30 resources · 30 free
Study Skills & Learning Methods
Learn how to learn — memory, note-taking, and study systems.
Increase Reading Comprehension with Actively Learn (Coursera GP)
Coursera Guided Project: use Actively Learn — assign texts, embedded questions, annotations, and track comprehension.
Create a Virtual Classroom Using Google Slides (Coursera GP)
Coursera Guided Project: create a virtual classroom using Google Slides — lesson design, interactivity, and sharing.
Improving Content Mastery with Quizlet (Coursera GP)
Coursera Guided Project: use Quizlet for content mastery — flashcards, learn mode, games, and study sets.
Setting Up a Digital Library with EPIC (Coursera GP)
Coursera Guided Project: set up a digital library with EPIC — curate books, assign reading, track progress.
Learning How to Learn
Learning How to Learn is the landmark Coursera course by Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski on effective study methods. It teaches the focused and diffuse modes of thinking, spaced repetition, chunking, and anti-procrastination techniques grounded in learning science, with optional quizzes and exercises. Learners apply each method directly to their own studying as they progress through the modules.
Anki — Spaced Repetition Flashcards
Anki is a free, open-source spaced repetition flashcard system — a practice surface where you actively drill whatever you are learning. It schedules card reviews at scientifically optimized intervals so knowledge moves into long-term memory with minimal effort, and it supports images, audio, and shared public decks. Students of languages, medicine, and exam-heavy subjects use it daily for active recall. The desktop app and AnkiWeb sync are free, backed by a large worldwide user community.
StudyStack — Flashcards and Study Games
StudyStack is a free flashcard platform where learners create, share, and practice study decks across thousands of subjects. It turns study material into active recall drills with matching, hangman, and quiz game modes, so practice feels like play while you rehearse vocabulary, facts, and formulas. Students preparing for exams build their own cards or reuse millions of user-made stacks. Core features work without a paid account, making it an accessible everyday practice surface.
Cornell Note-Taking System — Learning Strategies Center
Cornell University's Learning Strategies Center guide teaches the Cornell note-taking system developed by Professor Walter Pauk, a structured method for capturing, reviewing, and self-testing lecture notes. It explains the note column, cue column, and summary layout, with steps to convert notes into study material, plus a free public Canvas module and videos. High school and college students use the format to improve retention and exam prep.
Exam Study Expert Podcast
The Exam Study Expert podcast by William Wadsworth delivers short, research-backed episodes on exam technique, memory, note-taking, and revision planning. Each episode explains a study method and how to apply it before tests, with guest interviews featuring learning scientists and memory psychologists. Students from secondary school through university listen to upgrade their study habits and reduce cramming. The show has published hundreds of episodes and is free on all major podcast platforms.
BBC Bitesize Quizzes
BBC Bitesize hosts thousands of free revision quizzes for UK school subjects, from primary levels through GCSE, Scottish Nationals and Highers. You answer interactive exam-style and quick-fire questions based on past papers, with instant feedback and scores. Quizzes cover maths, science, English, computer science, geography and more, alongside study guides and flashcards. Free for all learners with no account needed, backed by the BBC's education team.
ReadWriteThink Lesson Plans
ReadWriteThink offers hundreds of free, standards-based literacy lesson plans written and reviewed by educators, covering grades K-12. Each plan includes objectives, materials, printouts, step-by-step session instructions and assessment ideas for teaching reading, writing and critical thinking. Run by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Literacy Association, it is a trusted free planning surface for teachers and tutors.
Library of Congress Lesson Plans
The Library of Congress Classroom Materials hub provides free, teacher-created lesson plans built around the Library's primary sources, plus primary source sets, presentations and teacher guides. Lessons cover US history, civics, culture and more, with ready-to-use materials that teach source analysis and historical thinking. Completely free and produced by the national library's education program for teachers and self-directed learners.
TED Talk Transcripts
TED provides free interactive transcripts for nearly every talk in its library at ted.com/talks. Open any talk page and click 'Read Transcript' to read the full text in dozens of languages, with words highlighted in sync with the video and clickable timestamps. The transcripts let you study talks as text for note-taking, summarization and language learning. Entirely free, from one of the largest educational talk archives in the world.
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The Learning Scientists
Founded by cognitive psychologists, The Learning Scientists translate peer-reviewed research into practical study strategies like retrieval practice, spacing, and interleaving. The blog, podcasts, and downloadable posters give students evidence-based methods for learning more effectively, directly applicable to any subject or exam preparation.
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How to Remember Anything Forever-ish
Nicky Case's celebrated interactive explainer teaches the science of spaced repetition and memory by walking learners through an actual review schedule. As you read, the page quizzes you at carefully chosen intervals, demonstrating the technique it teaches. A playful but rigorous introduction to long-term learning.
