Do you have classmates who always seem to be on top of their studies without seemingly devoting massive amounts of time? You must wonder how they keep pulling it off every time. Are they secretly superhuman? Probably not. Chances are they might be good at managing time and have mastered different productivity and online learning tools.
The concept of 'e-learning' may have been around for a while. However, there has been an explosion in educational technology tools and apps, especially after the pandemic. And with the rise of online education, there are some platforms that stand out because of their accessibility, functionality, and wide range of benefits.
Here, we've compiled a list of the best online tools that will boost your performance and skyrocket the results and quality of your work.
1. SciSpace Copilot - an AI research assistant that helps you understand research papers better
SciSpace Copilot is the perfect AI assistant for students. Its intuitive interface offers interactive explanations as you read research papers, textbooks, pdfs, whitepapers, and reports. Not only does it provide quick summaries of complex scholarly texts, but it also helps you comprehend maths and tables in these documents — and if you need further clarity on a topic, you can chat with any pdf, ask follow-up questions and get instant answers.
What's more, SciSpace Copilot helps you learn faster than ever before and drastically reduces the time, effort, and resources spent in the process. You can get explanations and interact with Copilot in 13 languages apart from English. It also lets you easily import your entire Zotero collections to the platform. Overall, Copilot is an excellent platform for gaining a contextual understanding of scientific manuscripts and quickly clarifying your queries.
Price: Free to use
2. Kortext - Largest store for eBooks and eTextbooks
With Kortext, you can find more than 2 million eBooks and a wide range of study materials in many academic fields. Using this online learning tool, you can easily access all of your books in one place or read in dark mode to better suit your learning style, which is not possible with traditional books. You can annotate and highlight text inside your eBook, make citations, and copy-paste quotes into your assignments.
Additionally, you can tailor your digital learning with this academic tool to your preferences by altering the text size, style, and background color. You can also select the 'Read Aloud' option if you prefer to listen to your eBook. Oh, and if you sign up for an account on the Kortext website, you can access a feature called ‘Student Beans,’ which provides student discount codes and allows you to buy eBooks and eTextbooks at a discounted price.
Price: At discounted prices
3. Quizlet - Interactive flashcards, games, and expert solutions
Quizlet is the ideal online revision and study tool for helping you remember quotations, formulas, vocabulary, and more! Both your own interactive flashcards and the millions of pre-existing study sets that other users have already created are available to you in your desired field of study. You can access them from wherever you are with the Quizlet app, which is available for Android and iOS.
Quizlet provides 'Scatter' and 'Space Race', two games that let you learn the material while having fun. Scatter is a game that allows the user to drag the definitions to their relevant counterparts, and Space Race is a game in which the users have to clear the definitions from the screen as fast as possible. The competitive edge of the games acts as a catalyst to motivate students to study better. With this academic tool, you can just log in and start studying instead of having to look through your notes, complete worksheets, and make paper flashcards!
Price: Free version is available; Premium plans start at $48/year
4. Grammarly - Grammar, Plagiarism, and Spell check tool
Grammarly is an excellent tool for improving your writing quality. It helps make your writing more concise, error-free, and easy to comprehend with grammar, spell checks, and style and tone suggestions. This free tool can help you with any writing task, whether you're composing an email or writing on an assignment or an essay report. It explains what needs to be changed in detail and provides a reason, allowing you to draw lessons from experience.
This academic tool can be used on almost any device and provides suggestions for your content as you write. Even schools and universities recommend this solution and offer it to aid student success.
Grammarly also offers a browser extension. Similar to the website, it's simple to use, instructive, and offers real-time writing suggestions, showing you where specific improvements need to be made. So, regardless of where you're writing on the internet — Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, or LinkedIn, the Grammarly browser extension helps you improve your writing.
Price: Free version is available; Premium plans start at $12/month
5. Todoist - Calendar and management app
Over 25 million people use the personal and team task management tool, Todoist, to handle everything from work assignments to birthday reminders. You can create various projects to add and arrange related activities.
