• Consider sitting toward the back of the class if laptops aren't commonly used by the students in your course. That way, anyone who might be distracted by it is free to sit ahead of you where they can't see the screen.

• This will also help protect your laptop from being damaged in your backpack or during class.

• For instance, you may not be allowed to have your laptop open during lectures, or you may only be permitted to access specific programs or websites. You may also only be allowed to bring your laptop on certain days.
• In some cases, these policies may be set by the school, rather than by an individual teacher.

Tip: If your teacher asks you to install a specific software for their course, do that before class starts if possible.

Working out of Class

• For instance, you might use scholarly search engines like Google Scholar, LexisNexis, or JSTOR. These have already vetted their sources to ensure they're credible and authoritative.
• You can typically rely on websites with the extension .gov, since these are run by government institutions. Most .edu sources are also credible since these are hosted on school websites. However, students may sometimes have access to post on these sites, so evaluate these sources critically.
• Sources from credible institutions like the Mayo Clinic or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reputable. However, avoid sources with an obvious bias, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as their information may be skewed to fit their agenda.

• Save your notes in separate folders for each class. For instance, you might have a folder for English, one for History, and one for Biology. You can even have subfolders for different chapters if you prefer.
• If there's anything in your notes that doesn't quite make sense, you'll know you need to focus on this area as you study.

Tip: Typing up your notes helps protect you against losing all your work if you accidentally misplace your school notebook or binder.

• Typing your papers is also helpful for editing since it allows you to easily make changes without having to start all over.

• You can also download your own apps to learn more about a subject. For instance, if you're taking Spanish, you might use software like Rosetta Stone to help you learn the language.

• You can also use apps like Google Hangouts or Skype to form study groups with your fellow students!

Community Q&A

• Never open files or programs that you don't recognize. They could contain viruses that will damage your laptop. Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
• ↑ https://www.masterstudies.com/article/five-ways-to-make-the-most-of-your-laptop-as-a-student/
• ↑ https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/missing-manual/high-school/top-10-best-productivity-apps-students
• ↑ https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/technology-and-student-distraction
• ↑ https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/reliable
• ↑ https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/Assets/Articles/10-best-apps-for-students
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/help-obstacles.html

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Jun 17, 2016

Is this article up to date?

Jun 6, 2016

Ashish Chandra

May 23, 2017

Bony Amin Foysal

Jan 2, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help:

Tech troubles got you down? We've got the tips you need

How to Submit Assignments using a Computer Desktop or Laptop

The following instructions may not apply perfectly to your device depending on the version you have. If you have further questions, reach out to those who live near you for assistance, or you can search the internet for instructions on your specific device. Here is a video version of these instructions if you prefer "Using the Free Microsoft 365 to Complete Assignments"

Inside of Canvas, click on the link to download an assignment template.

Sign-in to your free Microsoft 365 account at https://www.outlook.com , then click on the waffle icon and select “OneDrive.”

Create or locate the desired file folder. Click to enter the desired folder.

Click “Upload” then “Files”.

Find the correct file on your computer. Select it, then click “Open”.

The file now appears in your One Drive folder. Click on the icon to open the file.

The file will open in Microsoft Word using the same internet browser that you used to open Microsoft OneDrive. Work on the assignment. Microsoft Word will automatically save your changes to OneDrive.

Once you are finished with the assignment and you are ready to upload it to Canvas, go to One Drive. In OneDrive, select the file, then click “Download.” This will download the completed file to your computer.

In Canvas, click “Start Assignment”.

In the File Upload tab, click “Choose File” Find the correct file (the one you just downloaded from OneDrive). Submit that file.