Unlike the regular college hall lectures and the usual high school studies, online learning has introduced several restrictions of having to wait for your scheduled time online, which often means that your online learning session may start 20-30 minutes later than it has been planned. Add some technical glitches here and there and you are left with some free time in front of your laptop. The geeky types at the Nerdify reviews decided to add some fun and come up with a list of quick online games that could keep you busy as you wait for the college professor to finally get online.

1. Celeste. It is a great arcade game that will help you to keep your brain and cognitive functions more active than ever. It revolves around the female character called Madeline who is set on a journey or a mission. You will encounter different climbing experiences, spooky creatures, and lots of fun. The best part about it is that you can keep things creative and focus on various challenges. It is not a boring game that will keep you attentive and will help your brain to switch to a different activity. Our Nerdify reviews’ game aficionados really praise this cute arcade game!

2. Little Alchemy. This game is quite interesting because it is not an easy one to play. It progresses from being easy to challenging. It includes various tasks that include dealing with the basic elements that we all know well. Nerdify reviews would like to remind you that we talk about water, air, wind, and the earth. Seriously though, you have about 560 various options that will help you create something out of the ordinary. A great game that will keep you busy for hours or keep things fun when you are too excited while waiting for the lessons to start.

3. Duet. It is one of those great video game releases that are easy to miss, yet our dedicated team at the Nerdify reviews has good games in the store that they are happily sharing with you. It has it all – amazing graphics, a beautiful trance music soundtrack that will keep you relaxed, numerous game levels, and a plethora of interaction. As a player, you have various obstacles to settle down and it will help you to make progress. Alternatively, you can play online with a friend. What you have to do is control two vessels and keep things in balance. A great soundtrack is simply exceptional!

4. Escape the Room. This game might frighten you, yet it is the game that will help you to finally find some peace as you sit at home and miss college times. It is an opportunity to get rid of stress and finally think about something good. This game is also known as “The Experiment” because it is a true virtual reality experience that acts as a puzzle that you must solve on your own or together with an online friend. You must escape the room within 60 minutes by finding the key. Of course, you can do it much faster (if you will) and continue with your studies!

5. Stardew Valley. Have you ever thought about making your Minecraft experience even more interesting as a kid? Well, it seems that some people have thought about it and came up with similar graphics and not much that a person must do except surviving on a plot of land. It is a great game when you need to take a break. If you have played the Animal Crossing game before, you might already know what it feels like. You have to build a strategy to survive and find various ideas as you live the life of a virtual farmer. As it helps to switch your brain off the textbooks, this game is a keeper on our list.

6. Melody’s Escape. What about flying your Mario kart while listening to the best music and racing high through the different obstacles while generating synchronized movements according to the music that plays. It is one of the best solutions when you need a good break. In practice, you can run, jump, or slide according to the music you have in your playlist. It is one of those games that can capture you entirely as it is something that you control! Have fun listening!

7. Portal 2. It is the game for those college students who do not mind challenging themselves with some calculation and hard-logic thinking. You must be in a problem-solving mindset as you start playing. It is a very popular puzzle-platform game that has much more to it. It is dynamic and contains unexpected twists. Without giving too much away, we recommend that you check it out to see why it is so popular among college students.

It’s been a hell of a year for Nerdify. We’ve helped a record number of students this year and we’ve doubled in size (hooray!). But the New Year is on the horizon… Which brings us to the question of how we can celebrate it? Certainly, most of us will be celebrating it with our friends and family, but what if you want to do something special this year?
We’ve created a list of five creative ways how you can celebrate this New Year, check it out, maybe there’s something in this list that you may wanna try 😉

1. Visit real Santa

That means going to Finland. Yes, that’s not exactly a half an hour ride from your house, but bear with me, there are lots of awesome things you can do once you get there.

Finland has a fantastic national travel-website that has already collected all the main adventures Finland is famous about:

* You can go on a husky ride through the snowy forest (one of our Nerds actually did that – said it’s super cold, so make sure you bring warm clothes and some vodka with you. You gonna need it).
* You can check out beautiful auroras in the night sky (those are free of charge, thank you solar winds, yay!)
* You can go Gold panning (this is a perfect activity for kids – they get to collect their own GOLD, how cool is that?!).
* Cruise on an Icebreaker (and see real polar bears on little icebergs, oh… so cute 🙂
* And, obviously – see the real Santa Claus (that’s what New Year is all about, right?)
And much more actually. In Finland, you truly feel special during the New Year. You indeed think that miracles can happen during this special night, it’s absolutely magical.

