In the digital age, online students like you have a ton of apps and tools at your fingertips. It can be hard to choose!
These tools can make challenging programming concepts or complex business theories easier to understand and even fun. Many will help you improve your organization and boost your productivity. From learning about algorithms to analyzing market trends, these digital helpers can make your online studies less stressful.
In this article, we'll explore the must-have apps and online tools that every student at our online university should know about right now in 2025. Let's dive in and make your student life easier!
These tools can make challenging programming concepts or complex business theories easier to understand and even fun. Many will help you improve your organization and boost your productivity. From learning about algorithms to analyzing market trends, these digital helpers can make your online studies less stressful.
In this article, we'll explore the must-have apps and online tools that every student at our online university should know about right now in 2025. Let's dive in and make your student life easier!
Productivity apps
As an online student, you have the freedom to learn on your own terms. But with that freedom comes the responsibility to manage your time and stay focused. We believe these tools can help you concentrate and organize your schedule:
Google Calendar
More than just a digital calendar—it can be your personal academic command center. We recommend using it to schedule everything from lectures and assignment deadlines to dedicated study sessions and virtual meetings with classmates. Here's how to use its power:
Forest
We understand the temptation to check social media or browse the web when you should be studying. Forest offers a solution to fight distractions and cultivate focused study habits.
Forest incentivizes you to stay on task and avoid the temptations of your phone by planting a virtual tree each time you start a study session. It's a fun and effective way to build discipline and focus.
RescueTime
RescueTime is a tool that tracks your activity across applications and websites and provides you with detailed reports on your time usage. Identifying potentially time-wasting activities helps you make smart decisions about how to better allocate your study time and optimize your productivity.
Brain Focus Productivity Timer
The timer can help you structure your study sessions and maintain focus. Based on techniques like the Pomodoro Method, this app breaks your study time into focused intervals, interspersed with short breaks.
This approach reduces mental fatigue, improves concentration, and helps you make the most of your study time. Experiment with different work and break intervals to find what works best for you.
Google Calendar
More than just a digital calendar—it can be your personal academic command center. We recommend using it to schedule everything from lectures and assignment deadlines to dedicated study sessions and virtual meetings with classmates. Here's how to use its power:
- Assign different colors to different types of academic commitments. This visual system allows you to quickly identify your priorities and manage your time effectively.
- Customize your notification settings to receive timely reminders for upcoming deadlines and scheduled activities.
- Link Google Tasks to your Calendar to create a unified view of your academic responsibilities. Manage your tasks and schedule in one convenient location.
- Schedule uninterrupted blocks of time in your calendar specifically for studying. Treat these blocks as sacred and minimize distractions during these crucial periods.
Forest
We understand the temptation to check social media or browse the web when you should be studying. Forest offers a solution to fight distractions and cultivate focused study habits.
Forest incentivizes you to stay on task and avoid the temptations of your phone by planting a virtual tree each time you start a study session. It's a fun and effective way to build discipline and focus.
RescueTime
RescueTime is a tool that tracks your activity across applications and websites and provides you with detailed reports on your time usage. Identifying potentially time-wasting activities helps you make smart decisions about how to better allocate your study time and optimize your productivity.
Brain Focus Productivity Timer
The timer can help you structure your study sessions and maintain focus. Based on techniques like the Pomodoro Method, this app breaks your study time into focused intervals, interspersed with short breaks.
This approach reduces mental fatigue, improves concentration, and helps you make the most of your study time. Experiment with different work and break intervals to find what works best for you.
Apps for note-taking and staying organized
If you're going to do well in an online class, having good note-taking skills and staying organized are a must. Luckily, there are apps that can help you with these important tasks. Let's take a look at some of the best ones:
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote is a digital notebook that lets you create separate notebooks for each of your courses. Within each notebook, you can organize your notes by topic, lecture, or assignment.
The platform supports typed notes, handwritten notes (using a stylus), audio recordings, embedded images, and clipped content from websites. Its search functionality can index both typed and handwritten text, as well as text contained within images.
OneNote keeps your notebooks automatically saved and synced across all your devices, so you can access everything you need, wherever you are.
Notion
Notion is a tool that helps you organize your work. You can design dashboards, create databases, and manage projects. You can also build dedicated pages for each course, embed relevant resources, and work with other students.
It supports many content types, including text, images, and files. It also has features such as Kanban boards and calendars to help you be more productive.
Evernote
Evernote is a popular note-taking app that lets you make notebooks for each class and store your notes and docs in one place. It supports different content formats, like text, photos, audio, video, and web clippings.
This app lets you share notes, export them as PDFs, and manage access rights. Your notes can also sync across multiple devices for easy access.
StudyFetch Note AI
StudyFetch Note is an AI-powered note-taking tool that transcribes key information from lectures and course materials into well-structured notes. It can generate summaries and detailed notes, complete with timestamps for video content or page references for readings. The "Live Lecture" feature provides real-time analysis of lectures, generating notes as the session progresses.
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote is a digital notebook that lets you create separate notebooks for each of your courses. Within each notebook, you can organize your notes by topic, lecture, or assignment.
The platform supports typed notes, handwritten notes (using a stylus), audio recordings, embedded images, and clipped content from websites. Its search functionality can index both typed and handwritten text, as well as text contained within images.
