Nerdify Reviews: 3 Best Recipes for a Movie Night from Nerds

The mission of Nerdify has always been helping students to achieve more during their academic years at College or University. However, apart from helping students from all over the world, Nerdify is pioneering a new way to advance education through technology (Nerdy Bot Scholarship Competition is a great example of that).

On September 6th, 2016 Nerdify has launched one of the first AI educational bot for Facebook Messenger on ProductHunt – NerdyBot. The launch was a massive success – NerdyBot became a product of the year and won a Golden Kitty from ProductHunt.

We’ve decided to expand our success with Nerdybot and, on January 1st, 2018, launched a Nerdybot Scholarship – a worldwide competition, where any student could submit a 500-word essay on the following topic – “How can Artificial Intelligence help you with your studies?”

Students had 2 months to submit their essays (last day was on February 28th, 2018) and top 3 essays would get the following rewards – $1000, $600, $400 respectively.

We’ve been amazed by the number of essays we’ve got from you, guys! More than 1000 submissions from all over the world (and we mean literally from all over the world, just check out the countries we’ve had submissions from USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, Australia, South Korea, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Hungary, Uganda, Nigeria, India, Philippines, Romania, Ghana, Barbados, Netherlands, Vietnam)

We are so very grateful to each and every one of you. Seeing that level of participation, is really what keeps Nerdify team pushing the boundaries of education 🙂

Today we are going to announce the winners of the Nerdy Bot Scholarship Competition! 🙂

And the winners are……

First Place: Dora M. Donnelly (USA).

Second Place: Marisa Araujo Goncalves (Brazil).

Third Place: Zeeshan Azhar Sankaran (India).

We would like to congratulate our winners that have done an amazing job and we would also like to share with you our winner’s essay: “Nerdy Bot Scholarship Essay by Dora M. Donnelly”

A few words about our winner: Dora is a Bachelor student in US pursuing a Nursing degree. We’ve conducted a very short interview with the winner:

1. Dora, tell us 2-3 interesting facts about yourself?

• I am an avid traveler – love visiting other countries and studying different cultures
• I love technology – it’s amazing to me, how it keeps on changing the lives of ordinary people
• I am a foodie, so I love cooking and trying different cuisines 🙂

1. What is your dream?

• My dream is to become a Nurse and later on open up my own practice. I really love helping other people, this is what makes me wake up every morning 🙂

1. Where will you spend $1000 scholarship?

• I strongly believe that education is an essential part of a one’s personal development. Therefore I will allocate my prize money towards my sister’s education. She is only 12 now, but it’s important to start saving up as early as possible, since education is very expensive in the US (I am looking forward to see how tech companies will disrupt the conventional education industry by offering affordable, good quality education to the mass market).

We were very impressed by Dora, such an inspiring student 🙂

We would like to congratulate all participants and thank them for taking part in our Nerdy Bot Scholarship competition. All winners should receive their winnings within the next 5 business days.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and stay tuned! There will be more challenges and competitions that you can participate in, later this year!

Studying abroad can be one of the most enriching experiences a college student has during their undergraduate studies. Many students who can financially afford to take a program abroad still refrain from doing so because of the logistical issues that come with being away for an entire semester. Many of the difficulties that come with organizing a foreign study program are alleviated by taking shorter international courses over the summer. Our Nerdify reviews experts explain below why studying abroad during the summer is an excellent option for broadening your educational horizons.

1. Condensed Learning

Unlike spending three or four months on each semester course, classes offered during study abroad trips typically only last about a month. While this means spending more than the typical three hours a week in each class, this concentrated form of learning is advantageous. It allows students to be even more engaged in the subject of their classes. Additionally, because study abroad classes are usually tailored to the host country, students are more immersed in the local culture.

2. Easier to Accommodate

With summer study abroad programs only taking about one month instead of three or four months like during a typical semester, organizing a summer trip is so much easier. You wouldn’t have to worry about finding a subleaser for your apartment or moving dormitories, suspending or paying for unused campus amenities, looking for long-term care for any pets, etc. Studying during the summer allows you to enjoy your trip without having the added stress of rearranging your life before and after the program.

3. Frees up Semester Schedules

Our Nerdify review experts note that students studying abroad typically only take programs related to their major. While this can be helpful for taking care of your specialized requirements, upper-level students who still have other requirements outside of their major—like general education, minor, or second major credits—might have difficulty completing those credits if they spend an entire semester abroad. By instead studying during May, June, or July, students get to finish a good chunk of major credits while also freeing up the remainder of their semesters on campus to complete those pesky general education requirements.

4. You Don’t Lose Time on Campus

Especially for upperclassmen in their final year or two of college, many Reddit users report that it is daunting to dwell on the fact that they only have a few semesters left before graduation. Many students want to make the most of the end of their college career—solidifying friendships, taking interesting classes, pursuing internships, and generally having fun. The idea of taking away a whole semester from the life you’ve lived for the last three-or-so years to go study abroad might not seem worthwhile. In doing an international program during the summer, you wouldn’t miss out on the experiences fall and spring semesters bring—and you’d actually extend the amount of time you spend with your college community.

