The traditional ways of studying are being ousted by the 21st century’s new forms of retrieving information, including online academic databases.
Sites such as Quizlet offer free flash cards and notes for online high school courses, such as AP U.S. History, AP Biology, AP Spanish, English and other common high school courses.
“My favorite site for studying Chinese or for any other language at all is definitely Quizlet. The flash card mode is really helpful. You can flip it over just like an original flash card. What’s also really useful is that anyone can use it, so you can study other flash cards or review sheets from anyone else who has created one,” said sophomore Kelly Zhang.
Quizlet is one of the leading web sites in assisting students. Users can select from an array of thousands of flashcard sets or create their own. Students can also choose to share information with friends while instructors can create and distribute course study tools.
“I love Quizlet because it’s quick and easy. Plus, you never have to worry about losing any cards. The best thing about it is that so many people use it, so it’s easy to find sets on subjects because everything is shared,” said junior Kate Desborough.
Purplemath, one of the top 10 sites for online mathematics assistance, covers a vast range of topics from algebra to trigonometry and offers step-by-step explanations with examples.
SparkNotes gives direct assistance in literature. It provides detailed analyses and explanations along with extensive reviews of the major themes of world-renown literature. Most high school English courses cover novels that are usually found on SparkNotes.
“I like using SparkNotes because it gives a pretty good summary of the book. I can refer to it any time I want and quickly check something about the book since it would be faster to use SparkNotes than get the actually book and search through it,” said sophomore Jordan Higuchi.
John Green, leader of the Crash Course videos on YouTube, runs a channel that offers short educational clips reviewing important topics for several common high school courses.
“Crash Course is a little more interactive and enabling for students to understand. John Green explains things in an easier way to understand. Lots of AP teachers around the country also provide course materials for public use. College board is another great place to study from as they are the makers of the actual AP tests,” said Nathan Rysavy.
Khan Academy.org provides simple lessons explaining topics in mathematics and science ranging from third grade math to computer programming. Its short videos cover practice problems and subjects that may be difficult for most students.
“I do recommend using Khan Academy, but usually for my AP Biology students. The level of the lessons in biology in particular is aimed more at advanced/college students; it’s hard for the younger kids to understand. The other criticism I have is that the lecturer uses only written text and voiceover to present the material, which can sometimes be a little dry for young students. But, if you have a particular topic in mind that you need a refresher on, they do a GREAT job of reviewing material. I even use it sometimes to review topics that I am going to teach,” said Erin Flynn.
