11 Ways to Get Free Content During the Pandemic
While the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the U.S., companies have worked to provide students with free platforms to keep up with school work, while also saving them from boredom in the process.
Have you been stuck inside your house, home from college, attempting to deal with this downtime you never thought you’d have? Well, you’re in luck. COVID-19’s rapid spread across the United States has not only forced everyone to begin learning from home, but provided an opportunity for you to flourish.
Whether you have time on your hands for a new digital project, or you’re having trouble editing that video for your class, companies are handing you the tools to a more educated lifestyle for free – and yes, that is true.
Adobe, to name one, has offered their Creative Suite to you for free until May 31. If you check your email and search for John Reina, SUNY New Paltz Chief Information Officer, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to setting up your personal suite on your laptop. Don’t have a laptop? Well, you shouldn’t fret, as Adobe has also created certain apps to work on mobile devices – you can find that list here.
A recent study of 4,000 undergrads found that the more time and focused attention they have while online, the more superior their academic success. Overall, the more time a student would spend engaging with the Internet during their respective courses, the better their grades would be.
The upheaval of your life, as for many others, has been heart-wrenching, difficult and chaotic – you’re not alone.
“For me, a lot of my classes could transition somewhat seamlessly to online and could even be taught as such off the bat, but in reality, the process hasn’t been such a walk in the park,” said fourth-year creative writing major Mahnoor Ali. “For one of my classes I actually have a bit more work now added to the whole syllabus than I had in the beginning of this semester and I think that is just insane.”
Our digital age causes distraction, especially in distance learning, because social media is running rampant at our fingertips. 13 SUNY New Paltz students were surveyed, and their answers are not surprising to anyone who is working on their online presence. After selecting any app from TikTok to Tinder that takes up the most of their time, 12 chose Instagram and Snapchat, eight chose Facebook, seven picked TikTok and GroupMe, four chose Pinterest and only two picked Reddit and Tinder.
They also offered their daily average screen times (as recorded on their iPhone), with 7.7% using theirs for only 0-3 hours, 76.9% for 4-7 hours and 15.4% for seven or more hours. This data is clear, as students are spending most of their days at home on their phones as compared to when learning on campus.
While this time of uncertainty seems to have no end, and the light is just beginning to brighten at the end of the tunnel, try to focus and utilize your time. Different digital platforms have opened their usual gatekeeping to students and educators in order to give the most wholesome education online, you should grab onto the opportunity.
Check out just a few of your options:
Have you ever actually asked a librarian a question? It’s simpler than you think.
According to librarian Valerie Mittenberg, there has been digital access to the Sojourner Truth Library (STL) on SUNY New Paltz’s campus for almost 10 years, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, students are just starting to stumble across the different services they offer.
One aspect of the library’s online assistance is a 24/7 virtual chat, where you fill out your name (an optional category), email address, your place in the university (if you are staff, alumni or current student) and your question. Interestingly enough, STL has librarians available 9-5, but if you need help after hours, you are in luck. “After hours it goes out to the National Co-Op,” Mittenberg explained, where librarians from across the U.S., as well as from English speaking countries around the globe, such as Australia or England, are available to help you. “We did participate in this for a long time, but I think it was just a service that didn’t receive as much attention.”
Two months of free cable? Unheard of.
You might also be worried about connecting to the web, but Spectrum Cable is here to help. Fortunately, Spectrum is offering free internet access and WiFi to new customers for 60 days. Although the term “free” has a nice ring to it, this discount is only applied as a credit for your first two months with Spectrum, so be sure to set a reminder to steer clear of any surprises, as you’re billed as soon as the 60 days are up unless you call Spectrum to cancel.
Are you up for the challenge?
As you now know, Adobe’s Creative Suite is free, but they have also offered different tutorials as ways to stay connected. If you want to work collaboratively with the pros, check out Adobe Live. In addition to the live teaching aspects, Adobe is also offering “Daily Creative Challenges” within Photoshop, XD or Illustrator if you click on the app. These challenges are a great way to keep your creative juices flowing in an otherwise non inspirational environment, while also connecting with professionals, mentors and students who can give you feedback. Along with your Creative Suite, you then open up a door with tutorials bursting at the seams – all for free.
No, your research is no longer at a standstill.
JSTOR is an online library filled with journals, research articles and even books. With a JSTOR subscription usually landing at $199 a year, you most likely rely on SUNY New Paltz for access through STL. Now, with educators at home as well, JSTOR has allowed 100 free articles (a 94 article increase from their original six article limit). This is the perfect time for any type of research you’ve put off, whether it be for your pure enjoyment or not.
