Exam Survival | Apps

I am one of the worst people when it comes to exams - I procrastinate, I highlight everything rather than the essentials, I never follow a revision plan...I could go on and on through the list of things I do which I know are not the best actions to take. Recently, my university sent around an email to the student body on tips and tricks for bettering our exam preparation of our exam period starting in May. This got me thinking...in this modern age of technology, are the old tricks like making a revision timetable and highlighting bullet points of your work outdated? Could there be more high tech alternatives in the form of phone apps which could help with exam preparation in a more modern way?

Gojimo | Exam Practice Testing

Why I love this app:

❤️️ it has a range of subjects and qualification types from a variety of different countries

❤️️ there is loads of random tests available to test yourself on a wide variety of subject areas

❤️️ it isn't a fantastic app if you have something very specific to learn, however, for general topping up it's brilliant

❤️️ it provides you with a progress report of your improvement

❤️️ this app is something to use year out to refresh your memory and keep yourself prepped for exam time

RefME | Book Citation and Referencing

Why I love this app:

❤️️ it's not specifically for exam preparation, but as a psychology student, it's an important part of a lot of courses, especially when doing essays and writing assignments

❤️️ it's a really easy way to get an accurate reference for any book or paper - referencing is something I find difficult and irritating to remember what order things go in, especially with punctuation

❤️️ it's very helpful if the book doesn't contain the full information you need

❤️️ it covers books, journals, websites and has the ability to search for as well as scan references, which is fantastic if you have forgotten to write down the information for or scan the book, journal or website you are using before closing or returning it to the library

TED | Video Conference Viewer

❤️️ it's great for learning in a new way, watching people talk about subjects rather than reading it off a page, which is great if you find it easier to learn by hearing rather than reading

❤️️ it has a massive amount of videos and subject matters for all areas and grades of study

❤️️ it covers subjects which aren't academic, which can also help you to relax and prepare for study

❤️️ the discover tool allows you to find new things, related to your subject or not, and there is an option to select a time limit on the videos you want to watch and create playlists around this which is great if you are trying to fit in a learning session in between classes or on the bus!

StudyBlue | Communication and Planning

❤️️ this is one of my favourite apps, as it allows you to search for your school or university, and covers a number of countries

❤️️ it allows you to create your own timetable by subject area for your exam revision

❤️️ it allows you to connect to your course leaders and other people on your course who have the app as well and communicate and plan exam revision with them

❤️️ the message boards allow for easy communicated by subject

MyStudyPlan | Planning

❤️️ this app allows you to effectively plan your revision timetable and has a notification option

❤️️ it allows you to input specific things that you are studying, as well as indicating how long you would like to spend studying each subject

❤️️ it has a progress report option which allows you to see how accurately you are sticking to your plan

❤️️ it links exam preparation and resource apps to allow for better studying

❤️️ it allows you to prioritise each subject by day and closeness to your exam

Morning Worm | Alarm Clock

❤️️ learning aside, actually getting up in the morning to study is an issue for me, which this app manages to tackle, especially if you are a person who uses the snooze button all too often

❤️️ it allows you to choose a trigger puzzle to tackle to stop your alarm, which gets your brain cells going

❤️️ it allows you to select a music option, which plays a song of your choice from your phone at full volume until you have completed the puzzle

❤️️ the music will continue playing after the puzzle is solved if you choose to do so to help you wake up as you get ready

All the apps features are for the iPhone, but may be available on other devices, so please check your app store before trying to download them. These apps have helped me dramatically over my exams, recently and in previous years (either these or similar apps), and if you are like me and hate revision, I would strongly suggest getting these apps! Hopefully they help those of you who have exams - which I wish you much luck for!