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Farnam Street Feynman Technique Guide
Farnam Street's definitive guide to the Feynman Technique explains how to learn deeply by explaining a concept in plain language, identifying gaps, and simplifying. The article walks through each of the four steps with examples and connects the method to how Richard Feynman actually approached understanding.
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Art of Memory Community
Art of Memory is a community, wiki, and forum dedicated to mnemonic techniques such as the method of loci, memory palaces, and spaced repetition. Members share tutorials, practice challenges, and software recommendations, making it a living library for anyone who wants to train their memory systematically.
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College Info Geek
College Info Geek by Thomas Frank is a free study-skills resource packed with hundreds of articles, videos, and podcast episodes on learning techniques, note-taking, exam strategy, focus, and productivity. It covers spaced repetition, the Feynman technique, and memory methods with step-by-step guidance students can apply immediately. The podcast regularly features experts like Cal Newport, making it a rich companion for improving how you learn.
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Lofi Girl
Free 24/7 live-streaming channel mixing lo-fi hip-hop beats with animated study-room visuals, purpose-built for focused work sessions. The continuous streams give students a distraction-free audio backdrop plus a library of music-video playlists for deep work. Perfect for anyone who needs ambient focus music while studying, reading, or doing homework. It matters because consistent focus environments measurably improve study session quality and endurance.
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The Student Room
The UK's largest free student community, with forums covering GCSE, A-level and university study help, revision tips, exam support and UCAS applications. Students share revision techniques, past-paper strategies and study groups, and ask subject-specific questions answered by peers and experts. For learners at any level who want exam advice and study accountability. The community turns isolated revision into a supported, social process.
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Zettelkasten
The definitive free guide to the Zettelkasten method of networked, slip-box note-taking that powers long-term learning and writing. Step-by-step articles explain how to capture atomic notes, link ideas, and build a personal knowledge system that compounds over time. Ideal for students, researchers, and lifelong learners using tools like Obsidian. It matters because structured note-taking is proven to deepen retention and idea generation.
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Seneca Learning
Free exam-revision platform that combines cognitive-science study methods (spaced repetition, active recall, interleaving) with interactive quizzes across GCSE, A-level and other curricula. You answer quick-fire questions and the algorithm reschedules content based on what you forget. Built for secondary and college students revising for real exams. It turns passive reading into active retrieval practice, one of the strongest evidence-based study techniques.
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Obsidian
Free local-first note-taking and knowledge-management app built on plain Markdown files, with bidirectional links and a graph view of your notes. You learn to organize class notes, build a personal wiki, and connect ideas across subjects. Ideal for students, researchers and writers who want durable, portable notes. Free for personal use with no account or paywall; your knowledge stays in files you own.
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UNC Learning Center
Free study-skills resource hub from the University of North Carolina offering evidence-based tipsheets and videos on exam strategies, note-taking, time management, memory, and reading. Each guide explains a technique, why it works, and how to apply it immediately. For students and self-learners who want credible, research-backed study methods. An institutional source you can trust over generic advice blogs.
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NIH Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep
Official National Institutes of Health explainer on the science of sleep: how the brain cycles through sleep stages, and why sleep is essential for memory consolidation and learning. Learners get the biological grounding for why sleep and study routines are inseparable. For students who want evidence that sleep improves exam performance. Free government-authored material, no account needed.
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FreeMind
Free, open-source mind-mapping software (Java) for brainstorming, organizing study notes, and planning essays visually. You build radial maps with one-click fold and unfold, links, and icons, and export to multiple formats. For students who think visually and want a genuinely free mind-mapping tool with no account or subscription. Mind maps are a proven technique for structuring knowledge before exams.
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TomatoTimer
Free online Pomodoro timer that runs in the browser with no signup: 25-minute focus sessions, short and long breaks, custom intervals, and desktop notifications. You pick a task, start the timer, and build a rhythm of focused study blocks. For students using time-boxing to beat procrastination. A simple, reliable practice surface for the Pomodoro Technique.
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Study Guides and Strategies
One of the web's oldest free study-skills libraries, with hundreds of guides on SQ3R reading, note-taking systems (Cornell, outline), exam preparation, memory techniques, and time management. Each guide gives step-by-step methods you can apply the same day. For students from middle school to university and self-learners. Broad, jargon-free coverage of classic learning methods in one place.
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Crash Course Study Skills
Ten-part free video series hosted by Thomas Frank covering taking notes, reading assignments, memory, planning, focus, beating procrastination, studying for exams, and test anxiety. Each roughly 10-minute episode mixes science with practical tactics. For students who prefer short, entertaining video lessons. A complete mini-curriculum in study methods from one of the most trusted education channels.
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Gwern Spaced Repetition
In-depth free research essay on spaced repetition: the psychology, history, and practical implementation of review scheduling with tools like Anki. Explains the forgetting curve, optimal intervals, and how to integrate spaced repetition into real study workflows. For students and self-learners who want the full evidence behind the technique. One of the most cited free explainers on why and how spaced repetition works.
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