In our list of the best online tools for college, I’d say my favorite by far has to be Canva. I love so much about it because it makes professional graphic design easy and successful for anybody who wants to create fantastic artwork. Canva has a free version, but I would highly recommend it if you can afford the Pro version. I use it myself for this site and other social channels, and the ease of use is a total gamechanger.
College is exciting as it is challenging and sometimes, one can feel somewhat overwhelmed with courses and deadlines. There is a considerable amount to learn and experience, educationally, socially, and economically, but remember, college is all about experiences and learning who you are as a person, so absorb everything and enjoy yourself in all walks of your college life.
The good news is there are several excellent online tools for college students that can streamline your college courses and help you stay focused and productive
Our top choice for the best online tools for college students include:
- Canva
- LinkedIn Learning
- Udacity
- Google Docs
- Dropbox
- Udemy
- Evernote
- Grammarly
- Coursera
- Chegg
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
- Skillshare
- Trello
There is a wealth of online support for you in your college life if you only know where to look. Here are some of the top online tools to simplify your life and help you learn and prepare for your career in the real world.
#1 Best Online Tools for College Students
Canva
Canva is a freemium online graphic design tool for aspiring artists and those with no formal training or experience in the design field. The program is an amazing choice for photo editing, graphic design, video editing, layout creation, and print-ready designs, with a vast array of beautiful examples from easy-to-access templates. Students can use Canvas graphical tools to create posters, projects and access infographics for professional graphic work for their studies.
Related: Why Canva is the Best Learning Tool for Education
Canva also encourages creativity and provides you with all the tools you need to create superb artwork with the click of a button. Having only been launched in 2013, Canva has come such a long way, with consistent updates and an almost cult-like following, it is the go-to platform for quick and simple photo and video editing on the go.
Speaking of Canva’s features, it is best known for graphic design and photo editing, which is well known already, but one thing it is not known for as much is its video capabilities.
In the below video, watch Canadian YouTube star Daniel Schiffer give you his take on how he created a professional commercial solely with Canva. Proving that although it may not be DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro, it has some serious video editing chops and can keep up with a lot of the programs out there.
Canva allows you to edit images through a simple drag and drop system and create individual assignments or collaborate with a team. With over 250,000 templates, students can customize their projects into professional-looking products, complete with photos, videos, and graphics to suit the task.
Canva for Education also allows students to collaborate on projects with other students and lecturers for guided remote learning. Canva mentions allowing easy collaboration for classroom activities and I can attest to how exact that comment is..
Canva is accessible to most student operating systems as it is optimized for Chromebooks, and one may sign up for free from your:
- Google Account
- Email.
As mentioned previously, you can sign up for the free version to start from, but if you truly want to unlock all of the fantastic features, Canva Pro is what you need.
Pricing for Canva Pro is listed below:
If you are studying a creative subject at college and don’t have the time to learn Photoshop or Illustrator or just have a tight deadline, Canva is the way to success.
#2 Best Online Tools for College Students
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider created by the world’s biggest online business community (LinkedIn), and deserves its place on our list of best online tools for college students. Aiming itself at the business / professional development sector(s), offering students the opportunity to jump-start their careers by learning new knowledge and skills in the following major categories:
- Technology
- Business
- Creative-related topics.
LinkedIn Learning offers over 13,000 (at the time of writing this post) professional courses developed by industry experts that focus on topics such as software development, project management, and marketing, just to name a few.
Once you have completed each course (all modules are required), you will be given a certification of completion linked to your LinkedIn profile if you wish to show it. However, it’s highly recommended for social and business opportunities in this day and age.
LinkedIn earning offers students guidance on future career paths to create a customized CV that puts them ahead of the crowd. Once you complete a certification, LinkedIn Learning offers courses related to your completed courses that align with your intended career path via a simple AI recommendation engine.
Related: LinkedIn Learning Review 2020: Is it worth your time
Linkedin can be accessed in 3 main ways:
- Free access with a LinkedIn Premium license. Access to be paid on a monthly subscription
- Through an enterprise license through your employer
Most individuals will opt for the monthly subscription model. This is available to anyone and is, to be honest, pretty reasonably priced.
See how much it costs below:
Pricing Image
So, with all that said, if you’re interested in giving LinkedIn Learning a try, starting with the 1-month free trial and potentially upgrading to a subscription, you can start your learning journey below.
Buy LinkedIn Learning.
#3 Best Online Tools for College Students
Udacity
When it comes to our list of best online tools for college students, Udacity is one tools that is quite honestly amazing for formal online education for students. Udacity is a private American education organization that provides short and long-form, massive open online courses (MOOC) for you to level up your career.
