The 9 Best Study Apps for Distance Learners

With the average person spending over 4.5 hours a day spent on their phones, it's no surprise that mobile apps have become an essential part of everyday life. Whether it’s fitness, cooking, or connecting with loved ones, mobile apps are empowering us to reach our professional and personal goals.

In recent years, mobile study apps, in particular, have skyrocketed in popularity, as online learning became the norm. Now, with 57 million online learners projected by 2027, these handy study tools are set to remain a staple for students looking to enhance productivity, stay organised, and make the most of their distance learning experience.

If you're navigating your own learning journey, stick with us as we explore 9 of the best study apps for distance learners – designed to help you study smarter, not harder!

1) Xmind: Perfect for Organising Interactive Notes

Xmind designers are creative advocates who are passionate about making sure students can capture and communicate their thoughts, on the spot. An app that allows learners to build a variety of mind maps, Xmind can be used for studying, organising notes and brainstorming.

Xmind also has plenty of other handy features, like the ability to turn mind maps into trackable to-do lists and add audio notes, labels, and attachments. This means that different types of learners, whether written, auditory, or visual, can make use of this innovative tool.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• Mind Mapping: create detailed mind maps to break down complex topics
• Trackable To-Do Lists: stay on top of assignments and deadlines
• Audio Notes: record and attach audio clips to study materials
• Labels & Attachments: add extra context and resources to your notes
• Flexible Learning Styles: ideal for visual, auditory, and written learners

Trusted by major companies like Xiaomi, TikTok, Visa, and Amazon, Xmind is a must-have tool for organising your notes and maximising productivity.

2) Quizlet: The Ultimate Study Companion

Whether you study in a classroom or as a distance learner, studying can feel monotonous – that’s where Quizlet comes in! As a way of making learning more fun, engaging, and easier to absorb, Quizlet focuses on helping students have fun, while being productive!

Founder, Andrew Sutherland, actually created the app back in 2005 while working on a French vocabulary test. He soon shared his creation with his friends, and it didn’t take long for the app to grow to the success it is today. Quizlet has since grown into a global learning tool, backed by Owl Ventures, USV, and General Atlantic.

Quizlet can also be adapted to suit 26 different languages, making it easier for students around the globe to make the most out of Quizlet’s features.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• Flashcards: create or access millions of pre-made digital flashcards
• Practice Tests: test yourself on key topics before exams
• Study Games: make learning more engaging with fun quizzes
• Custom Study Guides: organise notes for quick and easy revision

3) Movavi Screen Recorder: Never Miss an Online Lesson Again

As a distance learner, online tutorials and meetings with your academic tutor are to be expected, but it can be hard to maintain your focus and take written notes throughout! This is where Movavi can help – a study app that records your screen with the click of a button, making it so you can revisit key sessions later.

The app even lets you schedule your recordings, so for the organised who know ahead of time that they’re going to miss a tutorial, you can simply set the app up in advance and capture the content that you need!

Movavi has an abundance of guides and articles on its website, showing users exactly how to get the best out of their product. There's also a searchable support centre for general queries and information.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• One-Click Recording: capture lectures, webinars, and study sessions effortlessly
• Scheduled Recordings: set it up in advance to record sessions while you're away
• Screen & Audio Capture: record both video and sound for complete study materials
• Editing & Conversion Tools: trim, edit, and convert videos for easy referencing

4) Exam Countdown Lite: Stay on Track

As an online or distance learner, it’s likely that you’re juggling work, life and study – making it easy to lose track of assignments and due dates. Exam Countdown Lite helps keep all of your exam dates and test dates all in one place.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• Exam Date Tracking: store your all-important dates in chronological order
• Study Planning: use the countdown feature to structure your time for revision
• Accessible Anywhere: check your schedule on the go

With a 4.6/5-star rating and over 500K downloads on Google Play, this app is a must-have for keeping your study schedule on track.

5) Forest: Get in the Zone

We all know someone who is a die-hard procrastinator when it comes to studying (maybe it’s you!), doing everything in their power to avoid cracking open their textbook – including doom scrolling on their phone.
Introducing the Forest app: turning studying into a fun, rewarding challenge!

Whenever you need to concentrate, simply plant a virtual tree. As you focus on your work, your tree will begin to grow. However, if you leave the session before the in-app timer ends, your tree dies (and no one wants that!).

