I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Leaning is beautiful. Natalie Portman
Perhaps the new ways of learning using a smartphone have slightly changed the face of studying forever. Maybe it is even the smartphone that has made learning more beautiful.
You must remember that studying becomes far more of a chore when you have to cram tons of information into your head in one night. The reason studying becomes so difficult at the last minute is that most students simply dread revising work that has already been learnt during the term. Revision seems to be far more infuriating than even completing homework. The thing about revision is it helps consolidate the knowledge that you already have, and revision helps you to achieve good results.
So, now that you've realised the importance of revision, you can make revision much more fun by using tablets and smartphones when revising. Most teenagers, like you, cannot seem to live without their smartphones. That is why you can choose to do something that you hate (study) by using something that you love (your smartphone).
If you are wondering how to use your smartphone for studying purposes, without your smartphone becoming a distraction, we have you covered. First, you need to know how to select the right apps or an app that can help you to study.
An App That Helps You Study
Don't for a second think that an app (even the most powerful study app) can replace your classroom participation and interaction. You should still be listening in class, taking your notes, and doing your homework. However, you can always rely on an app that will make studying a breeze.
There are many apps to choose from and you could settle on a different app for each of your subjects, but ideally you want to find one specific app that will help you to study for all the subjects at once. Again, when choosing the right app that will help you to study, you need to consider a few things first.
In order to study what you need to study; you have to make sure that you download an app that is in alignment with your curriculum as you cannot reap any benefit should you study content that is not covered at all. You would want to find an app that has a specific focus on the subject content that you are focusing on. If you find it hard to study notes, consider choosing an app that is far more interactive and fun. There are a considerable number of quiz-like apps that show you videos on a specific topic and then tests your recall of the knowledge taught.
The right app will be quite the obvious choice as it will be the app will make you feel more confident of that which you are studying afterwards.
Sometimes you may need to study in a way where you are being taught the content that you need to know again. Learning the same content from another expert teacher is always a good idea. Video-inspired apps like the Vodacom Learning App or even Dorkk can assist you when it comes to reteaching you content that you have learnt already.
If it is only foreign language learning that you are after, you may need to download an app specifically devoted to teaching you a foreign language. An app that is focused on teaching a foreign language will be ideal to help you to brush up on some vocabulary before a foreign language test.
There is no specific app that we can wrap with a bow and call the right study app for all. Every student is different, and every student will learn in an entirely different manner, so the app that you choose to use must be the study app that you are most happy with. If after using an app for a specific subject, and you feel confident enough to tackle any question thrown at you in the subject, that is the right app for you.
Don't for a second think that because you are in matric, you have to study in the traditional way. Matric students of the past would sometimes rely on video tapes to help reinforce the content that they already knew. The method, in fact, helped many of these matric students to pass. You too can whip out your phone and use a study app to reinforce the content that you already know in your matric year. Read all about how you can use your smartphone during your matric year.
e-learning is the Future Solution
Think about the convenience of using an app to study. You have your cellphone with you at every hour of every day. This makes e-learning such a beneficial learning tool.
Have you ever left your phone behind at home? The answer is that you have probably never left your phone behind. Having your phone with you all the time and at every time of the day means that you can study while you are on the bus or even when you are stuck in traffic.
Unlike having to set aside time to learn or revise work, with the e-learning option, you can easily learn before bed or even when you open your eyes in the morning.
e-learning is the future learning solution as there are specific revision apps that have been created to allow users to revise subject content whenever and wherever they feel like it. This means the e-learning apps and e-learning tools can complement your learning profoundly. Furthermore, if you are the type of matric learner who is keen on studying at every given moment of every given day in order to get the results of your dreams, you can easily be able to study almost anywhere with all the e-learning tools that you have available at your fingertips.
Use e-learning as your solution to get better grades and to be connected to subject content wherever you are. Thus e-learning means that you have a found a solution to improve your studying habits and techniques.
In order to make the most of e-learning tools, you must develop good habits with the apps that you are using. You can develop good studying habits with apps by looking at how your teachers use mobile devices in the classroom to assist with teaching subject content.
How to Use Mobile Devices in the Classroom
Using an app to revise or to test whether content learnt has been grasped or not is an excellent strategy used by teachers in today's classrooms. Teachers have formed some good habits in terms of using mobile devices in the classrooms. Teachers devote about 10 minutes of their lesson to employ the teach-test-and reteach learning method. They use an app like the QUIZIZZ app to test learners' knowledge of content taught. Once learners have completed the Quiz, they teacher views the answers and reteaches the content that most of the learners could not get right when trying out the quiz.
By watching the ways that your teachers use apps in the classroom, you can mimic the same style of learning when using these apps while studying. In fact, most online video tutorial platforms are built bearing the idea of teach-test-and reteach in mind.
Teachers have also started using apps like Padlet to collect ideas and thoughts from students about a specific topic. Should you need to write a Shakespearean essay, you can revisit the Padlets that were created by your teacher and be informed about all the learners' ideas on a specific theme before you put pen to paper and start writing your essay.
When mobile phones and apps are used for revision purposes in the classroom, you don't use the mobile device to check your social media, so you shouldn't be using your mobile phone to check social media at home as well.
Best Apps for Learning
Far too often students shy away from using apps for learning as they state that they are unsure as to which apps are best for learning. The right app is the one that covers the course content that you are trying to revise. The best app for you is also one that teaches you according to your learning level. If you are in grade 11, the content featured on an app should be specific to grade 11s. You can revise grade 10 and grade 12 content as well if you are in grade 11 for subjects like English, Life Orientation, and Afrikaans.
The best learning apps are those that are used as a supplementary form of revision to assist with revising work learnt. You must note that your textbooks and past papers will cover exactly what’s on the exam whereas your apps may cover more broader topics and concepts. Again, when using an app like Quizziz that has a quiz on the work that you will be tested on, you need to remember that the quiz was not developed by your teacher. So, always keep your teacher's studying strategy in mind as well. Using a revision app incorrectly is as good as not studying. If you are still unsure as to whether studying apps can be beneficial or not find out more about the advantages of learning with apps.
The Key Rule When Using an App is Not to Get Distracted
With the advent of technology, we have also lost our ability to concentrate for long periods of time. What this means is that while cellphones could change the face of learning, they can also be the reason why students don't learn at all. Distractions are inevitable while you are using your cellphone. A simple text message, a WhatsApp from a friend, or even a social media notification can become a huge distraction while you are learning.
While the devoted students will ensure they are not distracted while using their smart phones to study, you need to make sure that you remember that studying when using your cellphone is still a way of studying. Do what you have to so that you don't get distracted. Turn off notifications, choose to study at a desk rather than while lying on your bed, and devote time to using your smartphone for studying purposes only. Also, remember the smartphone is not a quick fix or a way to cram the knowledge for an entire term into one hour of e-learning. You need to designate time to use your textbook, notes, and past papers. You also need to set aside some time to using your cellphone for revision purposes.
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