Udacity is probably best well known for their nano degrees which come in a wide array of schools and subjects such as Artificial intelligence, Cloud computing, and Cyber security.
Currently, on their site, the main piece of marketing is that by engaging with Udacity, you will be ready for a $100K+ tech career in just three months of learning on the platform.
Some of the best attributes of participating in a Udacity nano degree program are the following:
- Strong mentor engagement throughout your course.
- Recording and receiving peer-based evaluations of other student’s work
- Receive feedback from teachers/lecturers on your work.
- Have a nano degree in 3 months.
- Free courses to try out.
Honestly, when it comes to Udacity, if you need something that will test your abilities, from mentors who are or have been in the industry you want to enter and who come with a wealth of knowledge, Udacity is for you.
The pricing may seem a tad steep at first, but it’s actually pretty good value when you dive into it.
I choose an example for you to see an example of a nano degree pricing, so see what kind of pricing you’re looking at, check below:
AI for Healthcare
Don’t forget, though, there are up to 200 free nano degrees and courses to choose from on the platform, although you won’t be able to attain a completion certificate with these, so just think of a free pan as practice for the real deal.
If you want to level up your skills but need something more dedicated than a LinkedIn Learning or Skillshare, and need advanced mentorship and teaching, give Udacity a try.
#4 Best Online Tools for College Students
Google Docs
Google Docs is a pretty great cloud-based word processing tool with many uses for students of all ages. Google Docs offers a tremendous virtual collaborative tool for collaborative projects between students and lecturers to allow honest time feedback and document sharing to enhance student productivity.
Google Docs also offers an extensive template library with thousands of sample reports, white papers, and worksheets that suit your required format. Google Docs is free to use, which is essential for many students.
Related: Top 13 reasons to use google docs (and ditch word)
Google Docs also offers these nifty features to help you with your schoolwork:
- Google Research Feature allows you to open the google search box within the word processor and access info without switching tabs.
- The Google Voice Typing feature helps you get down the information without being held up by typing.
- The Explore feature of google sheets allows you to access trends and display charts relating to the information in your data.
- Google Change Tracking allows ease of collaboration.
The fantastic thing about google docs is that you need to sign up for a google account, and you have instant access to the G Suite, including google docs.
You can start creating documents straight off the bat with little to no limitations. If you need additional features or storage, then you will need to move up to a paid version, but honestly, the free version is more than enough for students.
#5 Best Online Tools for College Students
Dropbox
Dropbox is a secure file hosting service that offers the latest in file synchronization, personal cloud, and interactive software that is invaluable to students and businesses alike, and has earn its place as one of the best online tools for college students in 2022.
Dropbox allows students to upload their class syllabus and homework to a Dropbox folder to access the files from multiple devices and share the files on a secure platform.
File sharing with cross-device synch operates easily across all operating systems and allows students and lecturers securely collaborate on all file types, including:
- Linux
- Office 365
- G Suite
- DCM
- LaTeX.
Other features of Dropbox include the following:
- 256-bit AES and SSL/TLS encryption
- Enhanced organization of coursework and homework into individual files
- Collaborate on shared files, including large data sets, images, or original music tracks.
- Protects your course work from potential loss by file back and multi-device access
- Access to 300,000 app integrations such as student-friendly Papers 3 and Nobility.
Although Dropbox has a free account with 2GB of storage, if you want a paid version, their monthly plans start at only $9.99, making it affordable to the average student.
The other thing is Dropbox is a household name, and through my personal experience of running this site, Dropbox is the jam, it’s really reliable and won’t let you down.
If you want to give Dropbox a try, give it a go by purchasing through the button below.
#6 Best Online Tools for College Students
Udemy
Udemy is a massive open online course platform with a multi-language library aimed at students and professionals alike. Students can take courses to improve their job-related skills before embarking on their chosen career paths or supplement their learning with expert courses related to their subject choice.
Udemy’s content, to be honest, can be pretty much 50/50, which is mainly due to Udemy not having a sold vetting process, but that same policy leads to having more diverse content on the platform.
Students can access courses by industry professions and gain access to:
- Videos
- PowerPoint presentations
- PDFs
- ZIP files
- Live classes
- Instructor feedback/engagement.
Udemy usually charges per course due to not running a typical subscription-like its competitors. Many of their student courses are free, and they offer student coupons in a variety of skills and fields. It is worth mentioning that Udemy is not accredited, so it will not count towards educational credits.
Related: Udemy Review: Good or Bad?
Other great features of Udemy courses include:
- Affordability
- Over 65 languages to choose from
- Flexible learning without hard deadlines
- Certification
- Easy to use lifetime access.
Otherwise, courses typically range between $11.99 and $199.99 per course, with a selection of over 185,000 online video courses. You can access Udemy courses across multiple devices and platforms, including their mobile app.
