Top 10 Tools for Learning Efficiently and Effectively

Google Drive, Zoom, or Microsoft Word are household names in the world of education. While these are great tools for collaborative and individual learning, there are additional tools tailored for all our various yet specific learning needs. These tools range in function from notetaking to computing equations. Whether you’re an English or Physics major in college, here are 10 tools that will help you learn more effectively and efficiently.

1. Zotero

Are you a student who writes papers regularly? Either for a class or to publish? Then Zotero is for you. Zotero is the number one citation management tool. It allows you to collect, organize, cite, and share research. You can utilize keywords to tag items and sort them into collections.

One of the best features of Zotero is that you can create references and bibliographies directly in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. If you are collaborating with others for a group project or essay, you can create a group in Zotero and manage shared citations.

2. Polar

Polar is a knowledge manager that allows you to manage your reading, annotate them, create flashcards from annotations, and more. Polar not only enables you to organize huge amounts of readings from different sources (e.g., PDfs, epubs, webpages) but also supports spaced repetition for flashcards and annotations.

You can directly annotate your documents in Polar by highlighting key information in different colors. You can auto-convert annotations into flashcards in one click. With Polar’s own spaced repetition software, you can efficiently learn information for long-term retention. If you prefer studying your flashcards in Anki, then you can use the Anki add-on.

3. Quizlet

Quizlet is a beloved flashcard tool for students at all educational levels—middle school, high school, undergrads, and grad students. Creating flashcards in Quizlet is easy and straightforward, which makes the learning process efficient. There are various options for your preferred mode of studying—flashcards, learn, write, spell, and test.

As a college student, studying flashcards on the go is made simple with Quizlet’s mobile app.

4. Study Blue

Studying in Study Blue is all about collaboration. In Study Blue, you can find study guides and flashcards specific to your course. With the advantage of Study Blue’s extensive library, students can search for the most relevant answers by class or topic. Any flashcard you create in Study Blue can be shared with classmates.

Are you a student who has ever got stumped on a question in a textbook? Study Blue solves this problem, too, by offering step-by-step textbook solutions reviewed by experts.

5. GoConqr

GoConqr enables you to create engaging learning content with multiple tools—mind maps, flashcards, quizzes, notes, slides, and flowcharts. You can also explore the large library of learning resources created by millions of GoConqr members. Learning content can be shared privately and publicly.

6. Grammarly

Grammarly is the perfect tool for double-checking your grammar before turning in an important paper or sending an email to a professor. Grammarly also checks for spelling, style, tone, and plagiarism. Grammarly can be added to your Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter, Linkedin, and more. It has been a staple among the blogger community for a long time and is now also one of the most popular tools among students.

7. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha rightfully names themselves “computational intelligence” as their engine computes for step-by-step answers across many subjects—mathematics, science, technology, society & culture. Whether you are calculating differential equations for your college Calculus course or calculating your mortgage, Wolfram Alpha can do it all!

8. Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an excellent free resource for learning new subjects. The simple video tutorials made by Khan Academy are effective in teaching material that may seem difficult at first. Khan Academy fulfills the learning needs of students from Pre-K through college. Instructional videos, practice exercises (quizzes), and a personalized learning dashboard are the leading features of Khan Academy.

9. Squid

Squid is a digital notetaking tool similar to OneNote. You can choose from a variety of paper types—blank, college ruled, grid, and sheet music—and sizes. On compatible devices, you can create notes at any zoom level and on PDFs/images. The only caveat is that Squid is only available on Google Play.

10.Duolingo

Are you a student who wants to learn a new language, but doesn’t have the time for an additional minor? Duolingo is completely free and the learning experience is fun and engaging. Duolingo keeps you motivated to learn by incentivizing you with virtual coins and a fluency score. This language learning platform gauges your learning style and allows you to effectively learn and review vocabulary.