No one likes studying alone, so why not join with hundreds of other students on an online website designed for the sole purpose of studying with each other? There are many ways to study-from self-study to taking courses in person or online. Some students prefer to study on their own; others feel that having the assistance of others is very beneficial. Having reliable places where you can find websites to study with others online can make all the difference in how successful your study experience will be.
We’ve all been there, sitting quietly at our computers, staring at a line of code with no idea what to do next. Maybe you’re trying to learn a new skill from a MOOC but it just feels too much. Sometimes you just have questions that need answers, and the only way to get those answers is from speaking with someone else that has experience. For years I’ve been a part of several different online communities which have helped me a lot in my career and pushing me to learn new skills. In this article, I’ll share my experiences with online study groups and help you set up your own resource to help you finish your course or push yourself to learn something new.
Before we get into the websites you can use to study with others, we should talk about why studying in a structured study group is important.
Advantages of Study Groups Online
No matter if you’re in high school, in university, or somebody who wishes to continue their education in the form of refresher courses or MOOCs, studying with others is a great way to make the experience more fun and effective. Some students are lucky enough to have friends or family they can study with but sadly, not everybody is this lucky.
1. Get New Perspectives
If you study by yourself, you will always see your material from the same perspective—yours. While this may not be a problem, getting fresh perspectives on a topic can help you learn it more thoroughly. As you listen and ask questions, you will soon start noticing a variety of different viewpoints on the same idea.
This will force you to think more about your position and will, therefore, develop your critical thinking skills while helping you study.
2. Learn Faster
Working together, students in study groups can generally learn faster than students working alone.
For instance, some part of the textbook that seems completely confusing to you could be quite clear to another student. In a study group, you can learn quickly by simply asking a question, instead of spending valuable time puzzling over the difficulty alone.
In addition, you can help your fellow students when they have difficulties understanding something that you do understand.
3. Eliminates Procrastination
If you put off studying until the last minute, regularly scheduled group study sessions can eliminate your procrastination. You will have a set time for studying and are accountable to your group members, which makes it less likely you will procrastinate about your studies.
4. Fill In Learning Gaps
Study groups provide an excellent opportunity to fill in gaps in your understanding. By comparing notes with other students, everyone can check the accuracy of their own. They can fix errors, and fill in the details they may have missed.
Members also share tips about how they take notes which everyone can try out.
5. Breaks Up Monotony of Studying Alone
Spending a lot of time alone studying can become monotonous. Joining a study group can add a social aspect to your study routine. It also gives you an outlet for discussing topics that you are struggling with at school with other students.
6. Practice for the “Real World”
Working with your peers in a study group gives you an excellent opportunity to hone your people skills.
If you come across a difficult situation in your study group, you can use it to practice your collaboration abilities. If everyone stays focused on the goal of learning, getting sidetracked by socializing or disagreements that arise will be kept to a minimum. This is an excellent practice for when you’ve finished school and are out in the workplace where you will find yourself in similar group dynamics.
7. Sharpens Your Study Skills
Being part of a study group allows you to observe different types of study methods. Your own study methods might be good, but you may also be able to sharpen your skills by adding new methods that your group study members are using.
Study With Strangers Online via Zoom
More and more of the study process nowadays is taking place online, due to developments in technology and of course COVID-19. Although this certainly has benefits, as it saves travel time and provides more freedom, it also can be very boring to sit behind your computer all day long. Because of this dullness, studying online often requires more discipline and motivation to start and keep studying. Online study buddies can be a good solution for this.
It works the same as for example studying in the library, college, university, school, a cafe, or whatever. You see other people studying when you have to get work done yourself as well. By being surrounded by hard-working people, you get motivated to study along with them and stop procrastinating and wasting your time. However, instead of actually seeing these people online, you see them on your computer. This is obviously different than actually being with other students, but it can still make you think; ‘these strangers study hard, I should do it too’.
Best Website to Study With Others
Looking for the best website to study with others? Your search ends here! Sites like Quora and LinkedIn have helped us network. But what if you want to study with other people or help other students? The best sites to study with others are going to be those where other students are asking questions and helping each other out.
I’ve tried out numerous websites that provide you with an opportunity to interact with other students. Here are the top websites I found most effective.
Virtual Study Room
Virtual study room is the largest website worldwide on which you can join virtual study rooms to study with strangers on Zoom. There are possibilities to study in a group or to only study with one other person. Many morning activities are organized, there are opportunities to hire a teacher who can explain more about the subject you are struggling with, you can make your own study plan and take a look at other study plans, and there are various chat boxes. In other words, lots of opportunities for you to get more motivation to study by joining online study rooms.
Mooclab
Mooclab is a great tool to find a study buddy online. On this website, you get matched with other study partners online. You can fill in the country you live in, the subject you are studying, your preferred language, and your timezone. With this information, Mooclab finds you the most fitting study buddies for you. The website also has the option of study groups. On this page, you find lots of public and closed zoom meetings that you can easily join. In these groups, there are lots of people studying together and motivating each other. It is like a library, but then online. Lastly, Mooclab offers a useful search engine for open online courses.