You can also check our Udemy review here.
Check out Udemy, and if you’re interested in trying some of their content to help you either with your studies or your personal development, click the button below.
#7 Best Online Tools for College Students
Evernote
Evernote is a useful app designed for students to take notes, organize their work, and efficiently manage their tasks.
The app allows students to take notes with multimedia capacities such as:
- Photographs
- Audio
- Saved web contempt
- Drawings
- Text.
Evernote allows you to store your notes in virtual notebooks, which you can then tag, edit, export, or palace attachments. Evernote is a cross-platform app available from most operating systems making it highly accessible. Evernote offers free monthly use with data limits or paid plans without limitations.
Other great features of Evernote include:
- Recording lectures and talks
- Draw and write on PDFs
- To-do Lists and reminders to manage assignments
- Scan and search handwritten notes,
Evernote offers eligible students a 50% off a full-year subscription or a low monthly premium for individuals for only $7.99.
If you want to give this great application a good college try (pun intended), you should click the link below to take you straight to Evernote’s site, where you can download number 7 on this list of best online tools for college students.
#8 Best Online Tools for College Students
Grammarly
Losing marks for poor writing and grammar errors is a past thing with Grammarly. Grammarly is an AI-inspired tool that edits your work, corrects mistakes, and offers suggestions to improve your writing and enhance your communication skills.
Grammarly checks over 400 points when checking your work, including:
- Spell check
- Writing style
- Punctuation
- Grammar
- Plagiarism
Grammarly increases student confidence in their work and saves time, leaving students and lecturers to focus on content. Grammarly also works across multiple devices, including desktop apps, social media, emails, etc.
Related: How Grammarly’s Writing Suggestions Help College Students Excel
I actually use Grammarly premium for this site but started off with the free version, and to be completely honest with you, it is so helpful that I don’t think I could survive without it. Even for native English speakers, it can be extremely useful, as it provides extremely relevant recommendations that are game-changers to your content literacy.
Grammarly offers a basic free version and a relatively low annual price of $12.99. However, group prices as a class will reduce the overall Grammar costs.
If you feel you need to have a super reliable English grammar checker for your content, to be able to create content that is known for being extremely accurate with perfect tone of voice, Grammarly is the product you need in your toolbox.
So, if you want to give Grammarly a go, click the link below.
#9 Best Online Tools for College Students
Coursera
Coursera is a US-based open online course provider developed through Stanford university that offers students and professionals online courses, certifications, and degrees in a wide variety of subjects. In 2021 experts estimated that Coursera offered over 4,000 courses from over 150 universities, which is growing each day.
Coursera is pretty much consistently rated as one of the best platforms available for online learning due to its ease of use, simple navigation, and having top-notch, high-level courses developed by leaders in their field, providing some of the best education you can get on the market today.
Coursera has a mixture of free and paid courses, with four initial courses you can try from the start, so when you are looking for an online learning platform, Coursera should definitely be on your list.
Coursera features for students include:
- On-demand videos from top companies and universities such as IBM and Yale
- On-demand skills with Guided Project
- Certification for courses, Guided Projects, and professional accreditation
Coursera offers a free campus student plan that helps students build and add to their resumes with unlimited guided projects and one free course every year. Otherwise, they charge $9.99 per Guided Project and Specializations and Professional certification at an average of $39,99 per month.
So, if Coursera appeals to you, you should definitely move ahead with it and go all in.
If you’re unsure where to access and learn more about it, click the link below.
#10 Best Online Tools for College Students
Chegg
Chegg is an online American learning service based in California that offers students a variety of handy features. Services include:
- Rental and sales of textbooks new and used
- Subscriptions for expert help in math, assignments, and writing
- Flashcard apps
- Assignment Q; A answering over 55 million questions
- Internship and scholarship listings
- Professional proofreading services.
Chegg is tops in test prepping, allowing you to check your knowledge with practice problems, quizzes, and more. Their model answers are so successful that there is speculation on whether the site aids in cheating on student tests.
Chegg offers several student options ranging from $9.95 for individual subscriptions for math or writing to $19.95 for the complete study package, so depending on what you need, Chegg has got you covered. This price puts Chegg on the more expensive side of online student tools, but it will be worth the cost for some.
Check it out below.
#11 Best Online Tools for College Students
Zoom
Zoom is a California-based communications technology company offering video and live chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software program. Zoom helps students and faculty engage in collaboration and administration and promote remote learning.
Thanks to the pandemic, Zoom is now arguably the world’s most popular video conference platforms, with its 40-minute free version, to its paid-for versions offering easy, simple to use conferencing for students and teachers alike.
