We are living in an exciting digital age with new education apps being created every year to help us learn and study more productively. University life is busy with lecturers, team projects, self-study and exam preparation. You also need to make time for other activities such as meeting up with friends, hobbies and maintaining your personal wellbeing. You may feel overwhelmed, but there are many apps that you can use to help you stay organised and on track.  

Powered by AI, education apps can be great tools for a variety of tasks such as project management, collaboration with your classmates or transforming your notes into flashcards and practice sets for exam preparation.

In this blog, we will list the top education apps you can use for a variety of tasks while you’re at university and you can continue using them when you start working. 

 

1. Planning / Time management

 

  • Todoist

Todoist is a task management tool. You can plan your classes, keep track of your assignments and readings, record your daily tasks and get reminders of due dates.  

  • School Planner

School Planner is great organisation tool specifically designed for students. Record your homework, assignments, study tasks and exams and receive reminders and notifications to ensure you stay organised.  

  • Forest

Do you easily get distracted or find it difficult to focus on a task? Check out the Forest app. In each study session, you are given a virtual tree, and it will grow each time you complete one of the tasks in your checklist (e.g. type up 500 words for my economics essay). In each of your sessions, a virtual tree is planted so you have the opportunity to grow an entire ‘forest’.  

The Forest developers partner with a reforestation organisation called Trees for the Future to plant real trees on earth. Forest will donate to them each time use the virtual coins you earn in Forest for real tree planting.   

  • Habitica 

Habitica turns your to-do list, habit and daily tasks into a game, motivating you to stay productive. You earn rewards and unlock achievements for completing tasks and it will track your progress.

Other planning / time management apps:

2. Note-taking 

 

  • Evernote 

Evernote is a note-taking app that supports text, images and voice memos. You can organise your lecture notes, study materials, research and scanned documents all in one place. Evernote’s search function allows you to find information quickly by typing in titles, dates and keywords. The app will sync your notes automatically across all your devices and you can access it offline.  

  • Otter.ai 

If you want to transcribe audio into text, then Otter.ai is the perfect app. Instead of spending time writing notes, Otter can record what was said in lectures, group discussions and interviews and turn it into text, summaries and action items. It can condense a 1-hour meeting into a 30 second summary and assign action items from a meeting. 

  • Google docs 

Google docs will allow you and your team to create, edit and collaborate on files in real-time. Great for group projects.

Other note-taking apps:

3.  Writing and Editing 

 

  • ChatGPT 

ChatGPT is a generative AI tool that serves many functions including creating copy, summarising long articles, research, brainstorming ideas and language learning. The information it gives is only as good as the prompts you provide. Use its responses as a starting point, not as a final answer and always verify its answers with other reputable sources. Read more about how to use and not use ChatGPT as a student. 

  • Grammarly 

Grammarly is a great tool for improving your writing. It helps with grammar, punctuation and style suggestions. Use it to check whether your essays, reports and assignments are clear, concise and free of errors. The app can identify the key points you want to convey and make suggestions for improvement.  

Check out Grammarly’s product demonstration. 

  • Hemingway Editor 

The Hemingway App can help make your writing concise and easier to understand by assessing its readability. It highlights complex sentences and errors and offers suggestions on how to write with more influence. To get started, just paste your writing onto the page and it will analyse its readability. 

  • Zotero 

Zotero will help you organise, cite and share research. Save any searches, webpages or citations on Zotero where you can then sort them into collections and tag them with keywords. For your essays and projects, you will need to reference your sources and Zotero can create references and bibliographies in various styles such as APA, MLA and Chicago ensuring your citations are up to academic standards.  

Check out a Zotero tutorial.  

 

4. Collaboration 

 

  • Miro 

Miro is a visual collaboration platform where your team can collaborate on projects, brainstorm new ideas and assign each other tasks. There are over 300 templates you can choose from. Miro’s AI can transform ideas into briefs, plans and diagrams. It is integrated with other software so you can add content from Google, Microsoft, Adobe and more.  

  • ClickUp 

ClickUp creates a collaborative learning environment where you can manage projects, set goals, list tasks and track progress. ClickUp Docs allows you to work alongside your classmates to contribute and comment on documents in real-time. ClickUp’s Whiteboards allows your team to draw, visualise and share ideas using sticky notes, cards and other visual features.  

  • Mindmeister

Mind mapping is a technique that helps you visualise your thoughts and communicate them to others. It has been proven to help with extracting key points, improving memory and project management. If you are a visual learner, then mind mapping is the tool you’re looking for.  

Mindmeister is a great mind mapping app. After you type in the central idea, you can create unlimited subtopics and attach research, notes and digital assets. Use it to brainstorm, organise ideas and plan tasks for your next team project.  

Other collaboration apps:

  • Notion – an app where your team can collaborate and focus. You can connect documents to a project and track tasks.  
  • Microsoft Teams – share, edit and work together on documents, spreadsheets and other media.  

5. Revision 

 

  • Quizlet 

With Quizlet, you can transform your notes and slides into flashcards, practice tests and study guides that cater to your learning style. You can also use sets made by your classmates or select from millions of flashcard sets created by other students. Quizlet’s ‘Learn’ mode uses your past behaviour to identify what you find challenging and adjusts the difficulty of questions based on your performance.  

Check out a Quizlet product demonstration. 

  • StudySmarter 

StudySmarter provides you access to millions of learning materials and can create flashcards from your notes. You can test yourself with Exam AI and get feedback to improve your answers.  

  • Study Fetch 

Study Fetch is another app where you can create flashcards, quizzes and notes from your course material. You can also get feedback on your essays and generate videos. 

Other revision apps:

 6. Mental health and wellness 

 

  •  Headspace 

As your weeks get busier during university and exams are coming up, you may feel stressed or anxious. It is important to take care of your mental health. Headspace offers stress-relieving techniques, sleep meditations, and mental health resources to help you manage stress, anxious thoughts and help you feel more relaxed.  

Check out the Headspace’s YouTube channel where you can try their meditation videos such as Managing Exam Stress.  

  • Calm 

Calm is a mental health app to help improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety and teach meditation and relaxation techniques. It has exclusive music tracks for focus and relaxation, sleep stories, videos on mindful movement and stretching and sessions to help you overcome stress or burnout.  

Calm’s YouTube channel offers meditation and mindfulness videos.  

Other wellbeing apps:

Interested in more study advice? Read our blog. Our dedicated College Services Advisors team is here to support you during your time at the College and throughout your transition to university.