Note: each underlined subheading (platforms' names) is a link to the matching websites
Rose: Ever wondered why your grades seem to never improve? Ever felt hollow after a played-hard vacation? Ever thought that you could never be satisfied by what the school offers?
Learning is something everyone has to do throughout our lives in order to keep up the swift pace of modernity. However, there are too many students who study only for good grades. Learning became severe torture and a source of stress, especially in Taiwan. Even after school, some of us continue to suffer the wrath of academics by going to cram school for 2 hours or more.
I was one of the lucky ones. I learned to value the importance of self-motivated learning and started to learn things ahead of my classmates because I know it’ll be helpful for me and because I love to do it.
Paige: Yeah! I totally agree. However, it’s not enough to only be willing. GOOD resources are also essential! Fortunately, the internet era provides a wide variety of source which allows us to learn on our own according to our own pace. The downside is that there are so many choices and sometimes we waste time deciding which one(s) is/are the best suited for ourselves! Here we are going to recommend a few of our favorite learning platforms. Hopefully, these will be guidance on selecting a self-motivated studying tool!
~General Study Resources~
Paige: Okay, first for the day! SparkNotes comes in handy when you need study guides for literature, poetry, history, film, philosophy, biology, chemistry, economics, health, math, physics, and sociology. Whoa, that’s a whole lot! SparkNotes is awesome when you want to make sure your interpretations are accurate and reasonable. It is NOT recommended to use SparkNotes as a plagiarising tool for academic dishonesty! You see, the true essence of learning is to build a base of knowledge for our benefit and advantage in facing future problems, not just getting high grades as a cheater.
Paige: No offense, but I have found this name hilarious for a long time. Actually, Shmoop is a Yiddish word that means “to move something forward a bit.” The Shmoop team states that they are “moving education forward”. Shmoop is an online stress-free environment. Its founders designed it especially to ease the pressure and tension of studying. Really, learning can be fun and cool and humorous! This is especially crucial when you must be a lifelong learner. Without something fun and enjoyable to motivate you, the learning habit won’t last for long. Oh well, fortunate that we have Shmoop (the name matches their hilarious teaching style)!
Rose: The famous Khan Academy provides all different kinds of online courses, so you are free to learn anything that you are interested in. You can always rewatch the lesson videos, reread the informational articles, and retake the little tests along the way to review what you have absorbed. Moreover, the most convenient and attractive feature of Khan Academy is that it’s 100% free! It also provides volunteering opportunities, which is another great form of experiential learning.
Rose: IXL comes to be handy when you want to practice something you’ve newly learned at school. By practicing questions, you are strengthening your weaker subjects. The repetition also helps you to commit short-term knowledge into long-term memory. However, IXL requires a paid membership in order to gain access, and it can be sometimes frustrating when you lose points due to incorrect answers.
~Online Database~
Paige: The online Encyclopedia Britannica is perhaps the most well-known (save Wikipedia). Also, note that the Encyclopedia is probably the most reliable source of information in the world (so forget about Wikipedia). It’s most famous for its reputation for being the "most respected of all general encyclopedias. It probably seems ancient, yes, but hey! At least people made an effort to modernize it by creating the internet version.
Rose: EBSCOhost is probably the largest online database for students available on the internet. By keying in keywords, you can find thousands and millions of information in forms of articles, papers, or books. EBSCOhost also provides an audio soundtrack for most of the text, making the process of collecting data way easier and more convenient.
~Scientific Learning~
Rose: Your impression of science-lovers might be nerds, geeks, or freaks. That’s not entirely true, and you’ll find out why once you read the articles of Science News for Students! I especially love the category of “Technically Fiction” personally because the posts explain the science behind popular movies and stories such as Frozen 2 and Spider-Man. Science News for Students links science to parts of our daily lives and makes learning science more fun than you can ever imagine.
Paige: If you love science but fancy yourself a cool guy/gal, then this science magazine is for you! Science shouldn’t be something only for nerds and geeks, because you can use science in your modern lives, too! Also, science isn’t always just about physics, biology, chemistry, etc. Science is a part of what’s happening right now in the world! The coronavirus is one of the best examples. So, visit Scientific America and make sure you stay tuned for the latest!
Rose: Live Science is like an advanced version of Science News for Students. They introduce science by revealing mankind’s latest discoveries of our mysterious world. Here, you can read about the news of all scientific fields. See, science isn’t as distant as we had thought it is! It doesn’t matter whether you are a scientific professional. Science is something everyone has the right to understand and take part in, and I encourage you to start with Live Science.
~Language Learning~
Paige: LitCharts is 100% essential when you are studying literature. Its side-by-side margins, sortable quotes, data visualizations, etc., makes it convenient and user-friendly. This is definitely your best choice when looking for a literature preview/review platform!
Rose: As a non-native English speaker, Vocabulary.com (and my wonderful cousin) saved my English. When I encounter words that I do not understand, I’ll look up their meaning in Vocabulary.com. But that’s not it! By adding the words to lists that I created or saved, I can practice them alone or together with my friends by playing rounds of spelling bee or vocabulary jam. Isn’t that an educational game!
Rose: If you have a passion or ambition of learning first or second foreign languages, specifically Spanish, you probably have heard of SpanishDict. Except for translating words and learning grammar, you can also practice popular vocabulary lists that are themed. Perhaps you can find a list that’s relevant to your job or interest! SpanishDict also provides a lot of resources for you to learn Spanish according to your preferences, which is a great way to motivate yourself.
Rose: You can learn most existing languages on Duolingo. Its game-like practicing mode is a fun way to motivate you to repeatedly learn a particular language, especially with its streak design. However, I won’t recommend Duolingo if you think you are already fluent in the basics of a specific language. Why don’t you give a new tongue a try?
~International Mindedness~
Paige: History.com, obviously, is your best choice for learning about history (duhhh). Its introduction of historical events includes a timeline of perfect clarity. More importantly, it introduces how these events are related to each other. It features themed posts, videos, and other interactive media for you to learn about history for fun. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you get all the best from them in your email!
Rose: In the modern days, everyone—including our blog for international citizens—is emphasizing the importance of international mindedness, especially when all the people in the world are linked by technology. The simplest way is to watch the news, but everyone knows how the news can sometimes be upsetting or irrelevant. By visiting the United Nation’s official website, you can easily keep track of the latest international news in fields of the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) that interests you.
Paige: Everyone knows about the TIME magazine, oh I’m sure! TIME is awesome because you can learn all about humanity’s past, present, and future! I 100% recommend this website for international mindedness and historical studies. In response to International Women’s Day and support relevant work to achieve gender equality, why don’t you check out TIME’S 100 Women of the Year?
Rose: Forbes isn’t just a magazine of billionaires’ gossip or big companies’ top secrets. You can get a concept of the trends in the international economy, which is also relevant to politics, technology, psychology, education, and more. Maybe you aren’t particularly interested in the economy, but sometimes things aren’t all about money, ya know. Our future world depends on our current developments and will most definitely affect ourselves directly.
Rose: There’s this Chinese proverb that says if you want to do something well, you need the right tools first. By selecting the most suited self-studying tool for yourself, I believe you are going to do just great! Good luck and happy life-long learning!
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