StudyStream
StudyStream is a good tool to find focus study rooms on Discord and Slack to study with others. These rooms are open 24/7 for every student. There are different rooms for university students and high school students so that you can find study buddies like you. StudyStream also includes a leaderboard of the students who have studied the post in the focus rooms. In this way, you get extra motivated to study hard and boost your productivity.
Group Study Website and Resources
Let’s admit the fact that we all need some extra motivation in studies, and tips and tricks to improve our scores. We don’t always find motivation in the same way so we look online or we ask our friends and teachers for any exam-related guidance. Here are other group study websites and resources.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that produces literally hundreds of short lessons in the form of videos taking you through maths, biology, history, chemistry, and more. Their website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators.
Considered the OG online learning platform, their content covers education for all ages and a wide variety of subjects and is available via their website, as well as an app… for free. It’s also available in 30 different languages to boot.
EasyBib
Referencing can be a pain, but it doesn’t have to be. EasyBib allows you to accurately create citations by scanning book barcodes with your phone’s camera. You can then export the citation to email and send it to yourself to add to your essay. This app will transform your assessment writing – you might even go so far as to say you enjoy referencing!
Trove
Trove is an online library database, bringing together content from Australian libraries, museums, archives, and other research organizations. It’s an incredible tool for any student doing an essay or research assignment, looking for resources. There is also an app, the catalog for the National Library of Australia, which lets you search the collection on your mobile, wherever you are. Handy!
Quizlet
A free online resource that allows you to create your own flip cards for memorizing definitions, terms, formulas and so much more. ‘Gamifying’ the way you learn not only helps you remember things better, but it also makes it fun!
By breaking down topics and subjects into bite-size portions, it makes it easy to digest and retain. There’s no excuse not to give Quizlet ago. Game on.
Self Control
If you often find yourself surfing the internet for “just 5 minutes” when you should be studying, Self Control is for you. This Mac application will block internet access to any sites on its blacklist for a preset period of time. Once the timer has started, those sites will be blocked and nothing you will do can reverse it – not even deleting the app! But it’s a good thing – it forces you to concentrate on your work, even when you’re tempted to stray.
Alternatively, if you prefer an incentive-based motivation to focus, you could try the Forest app – set a timer for however long you want to stay off your phone, plant a seed, and watch your little tree grow. It dies if you open the phone, but if you make it to the end of the timer you can plant your tree and build a forest! The best part is Forest partners with a real tree-planting organization, Trees for the Future, to plant actual trees on the earth, too.
Look away from Facebook…
GoConqr
GoConqr is a desktop and mobile app that allows you to create online mind maps, flashcards, quizzes, and notes, plus also features lots of handy tools such as an online calendar and study planner. You can also create groups, discuss topics, and share resources, so it’s a great way to collaborate with friends whilst studying.
Studiosity
We couldn’t write a list of awesome websites and not include ours in it! Studiosity is already being used for free by thousands of students around the world and it allows you to either get your draft essay/assignment/assessment reviewed and sent back to you with detailed feedback, or connect to a real-life Subject Specialist in real-time, who is online, waiting for your question during evenings and weekends.
MyStudyLife
This handy little app will ensure you never miss a deadline again. Another incredible free resource, My Study Life is a planner to help you organize your tasks, assessment due dates, and exams.
It is available online and as a downloadable app, you can schedule tasks so you can keep track of your progress, as well as get notifications of the tasks you might have missed (or snoozed). Drop in your timetable so you’ll never miss your online session or forget a deadline or exam.
Best of all, your data syncs seamlessly across all of your devices and is accessible even when you’re offline! If you’re in need of a personal assistant in an app, this one is for you.
Scrap shower power and embrace 21st-century tech!
EduTV
EduTV is an online database of films and TV that gives access to students for ‘educational’ purposes – there may very well be something that gets your study mind racing on here, but there’s also some great stuff if you’ve burnt through your entire Netflix to-watch list.
It’s set up through universities, so your best bet is to start Googling, or check your uni’s website for the link.
Libraries online
This sounds obvious, but many students don’t realize that there is an online library resource offered by their university, school, or college. And many aren’t members of their local public library either. Through these, you can access textbooks, academic journals, as well as digital subscriptions to all major newspapers and publications, which during this COVID-19 pandemic period is particularly helpful given library access is limited at best with some remaining closed indefinitely.
Bored Of Studies Online Forum
This website hosts a number of invaluable resources for high school students. You can get access to past papers and practice essays and can share and swap notes, but arguably the most useful thing on the site is the student forum. The extensive community of school students (and teachers) contains threads on a huge range of topics from what subjects to choose, tips and tricks on trigonometry, how to survive exam stress, and much, much more. With a membership of over 400,000 students, it’s a great place to get support, help, and ideas from your peers across the country.
Conclusion
Perhaps one of the best things about the internet is that we can connect with people all over the world and learn from each other. Success is not an accident. Success is the result of knowing the rules of the game and failing over and over again until you succeed.
This blog has covered some of the best websites for college students as well as high schools students to study with others online so they do not feel lonely while they are all alone studying in their houses. We hope you enjoyed it. Tell us what you think in the comment section!