{"id":1097,"date":"2020-08-25T16:15:11","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/?p=1097"},"modified":"2020-09-11T14:28:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T13:28:03","slug":"top-online-study-tools-that-every-university-student-should-know-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/2020\/08\/25\/top-online-study-tools-that-every-university-student-should-know-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Online Study Tools That Every University Student Should Know About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/156\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/austin-distel-va_Opp86kfQ-unsplash-1140x760.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Online study tools and apps have come to play an all-important role for students in higher education. Some might say this is a natural progression, given that we are living in an increasingly digital age \u2014 digital is here and it is here to stay. Ask any student and they will have at least one digital tool which they feel is indispensable to their studies or has enhanced their learning experience in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We did just that, by asking students what digital tools and apps they found useful for learning as part of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flipsnack.com\/digitalinsights\/digital-experience-insights-survey-2019-20-institutional\/full-view.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Student Digital Experience Insights Survey, 2019<\/a>. Over 1000 students stated that they use a range of apps and tools to help them study and learn (over 170 were mentioned)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, we have developed a compendium of suggested study tools \u2014 which you can <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/156\/2020\/09\/Study-Tools.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">read in full here<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>To help get you started, here are 5 picks directly from our Digital Study Tool Guide:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. <a href=\"https:\/\/wellbeing.google\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Digital Wellbeing by Google<\/a> <\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>This resource includes a vast number of worthwhile tips and tools that will help you reflect on your current tech habits and fine-tune them to achieve your personal digital wellbeing goals. It is a great place to start when finding your balance in digital settings \u2014 give it a go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><span class=\"has-inline-color has-very-dark-gray-color\"><i style=\"font-weight: bold\">Cost: Free<\/i><\/span> |<span style=\"color:#319470\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> <em><strong>Purpose: Improved Digital Wellbeing<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. <a href=\"https:\/\/todo.microsoft.com\/tasks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft To Do<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>A task management app to help you stay organised and manage your day-to-day routine. You can make task lists, take notes, record collections, plan an event, or set reminders to increase your productivity and focus on what matters to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-very-dark-gray-color\">Cost: Free<\/span><\/strong><\/em> | <em><strong><span style=\"color:#319470\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Purpose: Productivity and Time Management<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. <a href=\"https:\/\/en-gb.padlet.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Padlet<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>An application where you can create an online bulletin board that you can use to display information for any topic. It is a great place for gathering ideas, sharing them, and modifying them later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-very-dark-gray-color\">Cost: Free<\/span><\/strong><\/em> | <em><strong><span style=\"color:#319470\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Purpose: Collaboration and Revision<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/en_gb\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canva<\/a> &nbsp;<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend Canva for all sorts of creations like infographics and posters, but they do presentations too. There are lots of templates to choose from and you can use the \u2018present\u2019 feature on the website or download your slides as a Microsoft PowerPoint. If you\u2019d like a quick start guide to Canva or need some inspiration \u2014 why not check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/mediasite.qub.ac.uk\/Mediasite\/Play\/c95f754d0ff941f7bd364fcb03fbbcc11d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Canva Tutorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><strong>Cost: Free with basic features<\/strong><\/em> | <em><strong><span style=\"color:#319470\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Purpose: Presentations and Digital Creations<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zotero.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zotero<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the night before the deadline and you\u2019re frantically trying to organise your bibliographic references because you didn\u2019t do it as you went along (we\u2019ve all been there). Referencing is an integral part of the research process and academic writing, so the sooner you discover this tool the better. Zotero is an online tool designed to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles. In Zotero, each of these references constitutes an item. More broadly, Zotero is a powerful tool for collecting and organising research information and sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em><strong><span class=\"has-inline-color has-very-dark-gray-color\">Cost: Free<\/span><\/strong><\/em> | <em><strong><span style=\"color:#319470\" class=\"has-inline-color\">Purpose: Digital Research<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">We Want to Hear From You!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/156\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2020\/08\/yusuf-evli-Y82YTEmID68-unsplash-1-1140x760.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color\">With lectures, tutorials, class tests, assignments, and those (seemingly) never-ending reading lists, time is a precious commodity. So why not make your life a little easier and explore our <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/156\/2020\/09\/Study-Tools.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Digital Study Tool Guide<\/a> today. You can even let us know what works for you and have a featured blog about how you use it in your learning. For any suggestions or if you want to write a short piece about a digital tool please email <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:digitalinsights@qub.ac.uk\" target=\"_blank\">digitalinsights@qub.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Online study tools and apps have come to play an all-important role for students in higher education. Some might say this is a natural progression, given that we are living in an increasingly digital age \u2014 digital is here and it is here to stay. Ask any student and they will have at least one digital tool which they feel is indispensable to their studies or has enhanced their learning experience in some way. We did just that, by asking students what digital tools and apps they found useful for learning as part of our Student Digital Experience Insights Survey, 2019. Over 1000 students stated that they use a range of apps and tools to help them study and learn (over 170 were mentioned)! In response, we have developed a compendium of suggested study tools \u2014 which you can read in full here. \u00a0 To help get you started, here are 5 picks directly from our Digital Study Tool Guide: 1. Digital Wellbeing by Google This resource includes a vast number of worthwhile tips and tools that will help you reflect on your current tech habits and fine-tune them to achieve your personal digital wellbeing goals. It is a great place to start when finding your balance in digital settings \u2014 give it a go! Cost: Free | Purpose: Improved Digital Wellbeing 2. Microsoft To Do&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A task management app to help you stay organised and manage your day-to-day routine. You can make task lists, take notes, record collections, plan an event, or set reminders to increase your productivity and focus on what matters to you. Cost: Free | Purpose: Productivity and Time Management 3. Padlet An application where you can create an online bulletin board that you can use to display information for any topic. It is a great place for gathering ideas, sharing them, and modifying them later. Cost: Free | Purpose: Collaboration and Revision 4. Canva &nbsp; We recommend Canva for all sorts of creations like infographics and posters, but they do presentations too. There are lots of templates to choose from and you can use the \u2018present\u2019 feature on the website or download your slides as a Microsoft PowerPoint. If you\u2019d like a quick start guide to Canva or need some inspiration \u2014 why not check out our Canva Tutorial. Cost: Free with basic features | Purpose: Presentations and Digital Creations 5. Zotero It\u2019s the night before the deadline and you\u2019re frantically trying to organise your bibliographic references because you didn\u2019t do it as you went along (we\u2019ve all been there). Referencing is an integral part of the research process and academic writing, so the sooner you discover this tool the better. Zotero is an online tool designed to store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles. In Zotero, each of these references constitutes an item. More broadly, Zotero is a powerful tool for collecting and organising research information and sources. Cost: Free | Purpose: Digital Research We Want to Hear From You! With lectures, tutorials, class tests, assignments, and those (seemingly) never-ending reading lists, time is a precious commodity. So why not make your life a little easier and explore our Digital Study Tool Guide today. You can even let us know what works for you and have a featured blog about how you use it in your learning. For any suggestions or if you want to write a short piece about a digital tool please email digitalinsights@qub.ac.uk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":826,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,36,31,24,35],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-insights-and-discovery","tag-digital-experience-insights-survey","tag-digital-study-tools","tag-online-learning","tag-student-digital-experience","tag-study-tools"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paMHsl-hH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1189,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions\/1189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/digitaldiscovery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}