Being an online student can be challenging at times. You need to balance a lot of different priorities and work hard to get the best outcome from your studies.
Luckily, there are websites out there that can help you do everything, including stay up-to-date with trends in your field, help you write your assignments, and even find a new job!
And with literally billions of sites out there to search through, it can be difficult to find useful and reputable information. So here are our hand-picked 20 best websites to help make you a better student!
Sites to keep you up-to-date
1. Feedly: Create a curated feed containing content from multiple blogs and news sites within your field.
2. TED Talks: Inspiring talks from professionals in almost every field.
3. Twitter: Follow thought leaders and inspirational voices within your field (including us!), as well as developing your own presence on the topics you care about.
4. YouTube: Watch informational, educational and entertaining videos on just about any topic (and keep up to date with us too).
5. BBC World Service: stay current while on-the-go with the world’s largest audio broadcaster, covering news and discussions in more than 40 languages.
Sites to help with assignments
6. Wikipedia: Don’t go referencing it, but Wikipedia can be a very handy tool for early-stage research.
7. Dictionary.com: Checking spellings and word meanings, facts, pronunciations and loads more.
8. Daily Writing Tips: Clear explanations of many English grammar rules, e.g. less vs fewer.
9. RefME: Creating your bibliography just by entering the barcode of the book you’re using or the address of the website you visited.
10. Hemingway: Improve the quality of your writing with this online writing tool.
Sites to help you work smarter not harder
11. Trello: Organising your notes, documents, ideas and keeping track of your to-do list.
12. Tomato Timer: For those of you trying out the Pomodoro method to work productively, this timer runs in your browser reminding you to take regular breaks.
13. KeepMeOut: Cut down on the number of times you visit distracting websites while you study.
14. Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, Slides, Calendar: Write notes, manage your time, balance your budget and more.
15. Lifehack: Tips and lists on practically every subject under the sun.
Sites to develop your career
16. LinkedIn: Networking, job hunting and reading articles written by industry leaders.
17. Glassdoor: Discover insider information about companies and plan your future career.
18. The Muse: Find practical advice and tips on finding a job and progressing in your career.
19. Prospects: Career advice for students, broken down by industry.
20. University of Essex Online stories: Get inspiration from our current students about the direction to take your career with an online degree.
Happy browsing!
If you’d like to find out more about the University of Essex Online, we recommend downloading our prospectus. Our friendly Admissions team will then be in touch to answer any questions you may have.
Please note that these links are being provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement or approval by University of Essex Online. We bear no responsibility for the content, accuracy or legality of any external site.