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January 18, 2011

OpenStudy – Social Study Groups

Why study alone, when you could be using OpenStudy to cram for tests with thousands of your nearest and dearest friends? Billed as the world’s largest study group, OpenStudy is a web-app that utilizes social networking tools to help students get real answers in real-time when studying for all types of quizzes and tests. Without stepping foot outside your bedroom door, you can collaborate with students from across the globe and get help when working through all sorts of problem sets and equations.

Create a new account or log in through Facebook, and get started with OpenStudy by asking an academic question that will be read by a global network of students. Tag your question based on the subject it pertains to, include any relevant study groups, and type in the usernames or email addresses of any people you know who might have the answer. Within seconds, students from around the world will see your question and begin providing their own answers on a collaboration-friendly page that anyone can type on and edit. Take a snapshot of the equation page whenever a particularly good answer has been posted, to refer back to later after additional changes and updates have been made. Rate the most helpful contributions, or invite members from other study groups to contribute if your own teammates are struggling to come up with the answer.

Once you’ve received the answers you were looking for, it’s time to give back. OpenStudy makes it easy to browse open questions in your areas of expertise and add helpful information for others to review. You can join as many study groups as you like, or sign up to follow any people and topics that you find particularly interesting. For students of all ages and skill levels, OpenStudy is a great web-app that can aid in the learning process.

Practical Uses:

  • Get help studying for your history test
  • Ask for guidance when working through a geometry equation
  • Help out students who don’t know as much about algebra as you
  • Study with peers before an important midterm exam

Insider Tips:

  • Create a study group that your real-world friends can join
  • Follow particular topics and find out when new questions have been posted
  • Users are rated based on the helpfulness of their answers
  • The equation editor can be used to format complex mathematic algorithms

What we liked:

  • People who use OpenStudy don’t have to leave their bedrooms to study with peers
  • Easy to see if anyone has asked a similar question before posting your own
  • User rating system encourages people to contribute helpful answers
  • Ability to follow interesting people or topics

What we didn’t like:

  • Nothing

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: 2007
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Founded by: Ashwin Ram, Preetha Ram, and Chris Sprague
  • Web site: http://openstudy.com

Costs:

  • Free

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