How will this tool help you as a student? Well, you can create a project for each course at the beginning of each semester. You can group your tasks into many projects using Todoist. By developing a project for each class you are enrolled in, you can quickly organize all the responsibilities related to your coursework. You can also keep track of crucial deadlines by giving each assignment a due date. Lastly, the Google Calendar and Todoist integration adds all of your Todoist tasks and events to your calendar automatically.
Price: Free version is available; Premium plans start at $4/month
6. RealWorldMaths - Math tool for visual learners!
Google Earth has created a collection of free math games and activities called RealWorldMaths, which students and teachers can access. With the idea that there are many more aspects to mathematics than just textbook exercises, concepts and problems are presented in Google Earth's virtual environment in a way that illustrates the value of mathematical ideas.
Students can download more than 30 exercises, videos, and tutorials for Google Earth and SketchUp (3D design software). The objective is to take a problem-solving-exercises-approach to better understand the math taught in class. The lessons can all be completed at home or in the classroom since they're all entirely online.
Price: Free to use
Bonus: Check out this tutorial to understand better!
7. GetRevising - A homeschool application that lets students create and access study material and tests
GetRevising was developed as part of The Student Room to assist students in raising their exam scores. It offers some excellent free academic tools for creating study schedules and revision plans, as well as the option to make intriguing and enjoyable revision materials like flashcards, mind maps, and quizzes. GetRevising also offers a wide selection of past papers that are simple to search for practice if you're doing GCSEs or A Levels.
Their clever homeschooling schedule creates a customized weekly time plan in less than five minutes. It is effective for all grade levels, including primary, Key Stage 3, GCSE, and A Level. It is ideal for brief homeschooling. GetRevising offers more than 402,000 free-learning resources across all subject areas, many of which come highly recommended by teachers for your comfort. Students can quickly and confidently research any topic in the manner that suits them the best.
Price: Free to use
8. Scapple - Note-taking and Mind Mapping Application
Scapple is a mind-mapping app that students can use to take notes and write down ideas as they work and then bring those notes back to the app to create a map. With the help of its extensive editing and insert features, Scrapple can create highly customized mind maps. You can use this academic tool—which is similar to a digital whiteboard—for collaborative activities pertaining to your studies. With Scapple's Scrivener feature, you can layer one note over another to fit more information on a single page.
Scapple software not only assists in note-taking but also provides the best support for writers of all types and literary experts. They are free to transform their concepts for themes, characters, and plots into captivating illustrations of connected concepts.
Price: Free up to 30 days; Premium licenses are start at $14.40.
9. CodeCombat - Coding resource and tool
One of the most thrilling methods to study computer science is through CodeCombat. This adventure-based digital learning tool, which is suggested for both students and beginners, enables you to acquire "the lost art of programming" in order to save the world.
In this game, you must build complete Python and JavaScript programs as you explore the environment and overcome obstacles using trial and error, creativity, and critical thinking. In contrast to other platforms, CodeCombat is specifically created to make it simpler for beginners to develop their own video games and websites.
Price: Free version is available; Premium licenses are start at $9.99.
Bonus: Check out this tutorial for a better understanding!
10. Brilliant - Interactive platform to learn STEM courses
Brilliant.org is an online learning tool that provides interactive lessons, exercises, and tests in the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The platform is made for students of all ages, and its over 60 courses are intended to foster the development of analytical and problem-solving skills. Brilliant's challenging and captivating subject matter requires students to engage in active learning.
Users of Brilliant can connect with one another, share their progress, and discuss issues and solutions using the community feature. Additionally, this academic tool has a mobile app that enables you to download individual courses for offline use (up to 6 at a time), allowing you to learn while you're on the go and at your convenience.
Price: 7 day free trial is available; premium plan starts at $24.49/month ($13.49/month when billed annually).
Final thoughts
So, this was our pick for the best student tools available. These tools will undoubtedly take your education and time management to the next level, making learning enjoyable and exciting.