Apps
often offer students a systematic method of preparing for competitive
examinations.
Mobile
phones are no longer distractions for many students who are preparing for
important examinations in the city.
There
are a wide range of mobile applications that come free of cost or at a nominal
price. Apps which provide material, daily question papers and worksheets have
become indispensable to many aspirants for examinations such as the Joint
Entrance Examination (JEE) and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) test.
“The
focus of an app which helps aspirants is to ensure that study material is
available just a click away and this automatically lessens the time a student
is going to take to travel to coaching classes,” explains Balaji Sampath,
founder of Ahaguru, a coaching initiative to facilitate students to crack JEE
and other competitive examinations.
His
app gives mathematics and science problems with video solutions for students in
classes between VII and XII.
“From
the feedback we have received, students prefer a few sums and problems
regularly rather than large chunks which is what apps should offer— a few sums
on a daily basis which will enhance their understanding,” he said.
While
the Android platform offers hundreds of apps for school students looking to
crack entrance examinations, aspirants looking to write exams at a later level
like UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) or even the UPSC too have apps.
V.
Ramanujam, a civil services aspirant, said that ‘IAS Baba’, an app he has been
using for one month to help him with preparations for the upcoming preliminary
examination, consolidated topics under current affairs and this made
preparations easier for him.
“We
all usually sit with the newspaper for about two hours to divide current
affairs under various topics and then try to frame possible questions about it.
Apps which are regularly updated however give us news from the papers under
various topics through the same platform and even help us tackle essay
questions with links to important articles of various newspapers,” he said.
“With
only a few months left for the exams, the little time that we spend with our
mobile phones should be useful and having such material easily accessible is a
great thing,” he added.
Even
though there are many apps available, K. Devnandan, another civil services
aspirant, points out that most apps need a revamp so as to keep up with the
latest trends. “Apps sometimes have outdated questions and material which are
of no use for students as they find new information available on websites. It
is necessary for the apps to be updated with the current pattern of exams,” he
added.
Thanks to : The Hindu | English | 22.03.2016 | Page No : 7