2. Celebrate New Year following traditions from another country.

Just a few examples for you, of the crazy shenanigans people do across the world during the New Years Eve:

* In Burma people splash buckets of water on each other to “start New Year with a clean soul”. They certainly can do that in Burma, because it is quite hot during the New Year. I suspect that wouldn’t really work somewhere in Canada, now would it? 😉
* In Russia, people write their wishes on a piece of paper, then set it on fire in a glass. When only ashes remain – they pour champagne into the glass and drink it “bottoms up” before midnight. That way your wish will come true in the following year. For additional tips on how to “Party Like a Russian” we suggest you check out the Robbie Williams video-guide.
* In Italy, Argentina and Bolivia it is a common tradition to wear colorful underwear. It is believed that it will bring luck, love and prosperity to the one who’s wearing either red, pink or yellow underwear 🙂 What can we say, those folks are definitely not boring 🙂
* In South Africa and Peru, people tend to get more violent. In Johannesburg, South Africa, it is common to throw old appliances out of the window. That way locals “step into the new year leaving old things behind”. While in Peru it is common to have a fist fight with a person you have a grudge on. That way you can “wipe the slate clean” before the New Year.

Just make sure none of these local traditions get you in jail. As far as we can tell, no country has a tradition celebrating New Year’s Eve in jail 🙂

3. Be real Santa Claus.

Why not create some miracles yourself? You can be the master of the night by putting on a Santa Claus costume and grabbing a red bag full of goodies. Better still – gather a group of like-minded crazy people who will do a flash mob of Santas in the center of the city. You can build a huge snowman and give away presents and sweets to passers-by or baking a cookie that’s gonna crush the Guinness world record. Let your imagination go wild!

4. Outdoors

Being outdoors on the New Year’s Eve is also exciting. Imagine skiing in the mountains during the night.. Isn’t it magical? Alternatively, you can go full bananas and go camping in the forest. Greeting the New Year under the stars with a glass of champagne and a loved one. Romantic… but also quite chilly so make sure you have a heating pad with you or something. Getting a cold is not part of the plan here!

5. Do some charity-work

New Year is also a great time to think about those who are less fortunate than we are. What kind of a miracle would it be, if you could dress as a Santa and visit a local orphanage and give presents or sweets to the ones in need. Donate to the homeless shelter. Or visit a local animal shelter and adopt a puppy.

Remember, New Year is the time of miracles. It’s the only time when the whole world is celebrating, so why not do something special this time? 😉

Nerdify will be back with you next year to continue doing what it does best – helping students achieve their academic goals all across the world. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you!

We are proud to showcase the essay that won the Nerdy Bot Scholarship Competition.

Essay by Dora M. Donnelly

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in our new millennia. The way we live and work has changed because of the ease of access that is at our fingertips for advanced AI systems. The work in my studies has been no exception to this. I find that typing information into a search engine that rifles through decades of posted material is much easier than having to search a library that is limited.

The most relevant description of Artificial Intelligence is that it makes everything easier. When I am working on an assignment for a class, I have the ability to search the world’s largest database by typing it into my phone, which also implements Artificial Intelligence. It then enters into a search engine that processes my search and then brings the information to me. From that point, I study and apply what I have learned, but not without citing my research through a citation website that uses Artificial Intelligence to automate a well-written citation or bibliography based upon the keywords I entered. Finally, through submitting my assignment, my teacher or professor is able to run it through another programmed service, powered by Artificial Intelligence, that checks for plagiarism so that he or she may know that my work was done without compromise.

I have seen the use of Artificial Intelligence over the last few years advance and I am impressed by the work that can be done through it. We already use it every day for so many things that we do not realize we use it for. Computers and laptops that we use for our work are full of Artificial Intelligence. Whether it is the colors and image displayed on the screen or the input of the keyboard that works just as well as if we labored over those words with ink, any computerized system services its user through Artificial Intelligence.

Also, there is software that students, including myself, have used over the years to contribute to their learning experience. Even elementary schools are using programs that children study and practice skills through Artificial Intelligence. It provides a new way for students to exercise their mind through an updated practice.

An additional way I have benefited from Artificial Intelligence has been online tutoring. There is a database of classes, some of which don’t have a human teacher, that can tutor certain subjects online. I have used this before to grow in my writing skills. It functions by giving the student subjects and when they are done writing them it evaluates automatically the writing skill and level of performance by the student.

In summary, there are many uses of AI in the classroom and to assist with studies. Education in the future will likely rely much more on Artificial Intelligence to promote learning. Through my experience, they all seem to be improving the way we live and learn. Undoubtedly, we will see the use of Artificial Intelligence grow to be even more comprehensive and functional.