As many students aim to enhance their study habits in the second semester, finding the tools and resources to support students for the rest of their academic careers may be exactly what they need. When preparing for finals, or even AP exams, there are numerous supplemental resources for students to consider. Here are a few of them: 

Khan Academy 

Khan Academy is a popular resource that millions of students use. This website was created in 2008 as a non-profit to educate students across various subjects.

Khan Academy teaches students through short videos followed by a quiz or test. The courses vary from Pre-K to college-level courses. Furthermore, Khan Academy offers SAT and AP prep that follows the CollegeBoard guidelines. Also, students are able to collaborate with CollegeBoard to create customized tasks and assignments based on their past PSAT or SAT results.

“Khan Academy has been really helpful for me in all subjects but especially math, science and history. Their practice tests are perfect for review and test preps, especially for AP courses,” expressed West Ranch junior Sabella Habtemariam.

Students are able to study at their own pace outside of the classroom and review concepts in preparation for exams. 

Khan Academy has additional resources beyond what is taught in the classroom. They teach life skills such as internet safety, financial literacy and more. In addition, college students are able to practice skills for exams such as the MCAT and LSAT.

Flora

Available through Chrome Extension, the App Store and Google Play, the productivity app Flora focuses on getting students off their phones by tracking their habits and creating to-do lists while building a garden. 

Unlike other productivity apps, Flora uses an adorable tree clock to promote staying focused. When users set a Flora timer, a healthy tree appears on the screen, which then begins to deteriorate when another app or screen is clicked. 

Not only does the app provide a space for focusing, but it also rewards users for completing timers without looking at their phones. This feature allows Flora users to build a garden and unlock other plants. 

Additionally, as students reach their goals, a service on the app grows real trees in the world. Their official website describes how “Flora proudly offers the opt-in Price and Care services that let you plant real trees on the earth when you successfully grow a tree in the app.” By building healthy study habits students also get to make the world healthier too!

Quizlet 

Quizlet is a website that provides numerous learning tools. Students have the opportunity to create their own flashcards to study and share with classmates. From drilling concepts to studying for exams, students get to practice and refine their skills.

Furthermore, students have the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways in order to find strategies that help them learn and memorize best. These include playing games, taking tests and creating personalized study plans. “For other classes, Quizlet is really good for memorizing flashcard decks,” Habtemariam added.

Also, Quizlet provides textbook solutions in subjects ranging from math to science. Students struggling with a concept are able to find a step by step solution on Quizlet. This website is a valuable resource for students to grow and learn in school.

However, Quizlet recently added a premium plan, making it a little tougher to access all the tools without paying a fee. Users are still able to use the basic features which can provide more than enough help.

SparkNotes

SparkNotes was originally created for the purpose of providing study guides for literature, poetry, film and philosophy. However, as the website began to gain popularity, study guides for other subjects such as science, math and social studies have become available.

The website is primarily used for literature courses. Students are able to find summaries and quizzes, as well as practice writing essays.

“My English class read the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and I found it very difficult to understand the writing style used by Shakespeare. A tool that I found very useful throughout this class was SparkNotes,” described West Ranch Senior Shely Giusiano. “It allowed me to translate the parts of the play that I didn’t understand and gave me a better understanding of the play itself. I was then able to participate in class discussions and it made it easier for me to write an essay on the topic.” 

Overall, SparkNotes is a great tool to use for topics that are difficult to understand, clearing up misconceptions and helping make sense of different topics. 

GoodNotes 

Similar to Notability and Kami, GoodNotes is a great resource for anyone looking for a free note-taking app. On GoodNotes, users are provided tools to edit, write and organize their PDF files. 

According to the GoodNotes website, “Effortlessly write out equations, draw mind maps, mark up PDFs and more. Handwrite all over the page and experience limitless note-taking on the iPad.” GoodNotes provides a space for school-related notions along with a variety of tools that are easily accessible. 

From a classic pen to a fountain pen for calligraphy, GoodNotes users have the ability to edit their instruments however they see fit. Furthermore, the application also includes shape outlines, highlighters, sticky-notes and numerous different paper backgrounds like graphs or lines. 

Additionally, once a student completes their work they can easily export it to Google Classroom for submission, or organize it into folders and notebooks within the app. It’s quick, easy and user-friendly.

Overall, finding ways to improve study habits is up to the student themselves. The applications mentioned above are not the only ones out there, so finding what works for you is incredibly important. Happy studying!