Between browsing social media and texting friends, it’s hard to remember that your smartphone can actually help you be a better student. Utilizing the power of your smartphone or tablet with these 7 study apps can actually help you learn better, keep you more organized and stay focused.
1. Evernote: One app to organize your notes
School is overwhelming enough without the added hassle of keeping track of random notebooks and pieces of paper. The Evernote app helps you keep it all straight, with one place to store all of your class notes.
Take written notes or use the voice memo option during class to record important lectures. You can also use your phone’s camera to quickly take photos of handouts, worksheets, or syllabi to get rid of the paper clutter. Access your notes anywhere, anytime; and all of your notes, photos, and PDFs are searchable.
2. Dictionary.com: The app with an interactive dictionary
You may see words and phrases that you don’t know when you’re studying. That’s when the Dictionary.com mobile app comes in handy. Quickly look up words and get back to work without the temptation to get distracted by social media if you use the computer.
3. Quizlet: An app with digital flashcards
Remember when you used flashcards to memorize lessons? With the Quizlet app, flashcards have gone high tech. Quizlet is a virtual library of user-generated content available on just about any subject. You can also find tools to help you remember key concepts.
You can make learning fun again with flashcards, matching games, multiple choice tests, and other memorization options with a diverse library of resources that keeps growing as users add to it.
4. OpenStudy: The app to help you find a study buddy
It’s not always easy to find someone to review class material with you. But the OpenStudy app brings the concept of an open platform right to your study group. The app broadens the pool of people available to give you homework or test help, with a network of students and professors across the world. Users post questions in various subjects, and other users in any location can give feedback.
5. Study Checker: The app that helps you manage your time
There are so many ways to get distracted while you’re trying to study or do homework. You could set an alarm to track how much time you are actually spending working — or you could try a more advanced method. The Study Checker app helps you be more productive by logging the time that you spend studying. The stopwatch-like platform allows you to set aside times to study.
You can analyze how much time that you study in a day, week, month, or another custom period. The app will help you become more productive by giving an accurate assessment of how much time you actually study — so you can improve it.
6. Studious: An app that remembers to turn off your phone
Phones may have a default calendar app, but you can take your scheduling to the next level with apps like Studious. The app allows you to set deadlines, store notes, and enter your class schedule. The bonus with this app is that you need not remember to turn off or mute your phone during class. Studious will also automatically silence your phone during the class times that you set.
7. Virt U (The Virtual University): An app that lets you visit other schools
This app gives you the chance to visit other schools with access to video lectures from top universities such as Harvard, Berkeley, and Stanford. Touting itself as a “pocket classroom,” the app features class material across subjects and specializations. The course material can easily complement classes that you are already taking or can prepare you for future subject matter. Virt U also boasts an online forum of learners who exchange feedback and other information about the lectures.
While there are many apps for online surfing and staying in touch with friends, there are just as many apps to make your new smartphone into a helpful study tool and not a distraction.
About the author: JT Ripton is a freelance writer out of Tampa, FL, who lives for TED talks and loves being inspired by all of the incredible people out there who motivate him to be a better person in all facets of life.
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