Web Spy: StudyBlue

By Laura Dondero

The school year is back in full swing, and before you know it, it’ll be time for your first test. While I’m sure a lot of you are probably great at studying, if you’re anything like me, it’s not your best skill. But with the help of StudyBlue, studying just got a lot easier and more efficent.

StudyBlue helps you study by giving you a place to store all your lecture notes online and make free online flashcards. What’s brilliant about this is that since everything is stored online with StudyBlue, you don’t have to worry about carrying around all your books and notes with you wherever you decide to study — you can pull it up on any computer!

The flashcards on StudyBlue are easy to make and use — and their digital format allows you to put more than just words and phrases on them! StudyBlue also allows you to add photos or audio – perfect for art, architecture, language or music classes! Also, when you study with flashcards, StudyBlue keeps track of what you know and don’t know, making your study more efficient by focusing your time on what you actually need to learn.

StudyBlue also knows that sitting in front of a computer isn’t always the most convenient place to study, which is why they made their site easily accessible by your smartphone — either through your phone’s web browser or the Apps available for iPhone and Android. As the site says, “it’s like having your entire backpack in your pocket.”

What’s more, StudyBlue has recently joined with another one of my favorite productivity sites, Evernote, to allow you to easily convert your Evernote class notes into StudyBlue‘s online flashcards.

I love StudyBlue because I have a hard time staying focused when I study, and StudyBlue helps with that. By organizing everything in one place, I don’t have to spend time trying to track down a particular set of notes and can spend more time focused on studying. Also, their plain gray and blue layout is distraction-free and helps keep me focused on doing my work. And I love that I can access my notes and flash cards on my phone, so that I don’t always have to be at my desk! I can study when I’m walking to class, waiting in line at the coffee shop, or pretty much anywhere. You can also set study reminders on StudyBlue – great for master procrastinations like me.

So whether your study habits could use a makeover like mine or even if you already have good study habits, StudyBlue will undoubtedly help maximize your study time — you’ll have better grades in no time!