Tips & Tricks from Michelle AND Heather: 6 Free Online Learning Tools

Note: Today’s blog post was written by students Heather Balcome and Michelle Ulrich. Heather and Michelle met on the Ivy Bridge College Facebook app while they were both working late one night. They connected via chat and in addition to helping each other with their coursework; they ended up learning that they are both parents AND students, and began to swap tips for learning online. The result of that conversation was this blog post. (And a new friendship of course.)

When you go to a regular campus to attend classes, there are usually a wide variety of resources available for you to use as a student—things like writing labs, libraries, study groups, and other programs exist to help you succeed in the classes you take. This is not necessarily the case when you choose to take online classes. Here at Ivy Bridge, we’re lucky to have access to tutors, instructors, librarians, and our success coaches, but sometimes you have a question that needs to be answered right now, that can’t wait until a scheduled appointment.

We’ve compiled a list of online resources, which are all free, that all of us at Ivy Bridge can use when we need a little help with a class or assignment.

1. Grammarly
Grammarly is a free website that will check your written assignments for grammatical errors. All you have to do is copy and paste your text into the window. No registration is required for this site. Keep in mind, though, that the corrections given by this website should not be followed blindly. Just like a spellchecker, Grammarly can’t correct everything, so always proofread your assignments yourself, as well.

2. University of Maryland APA Citation Examples:
This site provides example citations for various sources you might use, such as internet articles and academic journals. The examples are given in APA 6th edition, so be sure to check with your instructor to verify which version of APA he or she wants you to use.

3. Citation Machine:
This tool will build your citation for you, similar to the tool in Microsoft Word. Once you select the type of citation from APA, MLA, Turabian, or Chicago you can choose the type of source you are citing. The website then provides a screen where you can type in the necessary pieces of information and generates a reference page entry using that information.

4. APA Format Generator:
This tool provides an easy-to-read example of an APA formatted paper. Always be sure to check with your instructor to verify any differences that he or she may require for formatting papers in that specific course.

5. Educator.com:
A wide range of topics are covered on this site as a whole. The Algebra 1 page is the one we have used, and it is helpful and organized. The page is divided into topics such as the Order of Operations and Solving Linear Equations. The outline-type breakdown of this site makes it simple to find what you need help with.

6. AlgebraHelp.com:
This website is useful for checking your work on a math equation. By typing in the equation and hitting ‘Solve’ the site generates a step-by-step path for solving that equation and others like it.

All of these tools are free and easily accessible. But just like any other tool you use online, be cautious of putting complete and total faith into any one resource. If you need help, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the people at Ivy Bridge including your instructors, your success coach, the tutoring department, and the Ivy Bridge College librarians.

Reach out to your classmates, too! We may not be meeting one another on a physical campus, but we still work together to achieve the same objectives in a virtual classroom. The sky is truly the limit, we just have to reach for it and seek help from any source available when we get stuck.

Have you found an online tool or resource that helped you with classwork? Share it with everyone below! We’d love to hear what other students are using.

Michelle is a current student enrolled with Ivy Bridge College and the author of the monthly Tips & Tricks from Michelle column for The Bridge Blog. Follow her on twitter at @BloggerMichelle.