Digital tools to help you study
Whether you’re researching or writing, presenting or planning, there are lots of digital tools available to help that you might find useful. When used effectively, they can support your learning.
Revising
If you prefer to take your notes digitally, there are plenty of tools dedicated to notetaking. Microsoft OneNote provides lots of visual options for taking notes, and can even transform your handwritten notes into text. Notion and RemNote are also useful for taking and adapting your notes, or Google Keep allows you to take more short form, textual notes. If you have a smartphone, you can use your notes app to take notes more easily on the go.
Writing
Microsoft Word is the world’s most popular word processor, and is the app lots of students use to write essays and coursework. You can use Microsoft Word via Microsoft 365 in your browser to create and edit live documents on the go as long as you have an internet connection.
Google Docs also works in your browser. You can download a Google document onto your device as a Word document or PDF. Both Microsoft Word and Google Docs have lots of premade templates for basic documents like reports, checklists and CVs.
If you’re working through ideas or brainstorming with a group, whiteboard tools can be a useful way to get your ideas down. If your school uses Microsoft you’ll have access to Microsoft Whiteboard, or there are alternatives like Padlet and Miro that allow you to create visual brainstorms, mind maps, mood boards and more.
Microsoft Word and Google Docs have built-in proofreading support to help you identify spelling and grammar mistakes. In Microsoft Word, you can access this by clicking the Editor icon (which looks like a blue pen). Google Docs has a similar tool. Go to the Tools tab to find Spelling and Grammar.
There are also third-party tools like Grammarly you can use as an add-on to check for typos and grammatical errors. Check with your teacher before using any additional tools to ensure this is allowed in your school or college.
Text-to-speech software canread your work out loud for you. Microsoft Word’s Read Aloud feature can be found in the Review tab at the top of a Word document. Click Read Aloud, and use the toolbar to play, pause and adjust the reading speed to suit your needs. This can be useful for spotting grammar and spelling mistakes in your work.
There are lots of different online tools that can help with creating references, like ZoteroBib and Cite This For Me. You fill in the details about the source and choose the output style, and they generate a reference for you to use. It is important that you understand your referencing style, as references generated by any form of automated process are likely to be imperfect and it is your responsibility to correct them in your work. However, these tools can be a great starting point to build on.
There are also reference management tools like Mendeley and Zotero. These are tools that can help you store and manage your references.
There are tools that can translate single words and short phrases into different languages. The most well-known translation tool is Google Translate. AI tools like ChatGPT can also help you with short translations.
Whenever you’re using a translation tool, it’s important not to input too many words or the translation is less likely to be accurate. A helpful way to test this is to translate your results back into English. Check with your teacher before using AI in your work to ensure this is allowed in your school or college.
Communicating
If you’re working with a group, you can collaborate in live documents, slides or spreadsheets through Microsoft 365 or Google Drive (as long as you have an internet connection). You can set your preferred access level for different users, and change this at a later date.
You might be asked to create a presentation for one of your A-Level subjects. If you’re doing an Extended Project Qualification you’ll deliver a presentation as part of your assessed work. Microsoft PowerPoint is the most well-known presentation app, and is used by lots of teachers and students for making presentations. If your school or college uses Google apps, Google Slides is a similar presentation tool that can be accessed via your browser.
If you’re looking to get more creative, Canva is a free-to-use graphic design tool, where you can create presentations then download them into PowerPoint if you prefer. If you’re unsure where to start when creating a presentation, most slideshow tools have premade templates and design tips.
During your A-Levels you might find it useful to virtually meet with other students. At university or in the workplace, it’s common to join virtual meetings and events.
If you have a Microsoft account, you can use Microsoft Teams where you can voice or video call even with those who don’t have a Microsoft account. To access all of its features, download the app. You can use Teams in your browser, but it may look a little different. Google Meet provides similar functions if you have a Gmail account.
You can also create a free Zoom account where any meetings you schedule will have a 40-minute time limit. Make sure you know how to join ahead of any meetings, and are aware of how to mute yourself and switch your camera on or off.
Your school or college should provide you with an email address through Outlook or Gmail. It’s best to use this email address for anything relating to your studies, like contacting your teachers with queries about your work.
We recommend using a separate email address for personal matters as your school or college email address is only temporarily available while you’re studying there.
If you’re working as part of a group, instant messaging can be a useful way to stay in touch. If you have a Microsoft account, you can use Microsoft Teams to chat, share files and more.
Google Chat provides similar functions if you have a Gmail account. Alternatively, Slack is a chat app that is commonly used in the workplace.
Organising
If you prefer to manage your to-do lists digitally, there are plenty of tools that can help you organise your workload and prioritise tasks. Microsoft has several apps like Planner and Lists, and Google has an app called Google Keep. There are also alternatives like Trello and Teamwork that allow you to create kanban boards, Gantt charts and lists.
It’s important to store your files in a way that will be useful for you to come back to. Depending on what your school or college uses, Microsoft’s OneDrive and Google Drive are both cloud-based storage. You can easily access your files on different devices by logging in and you can share your files with your teachers and other students. In both OneDrive and Google Drive, you can customise the order of your folders and change their colour too.
Managing your time
If you want to better manage your time, there are lots of timer tools that can help you study in intervals using the pomodoro technique. There’s the Marinara Timer website, and YouTube videos that you can study along to. If you have a smartphone you could also have a look at the Appstore or Google Play for other apps that are available.
If you struggle with procrastination, there are productivity apps like Flora that can help keep you focused while you’re studying.
Calendars and schedules are a great way to keep yourself on track during your A-Levels Depending on what your school or college uses, you may have an Outlook calendar or Google calendar attached to your email address. You can use your calendar to mark any lessons, deadlines or exams and schedule when you’ll study.
Research
If you need to access straightforward facts, like the date of a historical event, the name of an influential figure, or the location of a landmark, you can type your question into generative AI tools like ChatGPT. Remember, AI is only able to generate responses based on the information it is trained on and the available dataset. It’s really important to double check and verify any facts you pull from Generative AI and look out for hallucinations. Check with your teacher before using AI in your work to ensure this is allowed in your school or college.
Data
In certain A-Level subjects, you might be expected to interpret or create a spreadsheet. If you choose to go to university, for STEM degrees like Maths, Medicine or the Sciences, you’ll probably become more familiar with spreadsheets and how they work. Microsoft Excel is the most well-known spreadsheet app, and Google Sheets is very similar.
There are lots of different ways you can use a spreadsheet, from simply organising information to analysing data and creating graphs and tables. If you’re not sure where to start, Microsoft provide a tour of Excel on their training page and Google has a guide to creating, editing and formatting spreadsheets on their help page.
Design
If you’d like to design something that’s visually appealing, there are tools that provide lots of support and templates. If you only need something basic, Microsoft Publisher is a straightforward tool for creating simple layouts and posters.
If you want to get more creative, tools like Microsoft Designer and Canva provide a range of templates, assets and features for creating anything from posters and flyers to videos and gifs. Adobe Firefly is another visual tool that uses generative AI to create and edit images, audio and video. Check with your teacher before using any additional tools to ensure this is allowed in your school or college.
Last updated in July 2024. Please note, these tools are external to Newcastle University and not endorsed by us.
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Charlotte: Using digital tools
Charlotte shares how she uses digital tools in her studies.
