While half of you believe that taking photographs, making calls and access to the Internet is the extent of a smartphone, another half is sure that it can be of more use. Nowadays, young people are so obsessed with their phones that even when answering the call of nature they still keep hold of their gadgets. Besides all the social networks and watching funny videos on YouTube, a smartphone may offer you its help when studying and learning materials. Mobile learning is getting increasingly popular in the modern world. While schools are limited to standard ways of both teaching and learning, cell phones become an interesting alternative to books and encourage students to study.
Strategies for using a smartphone as a learning tool
It goes without saying that still there are institutions that have not yet experienced the benefits of mobile learning. They believe that nothing can become a better source of knowledge than a book. What is more, some schools even ban the usage of a smartphone during the class giving its preference to a paper, a pen and a book. But with new technologies it may become much easier and faster to learn. If you are a student it will be very useful for you to know how to write a term paper in one night. So, here are a few tips to use your smartphone when learning.
Use your camera
It is common for teachers and professors nowadays to use overhead projectors during their lectures. It allows them to make it interesting for students and give them all the necessary material. They may combine the presentation of information with some videos to support it. Here a smartphone can be of a great service. In order to save your energy and time, use the camera to take photos of the lectures instead of writing down notes.
Voice recording
A voice recorder, as well as a camera, gives an opportunity to fully immerse yourself in a lecture without distracting on writing notes. Record the material read out loud by teachers, so that no to miss something important. By the way, many professors do it on their own to make a learning process easier. They send audio files of the material spoken during the class and give a homework on it. Students have a full access to it, which brings about effective learning.
Smartphone as a calculator
If you don’t want to carry a calculator every time you have Maths, your smartphone can come to help. It can calculate both elementary and advanced mathematics, percentages and other expressions. Moreover, it can be useful not only in mathematics, but in physics too. There are functions which will help you to calculate several formulas, to find degree of angles, the index of body mass. Except for the calculator inbuilt in your smartphone, you may also download calculator apps with advanced functions and options.
Typing instead of Writing
In case you have forgotten a paper or a pen you can turn to a mobile phone. One of its conveniences is taking notes. With a smartphone, it is better and faster, than with a pen. The only problem is that your professors do not allow using phones during the class. Another thing may be that the material is so important that it has to be written by hand in order to make it more understandable and remember the thing better.
Take a test
It is not so common, but still. A smartphone can replace a test paper. Such a testing is one of the most uncommon and interesting at the same time ways to test students. A teacher creates in a special programme a test and then during a class sends it to students. As it turned out, students prefer such way of testing more than an ordinary one. Besides, the test may be checked as soon as you have written it, so the teacher can see a real picture of your knowledge.
Flashcards
I bet you’ve already heard about the application Flashcards. It is used by almost all students nowadays. And if you have not download it yet, go do it! Whenever you are studying for an exam or preparing for a History lesson, use Flashcards. However, it is important to put one question per card, so that to be able to memorize it and not confuse yourself. One more thing, which can be helpful for memorizing is the usage of different colors of cards or markers.
A smartphone can carry your books
It happens that teachers demand students to go to a library and bring a book for their classes. That can be a problem if you have a few teachers who do that. To simplify a problem use a smartphone. You can download a book from the Internet free of charge or for a payment. Now, that you have it, you may easily find any word or information with the help of a quick search. Another benefit lies behind the fact that you don’t have to carry a heavy bag full of books.
Siri
You’re lucky if you are the owner of any Apple product, iPad or IPhone. All you need to do is just ask. Siri can be of great use for both teachers and students. You just take the gadget and ask anything you need. It can be a definition of a word, some mathematical expression, the location of the country/city/town, some geography terms or chemical reactions, for example. Moreover, you can do a History research with Siri, if you need one.
Sites
During the class and doing a homework, a student needs some sources of information. A book is not the only source for a student to consult. An access to the Internet offers you visiting different sites that can be useful for your studies. Moreover, you may visit some blogs or create your own, where you may carry out your surveys. If you include such researches in your paper works, you may receive some additional points, which is always good.
YouTube
Almost everyone uses YouTube when learning and studying. This is another advantage of a smartphone. If you don’t want to carry a computer everywhere, just check your pockets. YouTube can provide you with the effective learning of languages or even during translation studies. Some teachers even ask their students to watch some YouTube videos to improve both listening skills and understanding of a language.
Apps
Apps are increasingly important for students. They are another tip for learning with a smartphone. Every smartphone user should download a revision application. Except for Flashcards mentioned above, there are a lot of other apps that will help you to create mind maps, make notes, trace the level of your education and development and so on.
Online conversation
Not less important is an online conversation. You can create a chat with your classmates to revise together or to ask any details concerning lectures as well as homework. Moreover, if your teachers are loyal to the usage of a smartphone during learning, you may add them to your chat. Whenever a controversial discussion appears just ask him to put the things right.
