Learning during this "new normal" can be extremely difficult, especially when educational resources are limited. Even when provided with study guides and organization templates, students have difficulty focusing and lose the motivation to learn with the monotony of using Google Docs.
Fortunately, some students have started to recognize the problem with this way of studying and have been sharing different apps and sites on social media to encourage and motivate students to improve their work ethic. These sites mentioned below come with step-by-step tutorials and allow students to add a personal and creative touch. Not to mention, they are free, fun and have an abundance of features students can take advantage of.
Notion
Make your own account by clicking here.
Notion is a digital productivity application that provides students and professionals alike easy-to-use features that can enhance task management and organization skills. Notion can connect your personal life, work-life, and goals in each, all in one place. Whether it’s for studying, planning out your week or personal journaling, Notion has it all!
This application has a variety of free templates to choose from to ensure you stay engaged. One of the best features is that it allows you to create a personal template where you can express your creativity and make it your own. Besides adding your own Spotify playlists to your home page or making wish lists, you can also organize and move subtopics under other pages like creating a folder. The choices are endless!
Nimble Notes
Get familiar with Nimble Notes here.
While Notion is all about creativity, Nimble Notes specializes in flashcards, study sets and books you can create yourself. What it ultimately allows you to create is a personally customized course textbook. Nimble is simple to use yet filled with various features; for example, it permits you to attach youtube links and images from the internet.
What makes Nimble Notes different from your regular google docs is the format. Rather than just a page, it's a book with subpages. This makes it easier to differentiate between different topics and content. Rather than having a multitude of google docs for each class, you only have your book and its subcategories.
Biorender
Explore Biorender by clicking this link.
It's hard to create diagrams or draw detailed and repetitive images online, especially in the sciences, where we are tasked with replicating different cells or functions. BioRender has transformed the way we diagram and communicate science topics. With its pre-drawn icons to choose from, creating diagrams is a piece of cake.
The focus of BioRender is its flexibility and multifacetedness, allowing users to drag the icons on the page along with rotating, resizing and labelling. Moreover, they can add their own images and request custom designs! Biorender allows for a unique form of studying because it allows more visual learners to excel. Using diagrams and pictures to learn can augment engagement and understanding of complex topics, which are all too common in the sciences.
Conclusion
Remember – while technology can be a distraction in the classroom, it can also be a resource. There are so many apps built for students to help augment their learning and improve study habits. However, we're biased to Notion, Nimble Notes, and Biorender.
Please don't take our word for it. Try them out yourself! Whether you crave an outlet for creative expression, desperately need help organizing your notes, or are struggling to copy the diagrams your teachers show in science class, one of these three applications can definitely help you.
Edited by Rory Banfalvi