The popularity of distance learning has grown incredibly in 2020. Some students are obliged to go online because their colleges are closed as part of pandemic-preventing measures; some opt for online studies to balance college with work or family. We tried to gather tools destined to make the lives of both easier in the following list.
1. Move Your To-Do List from Your Mind into Todoist
Distance learning can be challenging, especially when several deadlines are coming up at the same time. Self-organization is the clue for successful remote learning with no stress.
Because you are at home, you may find it difficult to retain all of the tasks in your head. And, honestly, this isn’t needed. By compiling your to-do lists in an app, you free up your mental space. You don’t need to spend your energy on keeping track of all the tasks anymore.
Todoist is a great app for self-organization. Via this app, you can also share tasks with your classmates if, for example, you work on a group project. The real asset of Todoist is that it shows you beautifully-made statistics of your tasks done over time. Add synchronization for all your devices (laptop, smartwatch, smartphone) to have access to your plan at any time in any place. This is much more comfortable than writing countless paper notes!
2. Systemize Your Knowledge with GoConqr
GoConqr is a platform that has collected such educational tools as mind maps, flashcards, presentations, notes, and flipcharts. All of them are well-designed and can transform piles of information you have to learn into a beautiful system of knowledge.
Notes and memory cards written by hand are considered quite efficient, but this resource can be a great time-saving solution. What is more, you can access the content shared by other contributors on this website to discover additional information on the topic of your interest.
This platform is recommended for those who do not enjoy creating flashcards on their own or lack artistic or design skills to make them effective. In addition, you can add or change something at any time, and the structure of your content will be saved. For example, when you need to add information to your hand-made mind map, it is marred easily, so you might need to create a new one. You can always modify your content online, accessing it from any advice that you took with yourself.
3. Connect to Your Peers via Google Meet
Some questions are easier discussed in person, and we should not neglect that in distance learning conditions. One of the best and the most affordable tools for online conferences is Google Meet (use it completely free of charge or, if needed, upgrade to a paid plan for only $5 per month). This app is known to be user-friendly in comparison with, for example, Skype. It is easier to use as well. You just need to share a link for your classmates to follow, no need to install anything on your laptop or phone.
4. Check Your Spelling with Grammarly
Most of the communication nowadays is done in writing. When you are delivering your essay, assignment, or merely writing an email to your professor, you want your text to be comprehensible and error-free. Grammarly, an automated writing assistant, will check your spelling, grammar, and even readability.
A basic check is available for free, but you will obtain a more profound revision of your text with a premium version. This automated assistant will give you some tips considering your writing style and check the text for plagiarism. If you are looking for a human professional to help you with your text revision, you can try a college essay writing service. They connect you with authors and editors who have been writing essays professionally for many years and can assist you with any problem related to your written assignments.
5. Combat Procrastination with the Pomodoro Technique
(https://pomodoneapp.com/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superelement.pomodoro&hl=en)
Are you constantly distracted by memes on Instagram, videos on YouTube, or voicemails from your bestie on Messenger? With the Pomodoro time management technique, you can become more productive and avoid wasting more time on your homework than you should.
Once upon a time (or, to be more precise, in the 1980s), one Italian student named Francesco Cirillo got tired of spending a lot of time on homework. He wanted to finish the unpleasant business as soon as possible and have more time to rest. To work more efficiently, he decided to use a tomato-shaped timer (hence the name of the technique). The device rang every 10 minutes. The student divided his university tasks so that he could spend no more than 10 minutes on one. And he noticed that in this way, he managed to do more.
Modern coaches offer to set 25 minutes for work. After that, you take a short break of 5 to 10 minutes to do something not related to your task (stretch, make a cup of tea, look through the window, play with your cat). Every 4 pomodoros, 25 minutes each, you need to take a longer break. In this way, you get more done in less time.
You can simply set a timer on your phone or download one of the free apps: PomoDoneApp, Focus To-Do: Pomodoro Timer & To Do List, etc.
6. Take Care of Your Eyesight by Reducing Blue Light with f.lux
Studying online means spending most of the day in front of the computer, which is not great by itself. But it is even worse if you spend time playing video games or watching TV shows on your laptop after the studies.
The research states that electronic devices can interfere with our sleep habits because of the blue light. So using your devices right before going to sleep may be the reason why you stay up late and fail to wake up early. The science-based solution is to reduce blue light on your screen, which is the main function of the app f.lux. It makes the colors warmer upon the sunset automatically.