Helpful technology for school.

Block and focus:

I’m just going to start off with what i think is hands down one of the best ways to help someone focus. I always find myself trying to start my homework early, only to stare at my screen for a few seconds before temptation kicks in and i take a multiple-hour long “break” only to realize that I’ve wasted another day i could have used to get my project done. This is a problem i think many students, and even adults, are all too familiar with, and i think that block and focus solves this problem in the most brilliant way possible.

Block and focus is an extension for chrome, and it takes a list (blacklist or whitelist) to restrict your web browsing and make you more productive. Then, whenever you try to visit a website while you are working, if it is something that will distract you, it instead gives you a motivational quote. This is great for me because often the hardest thing about working is getting started (at least in my opinion) and block and focus makes it as easy as just clicking a button.

I find this particular method of keeping on task especially effective when working on projects that require the internet, because whenever i am on the internet i find myself easily tempted and sidetracked, and often find myself wasting hours that could be used to work. As well as keeping you on task, block and focus has included break periods where it unblocks websites for a period of 5 minutes or so to allow you a small break to refresh yourself for more work. This is especially great for large projects because it allows you to tackle large chunks of work at once without feeling overwhelmed because of the small breaks you are allowed.

Quizlet:

Quizlet is another great piece of technology for learning, and is one that i have been using for a while now. Quizlet makes studying easier with it’s creative approach to flash cards. The problem with just standard flash cards is that they take so much time to create, and are incredibly tedious and boring to look over to the point that it doesn’t even feel worth it. However Quizlet makes this process much easier.

Although you still have to go through the process of entering all the information into Quizlet so that it can make your flash cards, it is a little bit easier because on a computer you can type faster and you can also copy/paste information. On top of that (and this is where i think Quizlet really shines) Quizlet makes the studying process infinitely easier and more engaging with the multiple unique approaches that they bring to the studying process. Quizlet has multiple different studying ‘modes’ which make the process much more interesting than just staring at digital flash cards (though if that works for you, they have that as an option). This is great for me, especially for learning languages because i often find that just staring at a word and it’s English translation doesn’t usually work out that well for me.

Each different way of studying is unique, so if i find that some part is giving me particular trouble, i just choose a different mode and often is solves the problem. Or in the case of a word or concept that i am continuously getting wrong, regardless of the way i am studying it, Quzlet solves that as well by tracking your progress. Then, Quizlet will look at the certain concepts that you get wrong more often, and will test you more than other concepts that you may get right instantly.

Desmos:

Desmos is a great online software that works well as a graphing calculator, but also has a few extra features which make it great for math class. In addition to graphing equations for you, Demos has creative games that can be fun while teaching you about graphing. Desmos has games which require you to create graph equations to solve puzzles, or require you to draw graphs based on a small animation you see. Not only that, Desmos also an option to create interactive graphs where you can modify different parts to see what they do. This would be especially useful in my math class because we are currently getting into different sinusoidal graphs, and this would make is so much easier to learn how equations can be modified and morphed by adjusting certain values.

Remind:

Lastly, remind is one of the most useful tools by far for teachers and students alike. If i were a teacher i would be sure to use this because it would almost eliminate any students forgetting about assignments. Remind is a great software that allows teachers to send mass reminders to each of their students manually, or automatically, using either the students phone number, or a messaging app made by remind. This allows teachers to send out mass messages about a change in deadline of an upcoming project, or clarify something about a project, or remind students that there is a test coming up. Not only that, remind can also allow students to individually contact the teacher with any questions or concerns about the class, which can make the students learning experience much easier as well.