Studying Online This Fall?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 by Mike Bertolino This is a post in our 2009 Back to School series. You can see all of the posts here.
More and more of our college lives are morphing from hardcopies to online forms and notifications. This is true for scheduling and everything else that comes from the university through email. Also we're talking and socializing online more and more everyday. Why not study online as well?
Sites like StudyBlue and CourseHero are taking course notes and studying online. These sites bring students who are taking the same classes together and allowing them to upload notes, notecards and share them in a social networking atmosphere.
CourseHero is one of the most widely known online study networks. This site has a lot of material, mostly because, out of a requirement for membership, students must upload a number of documents to get unlimited access to their library of notes, lectures, etc. If you don't have as many or as motivated to upload as many documents as the site requires you can also pay for as much time as your bank account can handle.
The sites document increments are pretty hefty go as follows: 40 documents for one month, 80 documents for three months, 160 documents for six months, and 400 documents for a year. If you want to forgo uploading your class presentations and such, you'll wind up paying 29.95 for a month, 19.95 a month for three and 6.95 a month for a year. I don't advise anyone to go for an unlimited pass to study for one test. If this is your method of studying, having these documents on hand seem like its really worth it but otherwise it's kind of a waste of time and/or money.
Study Blue takes a personal approach that's a lot more developed. While CourseHero focuses on getting as much material as they can online, StudyBlue works on the act of studying. You don't have to contribute to the site to be granted access to public documents, but there are also less documents total because of that.
iPhone and iPod touch applications are available for students who pay for the premium version of StudyBlue. The premium version also strips the ads, helps you create a study regimen and allows you to print other users documents that are public. The cost of the premium package is 9.95 a month and 59.95 for a year. I feel like this deal has more to offer outside the realm of study material. Also, what it lacks in it's volume of notes it makes up for in its cheaper price and extra features.
Have you every used these sites? Does study online help you more than regular studying would? Comment below to share!
Image Credit: Pacific University Oregon
Reader Comments (8)
There is also gradegenie.com, completely free, they even reward you for uploading notes... maybe a smaller site, but for some schools it might be more useful
I was introduced to StudyBlue as a Junior last semester during exam week, and it helped me immensely with all of my exams. I attend class on a regular basis, with the exception of a few sick days and the occasional "personal day." With the lecture notes provided by my fellow classmates on StudyBlue, I was able to fill in the gaps without any trouble at all. It saved me the trouble of having to find a classmate, borrow his/her notes, and make a copy... which is usually pretty awkward. So basically, I think online note sources are pretty awesome. Oh, and I passed all of my exams with flying colors.
Thank you so much - there are so many choices and I have been looking for alternatives to using only a desktop - keep up your excellent blog!
Koofers is launching nationwide this semester - be sure to check it out
I think studyblue is the best academic site out there-- it's got great content, but it also helps me study better.
In this website i have got information related to the different media through which one can promote their product. I also want to share some information on e-media through which company can promote their product effectively and quickly. T-red online shoe company is also doing this activities to promote as well as sell their product.
for more information you can visit the site.
In this website i have got information related to the different media through which one can promote their product. I also want to share some information on e-media through which company can promote their product effectively and quickly. T-red online shoe company is also doing this activities to promote as well as sell their product.
for more information you can visit the site.
What is the incentive for students to post their content? That is probably why they don't have much.
There are other sites that actually reward students for site participation. They seem much more appealing then paying or viewing limited documents.
http://www.wisecampus.com
Knetwit
Gradguru
Sharenotes
etc...