Back up everything, today
More students lose points to a dead laptop than to a hard exam. Keep 3 copies, on 2 kinds of storage, with 1 somewhere else. Your future self at 2 a.m. will thank you.
For new Cougars · FST 101
Start college ready.
A kit of entirely free tools that will make you a better student — on their own, or working alongside the Microsoft Copilot and GitHub Copilot assistants you already get as an SIUE student.
It is major-agnostic — useful whether you are studying mass communications, nursing, engineering, or anything else — and it is organized to move with you through the eight weeks of your FST 101 first-year seminar. No credit card, no trials, no catch.
Before any app
Four habits that matter most.
Use AI honestly
AI is a real study partner — and an easy way to accidentally cheat. Follow each syllabus, disclose when you use it, and verify everything: it invents citations and gets math wrong.
Keep private things private
Cloud AI sends your words to a company. Never paste grades, IDs, or health info into it. When you need AI on sensitive material, run it locally on your own laptop instead.
Free is not lesser
These are the same tools researchers and working professionals use every day. You do not need to pay for software to do excellent work in college.
Your FST 101 semester
Eight weeks, eight setups.
Each week of FST 101 pairs with a small, concrete setup you can finish in an afternoon. Do them in order and by week eight you will have a complete, free system for the rest of your degree.
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Week 1
Introduction
Get your digital life ready for college. Claim the free accounts you already have, set up a password manager, and get comfortable moving around Blackboard.
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Week 2
Reading, Notetaking & Time Management
Build a system to capture readings and lectures — and never miss a deadline. Pick a notes app, mark up your PDFs, and put every due date in one calendar.
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Week 3
Effective Study Skills
Study smarter, not longer. Use spaced-repetition flashcards for what you need to memorize, and let a private AI quiz you over your own notes.
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Week 4
Get Involved & Build Connections
Find your one thing. Use free tools to explore involvement, start a portfolio, and claim the GitHub Student Developer Pack. A research lab like AURA is one place to plug in.
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Week 5
Cougar Collaboration: Belonging through Inclusive Community
Do great group work and make it reach everyone. Collaborate in shared documents, sketch ideas together, and caption your media so no one is left out.
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Week 6
Personality, Major & Career — Defining Your Why
Explore who you are and where you are headed. Build a résumé and a portfolio, and try the production tools a communications career actually runs on.
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Week 7
Advising, the SIUE Curriculum & Finding Your Path
Own your plan. Keep your advising notes, map your degree and the Lincoln Program requirements, and track your path from one semester to the next.
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Week 8
Visioning Success — This Semester and Beyond
Make it last. Lock in automatic backups, tidy your systems, and carry these habits — and your rights and responsibilities as a student — into the rest of your degree.
Everything in one place
The full toolkit.
Nine categories, three dozen free tools — writing, notes, study, research, AI, media, coding, organization, and security. Each one explains what it does and why it helps, with Windows and Mac options.
You are not on your own
Find your people.
Getting involved is the surest predictor of a good first year. The AURA Lab studies how people communicate through streams, virtual worlds, and social platforms — and it works with undergraduates from any background and no prior experience. If any of this sparked something, that is a good enough reason to say hello.
aleith@siue.edu → How to get involved with the lab → SIUE Mass Communications →