By:
Megan L
There is so much information available on the internet that it cannot be measured as it grows exponentially. But here is something to put it into perspective: one byte of information is equal to .5 mm of length and the circumference of the sun is eight terabytes. Youtube users upload 21 terabytes per day. There is so much information just sitting at your fingertips that sometimes it can be a little overwhelming to find a reliable resource on the web to use for school. This is especially true in online classes where often times you need an external source for more information. This article includes ten excellent sources on the web that I personally use in my online classes, as well as in my other courses. Hopefully, you will find a new tool, or maybe even two, that you can use to better your learning in your online class. Feel free to pass these resources on to others so that we can all take advantage of the resources available to us. Please also note that all of the sites recommended here are free of charge or have a cost free option.
Wolfram Alpha:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
This website provides a great way to see the solutions to complex math problems. It will answer any questions you have and it has an extremely comprehensive knowledge base. Whether you want to know where Teddy Roosevelt was born, or the graph of 3x to the sixth, Wolfram is the best, most reliable source for information.
For students in: Any subject
Study Spanish:
http://www.studyspanish.com/
This website is great for grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary practice in Spanish. It is broken up by topics and has a variety of quizzes available free of cost to check your mastery of the subject.
For students in: Spanish
Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com
Google Drive is a great place to keep track of documents that you use for your online class. It requires a free Google account, but in your Google account you also get access to Gmail, Google calendar and many other features. This is a great way to keep documents backed up and to be able to access them anywhere via the internet. You can also share your documents with other Google account holders to collaborate on assignments in real time.
For students in: Any subject
Studyblue:
http://www.studyblue.com/
Studyblue is a website that allows you to make and study flashcards from your phone or computer. You can even share them with members of your class. It is incredibly user friendly and it grants the user access to a database of previously made flashcards. It is incredibly sleek as well, with minimum distractions to facilitate your studying.
For students in: Any subject
Quizlet:
http://quizlet.com/
Quizlet is an alternative flashcard website, with slightly more limited mobile access, as their app is only available in the app store (sorry Android users!). But, it has more options for working with your information. It has all sorts of games, tests, and tools to help you learn the information instead of memorizing it. Quizlet also offers the option of sharing your lists with other users and it allows printing.
For students in: Any subject
Khan Academy:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Khan Academy is an excellent tool for anyone, not just students. It puts videos of lectures online for a variety of subjects from art history and SAT prep to computer programming and calculus. Almost all of the content is free. Khan Academy is a great tool to re-learn a topic that you previously didn't understand, to explain a complex concept, or to just extend your knowledge.
For students in: Any subject
TED:
http://www.ted.com/
TED conferences are held globally. In each conference, an expert on a certain subject, whether it is nuclear energy or spoken word poetry, explains his or her area of expertise in a short amount of time. The average length is about 15 minutes for these awe inspiring talks. They will make you laugh, cry, and really ponder your life. It’s a great place to get information if you are especially interested in a certain subject area or just have some free time and want to learn something new.
For students in: Any subject
SparkNotes:
http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/
Now, I know what you are thinking, “My English teacher always said not to use SparkNotes.” Your English teacher is right: you should NEVER use SparkNotes as an alternative to reading the actual book. There is a reason that book was assigned, regardless of how boring it may seem. SparkNotes is more of an addition to reading the book. On every book they have, they provide a chapter by chapter analysis, character analysis, and symbol/motif list. SparkNotes is most helpful to review sections of books that are particularly confusing. It also helps immensely as a review before tests. Access is free, which is a plus, but the links to “study breaks” on the right side of the page can be extremely distracting. If you get easily distracted, I wouldn’t recommend spending too much time on here. SparkNotes also has study guides ranging from biology to US history, but the guides only address general information instead of tailoring to specifics.
For students in: English in particular, but also a variety of other subjects
EasyBib:
http://www.easybib.com/
This site can save your life if you are in a class with lots of research based citations. It offers MLA 7, as well as several other formats for citations, for web and print resources. It even has an auto cite bar which does most of the work for you. The forms are very straightforward and for every blank it has an example drop down next to it if you are unsure of how to input something. If you make a free account, you can keep lists of your citations and complete them as you go along.
For students in: any class that requires citations
GIMP:
http://www.gimp.org/
Gimp is a free, downloadable photo editing software program. It has dozens of functions and is comparable to Photoshop. It can be overwhelming at times, but tutorials can be found in various locations on the web.
For students in: Art
These are just a few of the hundreds of tools available to ensure success in your online classes. If you have difficulty locating one of these resources, the peer tutors are always here to assist you. There are many tools and sites to help you understand the information, not just get the answer. If you find a tool that works for you, pass it on to all of your friends. These tools and sites are here to help you as a student, and the more people that have access to them, the better. So take that next step today. Check out one or two of these sites and see what works for your learning style. The results will amaze you.
