3 Apps to Supercharge Your Study Sessions

Flash cards, learning a language, staying focused: these apps can help you in your student career, and beyond.

Many people view apps as distractions from studying, preventing students of all ages from completing their work or acquiring new knowledge. However, some apps can significantly enhance study sessions and aid student learning. Using these apps can make study sessions more engaging and, in some cases, more enjoyable for students like you. If you're looking for a change, or a new burst of motivation, check out the apps below.

Quizlet

Quizlet, a flashcard/quiz app, allows you to create customizable flashcards and quizzes to test yourself on course material.

The app has seven study modes you can use to study:

• Flashcards: to review terms and definitions
• Learn mode: a personalized approach based on how well you know the information
• Write mode: a fill-in-the-blank type of study tool
• Spell mode: gives you a term or definition you must correctly spell out
• Test mode: quizzes you on how well you know the information in a study set
• Match mode: a time-based quiz that makes you match terms with their definitions
• Gravity mode: a level-based game where you'll have to answer questions correctly before asteroids hit

Quizlet is great for creating custom tests to help yourself study for language or history courses, primarily when used with the "Write," "Spell," and "Test" learning modes. This all-in-one platform can help make your study sessions more productive!

Duolingo

Duolingo is an app used for language learning. You can choose between various languages, including French, German, Japanese, Italian, and more. Completing levels in Duolingo includes activities such as filling in the blanks with the correct words in sentences, matching words to their English translations, and engaging in reading comprehension and oral learning exercises, making it an all-encompassing tool for language acquisition.

Moreover, Duolingo's gamified approach keeps learners engaged and encourages consistent practice, enhancing user retention and fluency in their chosen language while making the learning experience enjoyable and accessible.

Duolingo isn't a substitute for true language instruction and immersion, but it can help you explore and reinforce what you're learning — and whether your goal is complete fluency or not, learning another language is good for the brain!

Forest

Forest is an app to help you develop deeper focus. When you open the app, you can't exit it while a virtual tree grows. If you do, your tree will die, and you'll need to plant a new one. The urge to protect your digital tree can be surprisingly strong!

This app is a practical focus strategy that prevents students from going onto social media or any other websites that could distract them from their schoolwork and studies. If students are working on their computers, Forest also has a web extension that works similarly to the app.

(The makers of Forest also produce SleepTown, which is a similar idea, but focused on building a healthy, reliable sleep habit. Good sleep is especially important for students!

Do beware that both Forest and SleepTown cost a couple dollars to purchase from the app store. You may be able to find similar, free alternatives, with a bit of searching!

There's no doubt educational apps can help students like you reach your academic goals at a faster pace. Remember, whatever educational apps you decide to include in your study routine, the most effective way is to utilize them as complimentary tools to your primary school responsibilities.