5. Don’t Get Homesick as Easily

While many students are accustomed to not seeing their parents during the semester, and not seeing friends during vacation breaks, not being able to be with either group of people for an extended time is quite the adjustment, say users on Reddit. Additionally, it can be challenging to talk to those back home if they study in a country with a vastly different time zone, as it can be difficult to organize a call when their loved ones are free. That’s not to mention that if you study in a remote area, the wifi reception might not be reliable or strong enough to video chat with loved ones, say our Nerdify reviews experts. Studying during the summer eases those feelings of homesickness, as you’d only be without your friends, families, significant others, and pets for a month or so.

6. The Experience Stays Novel

People usually get accustomed to their new surroundings surprisingly quickly, which users on Reddit say happens quite often while studying abroad for a semester. By taking classes internationally for only a month or so, our Nerdify reviews experts say that it keeps the experience of being in a new place fresh and exciting. With only a month to experience all of the cultural wealth a country has to offer, summer students are much more inclined to go adventuring than semester students that might lounge around more often. Students leaving their summer-term countries often feel mixed emotions—ready to go home, but also missing the new country they’ve gotten to know. Though bittersweet, this is a much better feeling than being ready to go home weeks before your departure date, like some semester-abroad users on Reddit reported they felt.

One thing that can be said with a high degree of credibility is that remote learning has decreased our physical activity as we are not running through the college halls and do not have to walk through the campus. According to our experts at Nerdify reviews, the list of daily tasks related to remote learning became even more lengthy as students are forced to wait for online sessions and turn their bedrooms into learning environments. It also involves trying to tune up one’s laptop and getting rid of all the distractions related to social media that are inevitable as we are waiting to learn. Unfortunately, it makes us less mobile as we forget about basic exercising.

Here are 7 ways to keep yourself fit as you are learning remotely:

Stretching Your Muscles

The athletes at Nerdify reviews claim that exercises do not have to be exhausting. Even if you do not have an opportunity to visit the gym, think about sitting arm stretching, which will help your arms and abdominal muscles. All you have to do is sit at the edge of your chair or bed and then stretch your arms out. Your back must be straight! The same relates to wide arm stretching, which only differs by stretching your arms sideways in front of you. Doing so 15-20 times will help you to keep the pressure away from your shoulders and your back.

Following Office Gymnastics

The most popular exercise for those who have to work at the desk, be it office or college studies, is chair squats. It helps to train your lower back and legs. The trick is to stand in front of your chair and squat down until your bottom is somewhere above your chair’s seat. If it sounds too challenging and you have no time to get up but only have a minute, do the shoulder shrugs. Move your shoulders up as if you are unsure about something. It helps to relax your upper back. Once you have a break between the lessons, do a seated leg raise which means lifting your legs at about a 90-degree angle. Keep your legs up for 15 seconds! It will help to train your abdominal muscles.

Taking Walks Outside

Remember about taking short walks outside just to clear your head and get away from the studies once in a while. According to psychologists, your brain has to see a different image to function correctly. Our experts at Nerdify reviews recommend taking short walks or spending time at the balcony if you have one to get an inflow of fresh air and scenery that will differ compared to your laptop screen. It is a mental relaxation effect that helps to get over the stress and assists with cognitive functions like memory span and focus.

Keeping Your Environment Tidy

If you hate doing any physical exercises, Nerdify reviews recommend taking time to change something in your room or do some cleaning to keep things tidy. The trick here is to keep yourself active by moving stuff around! You may not even realize it but you will activate the same muscles to keep yourself fit. It will also make you feel better about learning in a more accurate environment, which helps when you have to fight various distractions or deal with the planning.

Yoga & Meditation

Don’t forget about the mental side of things because remote learning with all the Zoom hiccups and connection breakdowns can be irritating. Think about yoga exercises and learn how to meditate. It doesn’t have to be overly complex or draining. Just start with the simple yoga positions and learn how to listen to your inner being. Sit with your eyes closed and count to ten, then change position and think about the most positive things you can. It is a relaxing experience you won’t regret!

Breathing Gymnastics

If you are unfamiliar with any breathing techniques, consider looking up the 4-7-8 breathing method that helps to overcome anxiety. In simple terms, it helps to relax your body and brain as you breathe in for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and finally exhale for 8 seconds. According to healthcare specialists, it also helps fix your irregular sleep patterns during remote learning sessions.

Intellectual Games

As you keep your body fit with all the physical exercises, let us not leave the brain out of this equation. Consider turning to intellectual games like quizzes or joint projects with other students online. Organize interesting competitions and play simple trivia games. It will help you to activate brain connections during the breaks and still keep you in the “learning mode”. Most importantly, it takes away the fear when there is an online exam coming up by engaging your creative thinking skills.