There is so much information available on the internet that it cannot be measured as it grows exponentially. But here is something to put it into perspective: one byte of information is equal to .5 mm of length and the circumference of the sun is eight terabytes. Youtube users upload 21 terabytes per day. There is so much information just sitting at your fingertips that sometimes it can be a little overwhelming to find a reliable resource on the web to use for school. This is especially true in online classes where often times you need an external source for more information. This article includes ten excellent sources on the web that I personally use in my online classes, as well as in my other courses. Hopefully, you will find a new tool, or maybe even two, that you can use to better your learning in your online class. Feel free to pass these resources on to others so that we can all take advantage of the resources available to us. Please also note that all of the sites recommended here are free of charge or have a cost free option.
Wolfram Alpha:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/
This website provides a great way to see the solutions to complex math problems. It will answer any questions you have and it has an extremely comprehensive knowledge base. Whether you want to know where Teddy Roosevelt was born, or the graph of 3x to the sixth, Wolfram is the best, most reliable source for information.
For students in: Any subject
Study Spanish:
http://www.studyspanish.com/
This website is great for grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary practice in Spanish. It is broken up by topics and has a variety of quizzes available free of cost to check your mastery of the subject.
For students in: Spanish
Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com
Google Drive is a great place to keep track of documents that you use for your online class. It requires a free Google account, but in your Google account you also get access to Gmail, Google calendar and many other features. This is a great way to keep documents backed up and to be able to access them anywhere via the internet. You can also share your documents with other Google account holders to collaborate on assignments in real time.
For students in: Any subject
Studyblue:
http://www.studyblue.com/
Studyblue is a website that allows you to make and study flashcards from your phone or computer. You can even share them with members of your class. It is incredibly user friendly and it grants the user access to a database of previously made flashcards. It is incredibly sleek as well, with minimum distractions to facilitate your studying.
For students in: Any subject
Quizlet:
http://quizlet.com/
Quizlet is an alternative flashcard website, with slightly more limited mobile access, as their app is only available in the app store (sorry Android users!). But, it has more options for working with your information. It has all sorts of games, tests, and tools to help you learn the information instead of memorizing it. Quizlet also offers the option of sharing your lists with other users and it allows printing.
For students in: Any subject
Khan Academy:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Khan Academy is an excellent tool for anyone, not just students. It puts videos of lectures online for a variety of subjects from art history and SAT prep to computer programming and calculus. Almost all of the content is free. Khan Academy is a great tool to re-learn a topic that you previously didn't understand, to explain a complex concept, or to just extend your knowledge.
For students in: Any subject
TED:
http://www.ted.com/
TED conferences are held globally. In each conference, an expert on a certain subject, whether it is nuclear energy or spoken word poetry, explains his or her area of expertise in a short amount of time. The average length is about 15 minutes for these awe inspiring talks. They will make you laugh, cry, and really ponder your life. It’s a great place to get information if you are especially interested in a certain subject area or just have some free time and want to learn something new.
For students in: Any subject
SparkNotes:
http://www.sparknotes.com/sparknotes/
Now, I know what you are thinking, “My English teacher always said not to use SparkNotes.” Your English teacher is right: you should NEVER use SparkNotes as an alternative to reading the actual book. There is a reason that book was assigned, regardless of how boring it may seem. SparkNotes is more of an addition to reading the book. On every book they have, they provide a chapter by chapter analysis, character analysis, and symbol/motif list. SparkNotes is most helpful to review sections of books that are particularly confusing. It also helps immensely as a review before tests. Access is free, which is a plus, but the links to “study breaks” on the right side of the page can be extremely distracting. If you get easily distracted, I wouldn’t recommend spending too much time on here. SparkNotes also has study guides ranging from biology to US history, but the guides only address general information instead of tailoring to specifics.
For students in: English in particular, but also a variety of other subjects
EasyBib:
http://www.easybib.com/
This site can save your life if you are in a class with lots of research based citations. It offers MLA 7, as well as several other formats for citations, for web and print resources. It even has an auto cite bar which does most of the work for you. The forms are very straightforward and for every blank it has an example drop down next to it if you are unsure of how to input something. If you make a free account, you can keep lists of your citations and complete them as you go along.
For students in: any class that requires citations
GIMP:
http://www.gimp.org/
Gimp is a free, downloadable photo editing software program. It has dozens of functions and is comparable to Photoshop. It can be overwhelming at times, but tutorials can be found in various locations on the web.
For students in: Art
These are just a few of the hundreds of tools available to ensure success in your online classes. If you have difficulty locating one of these resources, the peer tutors are always here to assist you. There are many tools and sites to help you understand the information, not just get the answer. If you find a tool that works for you, pass it on to all of your friends. These tools and sites are here to help you as a student, and the more people that have access to them, the better. So take that next step today. Check out one or two of these sites and see what works for your learning style. The results will amaze you.
You are beginning to get to an Avogadro's Number worth of bytes of information here. Regardless it is a lot so much that it is hard to fathom. The good news is that there are many helpful things for anyone to learn things.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great collection of resources...some I've used and some I've never heard of before! http://www.quia.com/web has a lot of shared resources as well (games, flashcards, matching, etc). I love using the games as review in my math courses!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love some of these sites mentioned! You have mentioned sites for almost every type of student. A couple of my favorites are google drive (which I use with my students) and Quizlet. A couple additional sites that I am just learning about are Khan Academy & Wolfram. These sites are very helpful with math students who need a little bit of reinforcement.
