Written By: Deana Chang
After a long day of school, the thought of studying can be a burden for just about any student. Having the motivation to actually study sounds almost impossible, but having the discipline to push yourself to study sounds even more unrealistic. This is why I recommend these 10 apps and websites that have helped me power through the past few years!
Paper by WeTransfer
This app allows you to document your life in the form of a digital journal. It encourages you to live healthily, aesthetically, and appreciate the little things in life.
Personally, I love using this app as it reminds me of my progress in the current month, allowing me to reflect on what I would like to do more, continue doing, stop doing, and start doing for the following month. This also helps improve my well-being because I get to take some time for myself and have more gratitude for what I own right now, as well as a better understanding of myself.
Rating: 3.7/5 Price: USD$11.99 (annual) Pros: easy to use, many functions Cons: hard to learn, time-consuming
Notion
I'm sure most of you have heard of Notion before. Notion is an app where you can easily keep track of your time schedule, to-do list, and school notes. I personally love writing down what I have to do on Notion, and I've developed a habit of checking it every time I'm ready to concentrate and start working. This is beneficial because whenever I open the app, my brain automatically switches to work mode, helping me start grinding and finish all my tasks efficiently!
Rating: 4.2/5 Price: Free; Members - USD$8-15 (monthly) Pros: easy to use, many templates & options, multi-use, organize Cons: some templates are hard to use, gets confusing, have to switch months manually for calendar, if not use properly, it can get messy
GoodNotes & Notability
I have used both of these apps before to take notes and write past papers In my opinion, Notability is a better option as it is user-friendly and provides stickers and many options that can enhance the design of my notes. You can also convert your handwriting into text or mathematical workings into equations.
Here is a video which highlights the pros and cons of GoodNotes and Notability:
Notability Rating: 4.3/5 Price: USD$14.99 (annual) Pros: share notes easily, audio feature, change handwriting of words and mathematical equations into text Cons: files can get big, some features are tricky to use, no real-time collaboration tools GoodNotes Rating: 4/5 Price: USD$9.99 (annual) Pros: can collaborate and edit notes together with others, access to interactive exam practice materials Cons: Can’t sync across different device types, drain battery easily, does not backup your data if you delete the app, unless you properly backed up yourself
Jenni.ai
This is one of the best websites I have ever used. This AI is essentially like Google Docs, except it suggests content related to your writing quickly. It has a user-friendly interface and can reference and find scientific papers for you according to the topic of your article.
Rating: 4.8/5 Price: USD$6/ month Pros: generates possible text while writing, cite(can choose different format), paraphrase(different options: academically, persuasively, casually, boldly & friendly), shorten, peer review, summarize, translate, simplify, expand & many other options Cons: may not always generate correct things, text generation could be distracting
Fabulous
There have been times when I overworked myself and didn't take time to focus on my physical and mental health. It is easy to get burnt out during the rigorous school year. Fabulous reminds me to take care of myself by sending notifications and alarms; you can set tasks that can benefit both your mental and physical health. It also suggests different options to improve yourself, offers talks and advice, connects you with a community of people who are committed to self-improvement, and provides fun ways to stay motivated.
Rating: 4/5 Price: Free; Members - USD$39.99 (annually on Android) & USD$79.99 (annually on Apple) Pros: a community of supportive people, able to set alarms, suggestions of tasks or ways to improve, many cool features to motivate you(e.g. Write a letter to future self after completing a task consistently over a period of time), user-friendly format, many challenges, videos(e.g. Exercise, meditating, etc.), motivation talks Cons: too expensive, become less effective overtime
Tome
Have you ever wanted to build a portfolio but didn’t know where to start? Do you need to create a website but have no coding background or can’t find a platform that suits your style? Tome provides aesthetic templates for websites, portfolios, and presentations, all generated by AI. It can help you produce work efficiently while presenting your work engagingly.
Rating: 3.5/5 Price: Free; Members - USD$96 (annually) Pros: aesthetic, many templates, user-friendly interface Cons: a certain format to follow, many other similar options
Study Together
Many people find it easier to study in a group, but when you study with friends, it’s easy to get distracted. Study Together is an online website that allows you to video call with strangers and concentrate on your tasks. Personally, I prefer studying alone, but there are many people I know who prefer study sessions, so I think this is a great way to study, especially if you can only focus when you study with others.
Rating: 3/5 Price: Free Pros: increase concentration Cons: not for asocial people, may not be effective, interface is not user-friendly
Quillbot
When you write an essay, a report, your extended essay for IB, or any other type of writing that requires references, we all know how time-consuming referencing can be. Quillbot can generate citations for you in the correct format you prefer. All you have to do is:
Paste the link
Copy the reference that it generates
Unless your link cannot be found, Quillbot can cite websites, books, and articles for you in under 30 seconds.
Other things Quillbot can do are:
Paraphrase
Summarize (you can select the length)
Grammar checks
Plagiarism
Translation
Outline your writing structure
Rating: 4/5 Price: Free; Members - USD$99.95 (annually) Pros: many citation options, can select summarization length Cons: summarization tool is overly technical
Apple Calendar
I love noting down all my events and tasks on Apple Calendar to make sure everything is on track. Apple Calendar can be a widget on your mobile devices to help remind you of the events you have and tasks you need to complete today and tomorrow. It also sends notifications, which are really useful, especially in IB because you will have tests, homework, CAS, and other extracurricular activities or maybe even leadership roles that will require a lot of work and organization, so I highly suggest you use Apple Calendar if you have an iOS device.
Rating: 4.6/5 Price: Free (you need an IOS device) Pros: events can be seen on your widget, categorize with colors is aesthetic, organize, easy to use Cons: the notification isn’t always seen
SaveMyExams
SaveMyExams can help both IGCSE and IB students accumulate notes and practice questions. It offers not only topical questions but also many past papers for you to access.
Here is a list of CIE IGCSE subjects SaveMyExams offers:
Maths
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Double Science
Economics
English Language
Geography
Computer Science
Additional Maths
English Literature
Business History
Sociology
Here is a list of IB subjects SaveMyExams offer:
Maths
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Business Management
Economics
ESS
Psychology
Rating: 4.3/5 Price: Free; Members - USD$5.29 (annually) Pros: include many subjects, written based on syllabus, cheap, provides: past papers, revision notes, topic questions, model answers, videos(math only), downloadable PDFs Cons: Free version only allows 10 pages per month, does not always include everything
Conclusion
I hope these 10 websites and applications can be beneficial not only for your academics but also for your health. Although academics are important in this chapter of your lives, you should still take good care of yourself and get enough rest to get through the rest of the school year. There’s no point going to university when you no longer have the fuel to study. Studying should be something you look forward to because broadening your knowledge can and should be fun. It shouldn't be forced, as everyone sees it, because it will only end up burning you out and making it boring. I hope this has been useful!
Comments