How can AI help students? Apps to Make School-Life Easier
- Integra Youth
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
Have you ever wondered how some people in your class can manage their study times across 5 courses, while you have a hard time for 1 course?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has resulted in its use in many fields around the world; education being at the top of this list. As students, it is our job to use AI responsibly and ensure that AI does not become a hindrance to education. This includes using AI to further our understanding rather than plagiarizing from AI.
It can get difficult to understand what AI types are helpful and reliable compared to ones that aren’t. This is a compiled list of apps and websites that can make school-life easier, whether it’s related to time management or understanding class concepts.
Organizational Tools
As the school year progresses and exams and tests start to stress students out, it can be easy to forget important dates and deadlines. Also, there might be times where you have many things from different classes, and organizing all this information can get hectic and confusing. Here are a few organizational tools to help:
Notion
Gained lots of attraction in recent years due to its endless functions. Notion, originally created as a note-taking app, grew popular due to its features for organization. Many people see this as one main hub for hundreds of tools, such as calendar, to-do lists, assignment trackers, etc… Its tools help students organize their school year into one place and ensure that students are meeting their deadlines and are staying organized, which can help them in the future when they might have to balance many things at once. The only problem with Notion is that some people find it difficult to use; the extensive amount of tools make it confusing, however, understanding Notion can benefit students in the long run.
Google Calendar & TimeTree
Having a google account means access to multiple tools, which can help students with their studies. One of these tools is google calendar. It allows you to add as many events and calendars as you require. Also, you can set up reminders to help you manage your time properly. It allows time blocking for different events and can help you ensure you spend enough time on all the important assignments and submit your assignments on time. A downside for google calendar is that it becomes difficult to integrate your school timetable with it. Many times, instead of spending time to organize all your classes and events from school, it’s easier to integrate your calendars, however, google calendar does not allow non-Google apps to integrate.
A very similar app to Google Calendar, however, this app allows you to integrate your school calendar. Also, it is possible to make a shared calendar with friends, so it could be used to set up meeting times or events to run together in a team.
Productivity Tools
Sometimes, when you have a list of things to complete, but can’t focus on the topics and/or assignments, it becomes difficult to complete everything on time and be able to receive the desired marks.
Pomodoro
A scientific technique to improve focus by balancing study time and break time in a manner that does not wear you out, but instead helps you be more alert in your studies and understanding. There are many websites and apps that can help you set this technique up; it consists of a timer (you can pick which times you prefer best). The most common timer includes 25 minutes study, and 5 minutes break for 4 cycles, followed by a 20-30 minute longer break. This keeps you sharp in understanding concepts and helps keep you focused on the task at hand.
YPT
A similar app to Notion, it can help with organization, however, most people use this app for its timers and to-do lists. YPT can help break studying down into different subjects. You can decide the amount of time required for each subject, and set a timer, which increases focus as you would be encouraged to hit that goal. Also, this app allows you to separate your to-do list into different subjects, which can help you prioritize which particular subjects require the most attention.
Freedom
After COVID-19, there has been an increase in trends of students procrastinating with social media. This decreases productivity substantially resulting in many assignments missed and lower average grades. Therefore, many AI tools have figured out a way to block certain apps on your phone or computer, which can start to teach you how to stop procrastination from getting in your way. For example, if you think Instagram causes lots of focus problems in your school life, you can use Freedom to block Instagram from opening for a certain amount of time, which results in a large productivity increase. The end goal of Freedom is to help you focus without the need of blockers, however, it helps you start off somewhere, so you get used to studying for long periods of time without the use of social media.
Improving Understanding
The worst feeling for a student is sitting in class and not knowing what is going on. Sometimes, it feels like everyone around you understands a certain topic, but you are not able to grasp the concepts despite trying very hard. Here are a few apps to help you improve your understanding on harder topics.
Khan Academy
An app that has many different subjects and concepts explained in thorough videos and presents quizzes halfway through the videos and readings to test your knowledge. It helps students understand difficult topics in an easy manner, with examples, and provides chances to get questions wrong in a stress-free environment. Khan Academy has many different subjects with many different grade levels available to thousands of students.
Quizlet/Anki
Sometimes, converting studying into games can be helpful for memorization, however, rote memorization can be harmful to students. Instead, scientists recommend active recall. This means that reviewing information for a particular subject periodically is helpful rather than learning everything at once. Here are two apps which make active recall really easy, Quizlet and Anki. Both these apps provide an opportunity for you to create flashcards, and they send you reminders about which deck to study at what time by using active recall as their main method of reminders.
ChatGPT
Although ChatGPT can be misused in education, if used correctly, it can be extremely beneficial. It provides a way to create mock tests and exams with questions similar to class. Also, if a concept was misunderstood in class and there is a shortage of online videos, ChatGPT can be used to provide a summary of the topic or it can be used to explain something in the most simple manner. Prompts such as “Explain [insert topic] to me as if I’m 5 years old,” can make a complicated topic into a very easy topic to review. Another popular prompt is, “Provide a mock test, with answers about [particular topic].”
Final Notes
Using AI in a bad manner can be detrimental to education, however, if you know how to use AI in the proper manner with reliable applications, it can become a very strong learning tool. Rather than trying to find ways of escaping school work through the help of AI, students should look for ways to use AI to their advantage and further their education.
Written By: Krisha L
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