Related: 11 Zoom tips and tricks for college students
If you want to hear more about Zoom, check out our review and how it stacks up with other platforms, like WebEx and Microsoft Teams.
Zoom offers Enhanced collaboration capacities from primary schools to higher education, including:
- One-click content sharing
- Breakout Rooms
- High Fidelity music modes
- Whiteboarding.
Zoom also offers seamless integration to LMS providers such as Canvas, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, etc., which will be super valuable for both students, teachers, and LMS administrators within faculty.
The basic package is free for account holders, but it must be said virtual meetings have a 40-minute timeline cut-off, but the Professional package features have the best overall student functionality at $14.99 per month/per individual license.
Check it out on Zoom’s website by clicking the button below.
#12 Best Online Tools for College Students
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a leading communication platform offering workspace/classroom chat, videoconferencing, file storage, and app integrations. Microsoft teams is particularly useful to students because they bring content, conversations, and apps together in one place.
Outside of these features though, Teams is so much more than that. It provides a one-stop-shop of centralized communications, as well as being able to integrate with a host f outside applications to give it a fantastic experience.
This hub allows students and lecturers to create vibrant, collaborative networks and connect with other students worldwide. Microsoft Teams offers a versatile space with hundreds of integrations to extend its capabilities.
Teams offer support with student affairs such as:
- Grades
- Assignment s
- OneNote classroom notebook
- Class materials folders
- Insights such as real-time data regarding student engagement.
Microsoft offers free versions with limitations, or Microsoft Teams is available as part of Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. Premium plans start at only $5.00/user/month.
During the pandemic, many education institutions decided to bring in Teams and implement virtual learning. Although there were hiccups on the way, once everyone settled into the new format, Teams became really popular with its simple to use interface, inherent stability, and great features,
If you want to give Teams a try, check it out below.
#13 Best Online Tools for College Students
Skillshare
Skillshare is an excellent online tool for students based in the US with various educational videos of industry experts.
One thing to note is Skillshare focuses on the creative arts, such as video production, graphic design, and filmmaking, amongst other creative artforms. If you are looking for business skills or anything outside of creative industries, this platform may not be the best choice for you.
Unlike many other online learning platforms, Skillshare focuses on interaction rather than lectures and does not offer accreditation as such but rather hands-on project experience.
The main categories included in this handy platform include the fields of:
- Creative arts
- Design
- Technology
- Entrepreneurship
- Lifestyle.
Student benefits include access to:
- Free classes and class creation
- Channel building capacities
- Learning with support from industry experts
- Shared learning experiences
- Group classes.
Skillshare offers many scholarships to eligible student applicants as well as discounted pricing for high school or higher education institutions with 20 seats or more. Otherwise, the premium plan is $167.88 per year that offers access to over 41,000 classes, community, and offline viewing.
If you want more info on what Skillshare can offer you, check out this post also from Taughtup to find out more,
If you want to sign up for Skillshare, click on the button below to get started right now.
#14 Best Online Tools for College Students
Trello
Trello is a web-based, list-making application and productivity tool developed by Trello Enterprise. This app has fast become the go-to for lecturers and students looking to organize their coursework.
I’ll be honest, I only really started to use Trello this year, even though my girlfriend bugged me to try it, as she thought it would definitely provide me with an easier workflow.
I think for students at college, it could be a game-changer. To be able to set up a board with all your studying you need to do, coursework that needs to be completed, and even the dates of all your finals, Trello can do it all.
Trello allows students to create boards and calendars to simplify their multiple subject workload and streamline their academic progress. Features for students include:
- Homework boards listing homework by the due date
- Prioritize subjects by priority and tasks
- Essay planning using Overview, Brainstorm, and Research settings
- Rough draft and final draft integrations and templates
- Blue Cat Reports keeping track of all boards within essay templates.
Trello offers discounts for students and lecturers that you can apply for here or use their free basic subscription or standard subscription at $5.00 per month.
It might be worth trying the free version and then upgrading later if you feel you need it.
Check it out below.
Final Thoughts
There has never been more technology at your fingertips across a variety of devices, what a time to be alive. Whether you want to be a better artist, you want to spice up your English skills, or you want to study for a new career, the world is your oyster.
You should consider this list of best online tools for college students in order to improve your productivity and make your college experience that much more streamlined.
Reach out in the comments with what tool helped you or is helping you get through college, we’d love to hear about it!
Hey, I’m Kris Taylor. I’m a Learning and Development professional currently in the healthcare field, with over 8 years of experience in the area of corporate education. I have created numerous instructional content for various corporate projects including eLearning, in-person facilitation, and virtual training across a wide variety of learning interventions and sectors. On Taughtup, I discuss topics ranging from how to succeed through K-12 to college all the way to instructional design tips for L&D designers.