ReplyDeleteThanks for these site recommendations. I highly recommend the StudySpanish.com site. It's good for not only notes, but also practice exercises. Another one with video tutorials that is awesome is www.senorjordan.com.
ReplyDeleteGreat recommendations! Some other great sites for Spanish are drlemon.com, http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/ (great cultural information) and srjordan.com (lots of great videos of grammar explanations).
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to how "Google Drive" is a fantastic organizational tool for students. Once students begin using drive they will probably continue this best practice throughout their college and adult careers.
ReplyDeleteAll of these may be good sources but nothing beats a good old book.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thanks for the great information! I already love using some of these sites and look forward to trying some others. There is so much information available on the internet that is is both exciting and sometimes intimidating!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! I love how you list all of the resources available. Yes, the internet can be overwhelming. Thanks for narrowing it down.
ReplyDeleteI tried Wolfram Alpha - It is amazing and easy. I have placed a quick link on my desktop, so I can use it for quick information. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! There is so much information on the web now, it can be overwhelming without someone to point you in the right direction :-) Nice work!
ReplyDeleteResources on the internet have become part of our very fabric of learning. With access, we have an infinite toolbox. Of the sites you mention, Khan Academy and Google Drive are resources I use the most often, but I love the flashcard options, too!
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome resources! I was already familiar with Easybib, Ted, and SparkNotes. StudyBlue is a new one I want to learn more about. As more and more schools issue Chromebooks to their students, Google Drive and its various apps will be something that we will all use more. Thanks for these great ideas and a new things to check out!
ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic resources. Thank you for sharing. It is so easy to get stuck on the same old power point when there are so many options at our fingertips.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing with the study spanish web site is that it blocks you from using the free quizzes etc after you have clicked on the site a certain number of times.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions for help at the student's fingertips. Some of my students have trouble knowing exactly how to find the help they need.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great set of tools you have posted! I have fallen down a Wolfram Alpha hole on more than one occasion and have spent hours playing on the site!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggested websites! I will pass them along to my students.
ReplyDeleteThese are some really awesome websites. I knew about a few of them, but you've taught me some new ones. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat article Stephanie. Don't forget about Khan University.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed viewing and learning about quizlet.
ReplyDeleteVery helpful article. I agree with you about EasyBib. It saved me so much time and frustration because who really knows how to cite a federal bill? EasyBib does!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of resources! Finding reliable and helpful online resources can be very challenging for both students and teachers. Thanks for making this task easier!
ReplyDeleteThese are some great resources! Several I knew of myself, as a teacher, but there are some additional ones that I will be bookmarking to either help myself or to direct a student for some additional resources.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting all of these great sources for students to use! I personally use Google Drive but I am definitely going to check out studyblue and quizlet.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great resource for your peers! In history courses we stress the importance of scholarly sources. Not only did you provide the resources but you explained how they can be beneficial.
ReplyDeleteThese are some really awesome websites. I knew about a few of them, but you've taught me some new ones. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSuper article. Khan academy is awesome, and well it should be since Bill Gates is funding it. Also, don't forget Google Scholar for those research papers.
ReplyDeleteI hope that students will take note of these recommendations and make use of them. I know for a fact that some of them are very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI have used one or two of these resources myself and with my students but wanted to thank you for introducing me to the others. I have them bookmarked now and have been playing with them to see how I could use them. The internet can be overwhelming but it is also very helpful and so are you for helping us focus on some of the better sites.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great presentation of the resources! I will pass this on to my Latin students!
ReplyDeleteI recommend Quizlet and Study Spanish to my students, but I watch TED talks in my free time. There are some great topics.
ReplyDeleteThe key to success in this technology enhanced society is to be able to use your resources. I find that the students that I encounter often know how to find videos on Youtube, but are astonished to know that you can find a lesson on cells as well. I upload vocabulary words in quizlet for my face to face students. Thank you for sharing your knowledge to the next generation so that everyone can achieve.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article -- you provided some really good resources. I refer my students do Study Spanish often. It does a great job of explaining Spanish grammar!
ReplyDeleteSuper list of resources! I need to investigate some of these myself!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic list of resources! I knew about some of these, but there were some that I learned about now. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWolfram Alpha has many additional applications as well as the basic math. The image input analyzes images and their transformations- while part of the 'pro' package it is interesting to explore the examples.
ReplyDeleteThere are great resources our there. You made a wonderful list of just a few good ones!
ReplyDeleteGreat resources! They are free too!
ReplyDeleteWonderful list of resources. There are so many supplemental resources to help outside the classroom. Have you all heard of LearnZillion?
ReplyDeleteI have been using internet to learn math recently and it's very helpful. Thanks for putting these resources together and we can all benefit from it and save us lots of time.
ReplyDeleteExcellent list. I recognize only about a quarter of the list - thank you for addition to my Internet resource library.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the list. I encourage my students, even in science, to use easybib.com. I was unaware of a couple of those in the list, but will share with my students, both online and in the face-to-face classroom.
ReplyDelete