OneNote keeps your notebooks automatically saved and synced across all your devices, so you can access everything you need, wherever you are.
Notion
Notion is a tool that helps you organize your work. You can design dashboards, create databases, and manage projects. You can also build dedicated pages for each course, embed relevant resources, and work with other students.
It supports many content types, including text, images, and files. It also has features such as Kanban boards and calendars to help you be more productive.
Evernote
Evernote is a popular note-taking app that lets you make notebooks for each class and store your notes and docs in one place. It supports different content formats, like text, photos, audio, video, and web clippings.
This app lets you share notes, export them as PDFs, and manage access rights. Your notes can also sync across multiple devices for easy access.
StudyFetch Note AI
StudyFetch Note is an AI-powered note-taking tool that transcribes key information from lectures and course materials into well-structured notes. It can generate summaries and detailed notes, complete with timestamps for video content or page references for readings. The "Live Lecture" feature provides real-time analysis of lectures, generating notes as the session progresses.
Digital Tools for Study and Learning
Google Scholar
When research is required, Google Scholar provides a focused search for academic materials. Unlike general search engines, it indexes scholarly literature, directing you to articles, theses, books, and conference papers from trusted sources.
Useful features:
Quizlet
Quizlet is great for studying and reviewing. You can make your own flashcards and study sets, and it breaks down complex material into smaller parts so you can remember it better.
Mathway
Mathway can help you with all sorts of math problems. Just enter your problem or scan it with your camera, and you'll get solutions and step-by-step guidance. This tool is useful for clarifying concepts and developing skills in mathematics.
When research is required, Google Scholar provides a focused search for academic materials. Unlike general search engines, it indexes scholarly literature, directing you to articles, theses, books, and conference papers from trusted sources.
Useful features:
- Efficient topic searches using keywords
- Ability to search for publications by specific authors
- Tracking the impact and citations of research articles
- Generating formatted citations in various styles (e.g., APA, MLA)
Quizlet
Quizlet is great for studying and reviewing. You can make your own flashcards and study sets, and it breaks down complex material into smaller parts so you can remember it better.
Mathway
Mathway can help you with all sorts of math problems. Just enter your problem or scan it with your camera, and you'll get solutions and step-by-step guidance. This tool is useful for clarifying concepts and developing skills in mathematics.
Tools for writing
Grammarly
Grammarly is a tool that helps you write error-free content. It checks grammar, style, and plagiarism. The artificial intelligence features can also assess and suggest adjustments to the tone of your writing to make sure the message is clear.
The extension also provides AI-powered revision suggestions to make your writing clearer and more concise based on professional writing standards. The tool identifies areas for improvement in your writing and offers targeted suggestions to meet specific objectives.
DeepL Write
DeepL Write is an AI writing tool that helps you communicate better. It gives suggestions for grammar, style, and vocabulary to make your writing clearer and more precise. You can improve whole paragraphs with one click, making your writing more professional and impactful. DeepL Write helps you polish your writing assignments and make sure they communicate your message effectively.
ChatGPT
Undoubtedly, ChatGPT is a real lifesaver when you need to explain complex topics clearly. You can use it for a project proposal, a presentation summary, or even to help a classmate understand a difficult concept. Just describe the main ideas and your audience, and ChatGPT will generate a simplified, easy-to-understand explanation.
It can also help you brainstorm ideas for essays or presentations. Feed it keywords or a rough outline, and it'll generate a bunch of potential arguments, supporting points, and organizational structures to get your writing process going.
To get the most out of ChatGPT, be specific and clear in your prompts.
We hope you find this article helpful! The right websites and apps don't just make student life easier—they can enhance and improve learning.
Grammarly is a tool that helps you write error-free content. It checks grammar, style, and plagiarism. The artificial intelligence features can also assess and suggest adjustments to the tone of your writing to make sure the message is clear.
The extension also provides AI-powered revision suggestions to make your writing clearer and more concise based on professional writing standards. The tool identifies areas for improvement in your writing and offers targeted suggestions to meet specific objectives.
DeepL Write
DeepL Write is an AI writing tool that helps you communicate better. It gives suggestions for grammar, style, and vocabulary to make your writing clearer and more precise. You can improve whole paragraphs with one click, making your writing more professional and impactful. DeepL Write helps you polish your writing assignments and make sure they communicate your message effectively.
ChatGPT
Undoubtedly, ChatGPT is a real lifesaver when you need to explain complex topics clearly. You can use it for a project proposal, a presentation summary, or even to help a classmate understand a difficult concept. Just describe the main ideas and your audience, and ChatGPT will generate a simplified, easy-to-understand explanation.
It can also help you brainstorm ideas for essays or presentations. Feed it keywords or a rough outline, and it'll generate a bunch of potential arguments, supporting points, and organizational structures to get your writing process going.
To get the most out of ChatGPT, be specific and clear in your prompts.
- If you're working on a business proposal, tell it who the target client is, the proposed solution, and the desired tone (like professional or persuasive).
- For academic writing, specify the topic, the argument, and the required citation style.
- And learn to use ChatGPT for editing and polishing your work. You can ask it to refine your tone, check for errors, or suggest different ways to say things.
We hope you find this article helpful! The right websites and apps don't just make student life easier—they can enhance and improve learning.