Quarantine can be lonely, but your friends are only a click away.
What do you use Zoom for?
Zoom is an application as well as an online service for video conferencing, including a chat window, screen sharing and presentations. Out of the 13 students surveyed, 11 said they used Zoom, with 61.5% using Zoom for social distancing hangouts as well as school, not just solely for academics. As many of you can agree, Zoom has become a normal application used in everyday life. From classes, work or club meetings, to job interviews and virtual time with friends, the Zoom app is opened at least once a day. Basic (free) users are usually constrained to a 40-minute time limit on meetings with more than two people, but now, there is unlimited time for collaboration. In addition to this unlimited time, Zoom is also offering informational and tutorial-like sessions in order for educators, students and any other professionals to learn Zoom easily.
Looking to spice up your LinkedIn?
LinkedIn Learning is an online extension through LinkedIn which offers video courses in different softwares, creativity, business and professional skills. As a SUNY New Paltz student, you have access to this service by just logging in using your my.newpaltz.edu username and password. This service allows you to set goals weekly for the amount of time you spend watching videos and gaining knowledge. After completing a course, you are also able to download your LinkedIn Learning certificate. This is especially helpful, as when you create or continue to update your LinkedIn profile, these certificates can be supplemented to help employers find you.
Get out of bed and try some of Nike’s free workouts.
The Nike Training Club’s (NTC) app was made to help its members to reach their fitness goals. The premium workouts include bodyweight-only circuits, yoga/meditation classes, training programs and full-equipment workouts, all with different intensities for every fitness level. Nike usually charges $14.99 a month for its Training Club Premium Workouts, but now they're free. The Swoosh says it wants everyone to be “playing as one team,” and their way of doing so is suspending premium membership fees. The NTC app is available in the Apple Store or on Google Play for Android users for free.
The media wants you to stay connected.
While COVID-19 wreaks havoc over the globe, people always need to stay connected. You definitely have a friend who checks the COVID-19 deaths daily, with case numbers climbing. Usually, paywalls keep curious people at bay, allowing only a few articles before payment is necessary. In light of the pandemic, many news organizations are taking a different route. The Wall Street Journal has offered 50% off of their one year subscription for full access, but has features for Coronavirus coverage that are free – live updates, symptoms to look for, who’s hiring, “you ask, we answer,” state lockdowns, daily life, testing, tech tips and daily briefing videos. The New York Times follows suit with free access to crucial and important stories on COVID-19, but a subscription is required to see all articles. Also, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times will continue to provide daily live updates and how to handle the pandemic for free.
Your favorite bookstore is closed, what can you do?
On March 22, Apple decided to allow users an entire list of titles on Apple Books for free, calling it their “‘stay at home’ collection”. These titles range from mystery, romance and sci-fi to children’s stories, with audiobooks also available. Bradley Chambers, an editor at 9to5mac says that many of the texts are also a part of a larger series, allowing Apple Books’ users to get a feel for a plot line before purchasing it.
Turn off auto-mode and give your camera a REAL try.
Two men walk across the West Side Highway in New York City on April 6, 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 17, there are 123,146 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in NYC. 18,018 have recovered, while 12,199 have lost their lives. (Shot on a Nikon D610)
Nikon has begun to offer their Nikon School online for free throughout the entire month of April. This service is special, as during this down time you can take a minute to really master your camera. Nikon’s “mission has always been to empower creators. In these uncertain times, we can do that by helping creators stay inspired, engaged and growing. Let’s come out of this even better.” One online class, Photographing Children and Pets, teaches you to pull emotion from children and pets, how to stage natural-looking scenes, how to adjust your aperture for a more portrait-focused look, which lens to use and more. This class is taught by lifestyle photographer and Nikon Ambassador Tamara Lackey, but she is one of many professionals who can fill the voids of time in your life with Nikon.
Influencers aren’t the only one’s who can have a nice Instagram.
The Know-How Series from Frolic is now introducing their Instagram building and creative writing classes for free. The Instagram brand lesson is usually priced at $14.99, but now that this video series is free, it is a good opportunity to improve your social media presence. This lesson features top authors and influencers to help you create your perfect profile which mirrors your personal identity. The creative writing courses are on the more expensive side, $29.99 for the nine-video package, but this is the perfect opportunity to brush up on your writing skills. Specifically, this lesson package is perfect for anyone sitting down to write the novel during quarantine they’ve been putting off for weeks – authors and teachers show you the best way to “attack a blank page, set goals and get it done.”
Hopefully, you can forget your TikTok “for you” page and try out some new things to fill the time, and well, grow your brain (remember –it’s free!).