OpenStudy brings the social network experience to an educational setting. The network allows students to seek help with study questions. It strives to connect learners and educators to make the learning experience collaborative and successful.

Visit openstudy.com

The site was founded in 2007 by Georgia Tech professor Ashwin Ram, Emory University dean Preetha Ram, and former student and CTO Chris Sprague. OpenStudy is funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the Georgia Research Alliance.

Students from any school, including students who are studying independently from Open Courseware or other independent study materials can find collaboration and assistance on OpenStudy.

A user’s home page includes easy links to ask questions, view groups and topics, and read new questions. The Help menu offers several helpful videos for using the various tools on the site. OpenStudy would benefit from a FAQ section that clarifies some of the basic tools, terms, and information. For example, users are invited to create a Studypad, yet until setting one up, it is unclear what the function of this tool is. In review, it is found to be a real time collaborative tool for either public or invite only members to use for projects.

Users may join study groups to meet members with common interests so that you can ask questions, create Studypads, and collaborate with your group. Many features are still in development, such as the ability to import spreadsheets, images, and documents.

Some pages are slow to load and are not completely intuitive. An example would be that apparently each question generates a Studypad for collaboration on the answer. This begs the question, why are there two separate buttons for asking a question and creating a Studypad? Users may be rated for their helpfulness in answering.

Overall, OpenStudy is on the road to being a very good resource. With the addition of a FAQ section, the ability to upload items, and a faster interface, this application will be much more useful.

Users can login with Facebook or create an independent account by providing a username, email, first and last name, and password. Users are then directed to upload a profile picture, indicate their school, and provide a brief bio. Options for joining study groups and adding friends are offered.

OpenStudy is free to use.

This is a very handy application for students in high school, college, or anyone studying independently. It’s a great way to connect with other students and get help with subjects.

• Free to use
• Independent, high school, or college level students
• Easy registration
• Collaborative atmosphere
• Legitimate funding sources indicate support for the project

Visit openstudy.com

OpenStudy video