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For people preparing to go back to school, the computer can be a hurdle or a boost. No matter the discipline, most colleges and universities will require some amount of time spent interacting with a computer. Brushing up on (or learning for the first time) computer skills is an excellent way to prepare to go back to school.

Most people born before the 1980s have seen technology take computers to a new level. If you are like me, you probably learned how to type on a typewriter. Penmanship, too, was important in the classroom. You probably also slaved away in the library, flipping through the card catalog, to do any kind of research.

Now, you can use computers to budget your time more effectively and be organized. Here are some different ways you will (or can) interact with computers in the educational setting.

1. As a word processor. Computers are useful, because you can save and edit later. Spell check (surprisingly underutilized by students) makes sure your spelling is flawless and most standard word processing software also even suggests changes when grammar is poor. You also can throw away your thesaurus, because that's right, your word processing software has one of those, too. No longer do you need to measure margins with a ruler. There are lots of other cool applications you can use with a simple word processing program. You can create calendars to keep organized, make labels to stick in your books, or make simple tables or charts.

I highly recommend for returning students to also use the track changes option when writing. This is a great way to see your edits, and even share it with professors, who can mark up an electronic copy.

Most computers (whether PC or Mac) have Microsoft Office Suite, or a bundle of software designed for basic computer needs. In addition to a word processing system, you will also find excel which is a spreadsheet program and PowerPoint which helps create slide show presentations. The best way to learn this bundle is to spend some time learning the menus and reading the help sections for tips and tricks.

2. Research. I don't recommend using internet websites as the sole source for papers and projects. However, the internet is a great tool for research, if only finding out about current research. Most higher ed schools also have electronic journal articles available through a proxy server (or a way for your home computer to act like the library computer), which can save you lots of time in the library. For mature students, especially,

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