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• Focus Timer: stay on task without distractions
• Virtual Forest: track your progress by growing a digital garden
• Earn Rewards: collect virtual coins to unlock new trees

As featured in Business Insider, The Guardian and New York Times, the idea is to build yourself a forest, via the app, collecting virtual coins that you can earn by planting trees.

The best part? Forest actually partners with a real tree-planting organisation, called Trees for the Future, to help create a greener tomorrow. This means you'll be doing good for yourself and the planet while you study – it's a win-win!

6) Evernote: The Ultimate Note-Taking App

Describing themselves as “the best note-taking tool out there”, Evernote released over 100 app improvements over the course of 2024, keen to shape their already great app into a one-stop shop for research, planning, organising, and scheduling.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• AI-Powered Search: quickly find past notes with smart queries (e.g., ‘Can you list my notes from last week’s tutor meeting?’)
• Sync Across Devices: access notes anytime, anywhere – on any device
• Multimedia Notes: add text, images, audio, and PDFs
• Custom Organisation: keep research and assignments neatly sorted
• Integrations: works with Google Calendar, Drive, Slack, and Microsoft Email

With Evernote, online learners can organise study materials effortlessly, making it an essential tool for academic success.

7) MyStudyLife: Your Personal Study Assistant

Described as the "#1 student planner and school organiser app", MyStudyLife promises to keep students organised and productive – while making their lives easier.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• Handy Timetable & Calendar: keep track of classes, exams, and deadlines
• Task & Reminder System: never miss an important deadline
• Pomodoro Timer: improve your focus with study sessions & breaks

Acting as your personal academic assistant, users can schedule reminders, organise their study tasks, utilise the in-app calendar, and track their grades – all through the main dashboard.

For those who struggle with time management, particularly when it comes to concentrating for long periods of time, the Pomodoro timer is a huge bonus, helping you stay focused throughout study sessions, with cleverly scheduled breaks.

This great study app is even backed by Forbes, who says, "Featuring a clean interface, MyStudyLife offers a comprehensive palette of schedules, timetables, and personalised notifications that sync across multiple devices".

8) Kahoot!: Turn Learning into a Game

For students who love interactive learning, Kahoot! transforms studying into a fun and engaging experience. Perfect for distance learners who prefer visual and active learning.

With an abundance of great features, students can turn presentations into games and make customisable study resources by simply scanning and uploading their handwritten notes.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• AI-Generated Study Tools: create customised quizzes & flashcards
• Handwritten Notes to Digital: scan notes to turn them into quizzes and presentations
• Practice Tests: make sure you know your stuff before the real one comes along
• Custom Learning Goals: set and track study milestones

Utilising cleverly designed widgets, students can even set weekly learning goals on their personalised calendars – which, for a distance learner managing their own schedule, is a game-changer!
You can also purchase Kahoot!+, for additional features, for a monthly fee.

9) Freedom: Block Distractions, Stay Focused

If you're the person who sits down to study but then picks up their phone five minutes later to scroll on through social media, then you need the Freedom app.

Used by professionals at Google, Salesforce, Harvard University, and Apple, Freedom is designed to help you control your unproductive screen time to maximise your study time.

Key Features for Distance Learners:

• App & Website Blocking: stop distractions before they start – you know you need to
• Sync Across Devices: blocks distractions on mobile and desktop
• Custom Session Lengths: set study sessions for as long as needed
• Access to Focus Music: specially designed soundtracks to boost concentration

Fully flexible, you can block apps for as long or as little as you need, helping you to be as productive as possible in the time that you have – especially if the Forest app isn’t up your ally.

Freedom also cleverly syncs sessions across all devices, which means you can block apps on your desktop, and they’ll also be blocked on your mobile!

If you're a music lover, you can also tune into Freedom's 'focus music', created to help you get into study mode and boost your productivity.

The Best Study Apps for Distance Learners

With the right tools, studying as an online or distance learner can be more productive, engaging, and (relatively!) stress-free.

Whether you're looking to stay focused, organise notes, or make revision more fun, these mobile study apps will help you make the most of your online learning experience.

We also recommend using online tools like Grammarly and QuillBot for your studies and assignments, both of which can help make sure you're academic writing is on point.

Which app will you try first?

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