25 Useful Websites for Students Heading Back to School
Textbooks and school library resources used to be among every student's top go-to solutions for gathering research material, completing assigned projects and studying for exams. But for students living in the 21st century, taking advantage of the incredible power of the Internet for research and studying is often the way to go.
Huge sites like Google and Wikipedia are great student resources, but there are thousands of other little-known websites out there that can help in almost all areas of study, research and productivity. Here are 25 of our favorite ones.
Some students do better by planning out their tasks or project components in a visual diagram or flowchart. Draw.io lets you do just that, for free. When you're all done with your diagram, you can export it to your Google Drive account, your Dropbox account, your computer or your web browser. More »
WolframAlpha.com gives students a very different and unique way to research something, other than simply Googling it. The site offers results based on dynamic computations from its massive collection of data. Just type in a term to see how it works, or take a look at some examples.More »
Search engines don't always turn up the most useful results for something you're researching -- especially if you're looking for something very specific. When Google fails, SimilarSites.com can give you a list of suggested sites according to what you're looking for. As long as you already have a site to work with, you can type in its domain to see what else might be out there.More »
RainyMood.com is an amazingly popular but simple site that just plays rain and thunderstorm sounds. Let it play in the background whenever you're working, studying or reading. You can also get it for $3.99 as a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices.More »
PrintWhatYouLike.com saves you printer ink, paper and time by letting you print just the sections of a web page you want without all the clutter, like big header images and advertisements. All you need to do is enter the URL of the page you'd like to print. There's also a handy bookmarklet you can add to your browser too.More »
You could use your computer's default note-taking program to quickly jot down some notes, or you could use Notes.io -- a web-based note-taking application built for speed and performance. You can create an account, send your notes to friends, add attachments, print your notes and even search your archive whenever you want.More »
For programming students learning how to code, interactive tutorial sites like Codeacademy are invaluable resources. This site gives you lessons on a particular coding language, then lets you try to write code for yourself, and checks your work to see if you're correct. Codeacademy currently offers lessons in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python.More »
When it comes to student group work, sharing files can be an issue, especially when they're huge. WeTransfer.com lets you transfer big files up to 10GB between you and your friends' email. It's all password protected and transfers don't ever expire. You can even upgrade to a Plus account for more features.More »
For anyone who uses a lot different programs or applications that require updates, OldVersion.com is a good resource to have if you ever update a version and feel the need to go back to the old one. Just type the name of the old version into the searchbar to find what you're looking for.More »
It's not uncommon for students and hard workers in general to thrive on caffeinated beverages like coffee, soda and energy drinks. Caffeine Informer tells you just how much it would take for it to be fatally dangerous for your health. Simply enter your weight and start typing in a specific drink to see your results.More »
Huge sites like Google and Wikipedia are great student resources, but there are thousands of other little-known websites out there that can help in almost all areas of study, research and productivity. Here are 25 of our favorite ones.
1. Draw.io
Some students do better by planning out their tasks or project components in a visual diagram or flowchart. Draw.io lets you do just that, for free. When you're all done with your diagram, you can export it to your Google Drive account, your Dropbox account, your computer or your web browser. More »
2. WolframAlpha.com
WolframAlpha.com gives students a very different and unique way to research something, other than simply Googling it. The site offers results based on dynamic computations from its massive collection of data. Just type in a term to see how it works, or take a look at some examples.More »
3. SimilarSites.com
Search engines don't always turn up the most useful results for something you're researching -- especially if you're looking for something very specific. When Google fails, SimilarSites.com can give you a list of suggested sites according to what you're looking for. As long as you already have a site to work with, you can type in its domain to see what else might be out there.More »
4. RainyMood.com
RainyMood.com is an amazingly popular but simple site that just plays rain and thunderstorm sounds. Let it play in the background whenever you're working, studying or reading. You can also get it for $3.99 as a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices.More »
5. PrintWhatYouLike.com
PrintWhatYouLike.com saves you printer ink, paper and time by letting you print just the sections of a web page you want without all the clutter, like big header images and advertisements. All you need to do is enter the URL of the page you'd like to print. There's also a handy bookmarklet you can add to your browser too.More »
6. Notes.io
You could use your computer's default note-taking program to quickly jot down some notes, or you could use Notes.io -- a web-based note-taking application built for speed and performance. You can create an account, send your notes to friends, add attachments, print your notes and even search your archive whenever you want.More »
7. Codeacademy.com
For programming students learning how to code, interactive tutorial sites like Codeacademy are invaluable resources. This site gives you lessons on a particular coding language, then lets you try to write code for yourself, and checks your work to see if you're correct. Codeacademy currently offers lessons in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Python.More »
8. WeTransfer.com
When it comes to student group work, sharing files can be an issue, especially when they're huge. WeTransfer.com lets you transfer big files up to 10GB between you and your friends' email. It's all password protected and transfers don't ever expire. You can even upgrade to a Plus account for more features.More »
9. OldVersion.com
For anyone who uses a lot different programs or applications that require updates, OldVersion.com is a good resource to have if you ever update a version and feel the need to go back to the old one. Just type the name of the old version into the searchbar to find what you're looking for.More »
10. CaffeineInformer.com
It's not uncommon for students and hard workers in general to thrive on caffeinated beverages like coffee, soda and energy drinks. Caffeine Informer tells you just how much it would take for it to be fatally dangerous for your health. Simply enter your weight and start typing in a specific drink to see your results.More »