Summer is here, and for most students, it means a welcome break from studies for the next few months. However, putting a stop to all your studies for the entire period may not be the best of ideas. This way you risk forgetting most of what you’ve learned over the last year and completely throw yourself off your stride come autumn. It may be extremely difficult to get back into the studying state of mind after a long break. However, these days, you can continue learning without having to spend your entire summer behind a barricade of textbooks. There are plenty of apps that give you an opportunity to study on your terms when it is convenient for you, without taking too much of your time and just making it convenient enough to continue doing it wherever you are. Here are some of them.
Quizzitive
The quality of one’s academic writing is significantly influenced by one’s vocabulary. You cannot write a good sociology essay (or any other type of academic assignment, for that matter) if you keep using the same words and expression over and over again. It becomes obvious very quickly and makes your speech look bland, poor, and inexpressive. Quizzitive is a word game app by Merriam-Webster, Inc. – the company that is mostly known for the eponymous dictionary. It allows you to pick up new words in a game form – you can use it a little bit at a time whenever you have a free minute or two and emerge much better prepared to take on your next writing task.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that made it their goal to create a way for the people to learn on the go, wherever they are. Their app provides almost complete Khan Academy experience, allowing you to view thousands of educational videos on everything from nuclear physics to American history, receive assignments based on them and do them on the spot. An excellent choice in case you don’t always have access to your PC or laptop.
TED
You are probably aware of TED talks – a constantly updated collection of short talks delivered by the world’s foremost educators, medical professionals, psychologists, business leaders, and so on. Now it is available in app form. With it, you can not only view any of the existing TED talks but also create playlists to make your own sets of educational materials and share them with other people.
Duolingo
Summer, with its lack of interference from other study courses, is the perfect time to either brush up your second language skills or try to pick up a new language. And Duolingo app is a perfect tool for that purpose. Right now, it offers 85 language courses in 24 languages, as well as a language proficiency exam for those willing to determine their current level. Whether you study a new language from scratch or already have a certain foundation, its gamified approach to the task guarantees that you will get results even faster than from formal education in college.
Quizlet Go
You may think that paper flashcards are hopelessly outdated. However, paper or not, flashcards have proven themselves to be an efficient learning tool. Now, if somebody just were to take all the hassle with preparing them, wouldn’t it be awesome? Well, somebody did and created Quizlet Go – a flashcard app that allows you to use all the advantages of this method of learning without the trouble of manually preparing and managing your own flashcards. You can create your own collection or use one of the millions of existing ones, covering subjects from the Civil War to differential equations to Japanese verbs. Just pick the subject that interests you and study, whenever and wherever you are.
Todoist
One of the most common reasons why students let their studies slip over the summer break is lack of organization. Perhaps they intend to do some studying, but at first, they believe there is plenty of time, then they get bogged down by other things, and when they finally get to it, the summer is already coming to an end, and it is too late to start anything big. Todoist can help you avoid such a situation. With its help, you will be able to plan everything you intend to do in summer ahead of time, including your studies, trips, jobs and other commitments, and make sure you don’t forget anything or put it off until it is too late.
Dragon Anywhere
Writing is an integral part of any kind of education, but sometimes it may be problematic. You may be in a situation in which writing is inconvenient, you may be away from your PC, you may just be too lazy at the moment to write or type anything. If this is what stands between you and your studies, then Dragon Anywhere can help you out. With this app, you can write and edit documents with nothing but your voice. It is an excellent tool not just for the students who have to do a lot of writing, but for anybody who can’t be bothered to carry their laptop around.
Summer is the time for unwinding and taking a break from hard work – but if you can make work enjoyable and smooth with the help of some apps, why not try it out?
