blaststudy

[blaststudy]

As with everything in life, there is a hard way and an easy way to do things. 

Why spend 4 hours using old study methods, when you can get the same benefit from just 1 hour of study using Blast? Having the right study tools is the difference between working hard and working smart.  

Blast provides a digital note-taking assistant on your phone or computer who helps take more effective notes while recording and analyzing the lecture.

The Blast Study Assistant converts notes into effective study material ranging from intelligent study questions to interactive narratives. Using Alexa on your phone as your personal study assistant frees up your hands to do something else, like cooking or running.  

The Blast Phone App is your easy, hands-free way to study smarter while improving test performance and long-term retention of knowledge and skills. The result is mastery in far less time and with far less stress!

Blast is now available to everyone on ➡️https://blaststudy.com/.

……

Here is what real students are saying about BLAST! 

 “Before Blast, I experienced a lot of frustration because I didn't know what to study or how to study it. 

Blast makes studying easier and more manageable and for me, it makes it more fun.” 

 “Before Blast, I was constantly second-guessing my answers on tests. Now, thanks to Blast, I am confident in each answer and I’m normally the first one in the class to complete a test. I also love using Blast while I exercise.” 

“I followed the Blast study schedule and got my first 100 percent on a quiz. I really like how Blast decides what questions to re-ask me. I feel like it saves time and helps me master the material faster.”

[blaststudy]

8 Tips on How to Beat Test Anxiety

We’ve all been there, the exam is coming up, and you have no clue how you’re going to pass. Not only that, you don’t even know where to start to study! The night before, you might cram as much as you can. The day of, you fret, say a few prayers, and hope for the best.

It is a stressful cycle that all of us have been caught in – and, yeah, it stinks! But what if we told you there is a way to beat exam anxiety?

Yes, seriously.

If you follow the methods below, then you will not only eliminate text anxiety (or at least the majority of it because, let’s be real, tests are anxious for everyone, even the geniuses among us) you will also increase the amount of time you have to relax and spend doing the things you really want to do.

Sound too good to be true? Y’all, it’s not.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – you are looking for a magic pill, right? Sorry to break it to you, this isn’t a magic pill, but it is an excellent method to study while also saving time and reducing exam stress. Check it out below!

Eight Tips to Beat Test Anxiety

Tip #1: Find out the date of the exam

This might seem straightforward, but it is worth mentioning because it’s kind of important to know what day you’re actually taking the test. Mind-blowing, I know. But, honestly, a big part of exam anxiety comes with being surprised when the actual exam comes.

What? The test is tomorrow!? Noooooo.

Cue face grabs and moans of despair.

We do not want that to happen to you. So, to eliminate this part of test anxiety, be sure to find out exactly when the test is and put that on your calendar! To go one step further, you could put a one-week reminder on your calendar as well, so you won’t be completely caught off guard.

Tip #2: Go to class

I know, obvious much? But as the college kids know…you don’t have to go to class in college.

Hmm, perhaps I should have whispered that, so the high school kids didn’t hear it.

Going to class is important because studying the book alone can be a huge waste of time (when it comes to test-taking). Seriously. If you have the memory of a robot, then go ahead and memorize the entire textbook, but for all us humans out there, let’s just study what the teacher wants us to, mkay?

After class, write down what the teacher mentioned was important, and be sure to review that. From a pure saving time perspective, the more you learn from class and from the professor, the less work you have to do after class to try to figure things out on your own from the textbook.

This tip is the easiest one y’all. Wake up, go to class, and the teacher will tell you exactly what will be on the exam. Which takes us to tip #3.

Tip #3: Ask the teacher what is going to be on the exam

Literally, just ask because no teacher wants you to fail. They might have wanted that in the ol’ yonder days when a student’s standardized test wasn’t tied to the teacher’s own performance, but you better believe they do not want that now.

Believe it or not, teachers and professors want every single one of their students to pass and will literally tell you what to study. All you need to do is ask! If you pay attention in class, they will even give you hints like:

“Now, pay close attention to this part…”

“This is important…”

“You will be tested on this…”

“Listen up…”

“I want you to pay attention to this…”

“This will be on the test…”

If your high school teacher or college professor says anything along those lines, then you better believe that whatever they are mentioning is going to show up on the exam. So be sure to highlight it in your notes!

In addition, for all the college kids out there, if your professor offers a cram session, GO TO IT. They are basically finger feeding you what is going to be on the test. So, eat it up.

Tip #4: Create a list of what is going to be on the exam

If you followed tips #2 and #3, then you should have a basic idea of what will be on the exam. If you did not, and you still have a few days before the test, then go back to tip #3 and ask your teacher what is going to be on the test.

If you are terrified to talk to the teacher, then grab a friend to do it for you (in fact, this is covered in tip #5). Once you have your list of what is going to be on the exam, you can better study for the exam.

Now, the important thing about the list is – you do not have to study it all at once!

In fact, don’t look at your list and think, wow, this is impossible. No, no, it isn’t. It’s not even close to impossible (believe me, the brain is amazing and can handle it). The trick is to just study one thing on the list at a time. Once you finish that item, move to the next.

Studying one thing at a time will help you reduce your anxiety because it will allow you to focus, and it will give you a sense of accomplishment when you cross that study goal off the list.

Tip #5: Form a study group

You are not the only one who wants to pass the test. Seriously, just look around; everyone in this class wants to pass! They might want to pass by providing the least amount of effort possible, but they still want to pass.

This is when you can form a study group to divide and conquer. One person can pay close attention to when the teacher is mentioning what is important for the test. One person can literally ask the teacher what is going to be on the test. And one person can ask the TA (teacher’s assistant in college who usually runs the study session) what is going to be on the test.

It is important for students to understand that life is competition and the biggest competitive advantage in life is cooperation.

In other words, studying is a team sport! But it’s one of those team sports where everyone wins. So, form your team, and get to helping each other.

In study groups, you can share some of the workload, learn from one another, and encourage each other. From a psychological perspective, when you know that others are counting on you, you listen better and take better notes.

In addition, when you try to explain something to another person, it reinforces your own knowledge. Seriously, try it out. After you learn something, try and explain it to another person. Then you will really know if you learned it or not.

In the Blast Study Method, there is an option to form study groups and share material! Blast really believes in cooperation when taking exams and encourages that through our method.

Tip #6: Re-frame your mind

Many students think they are naturally bad test takers. However, scientists have mapped the entire human genome and found that there is no gene for test-taking. Therefore no one is naturally bad at taking tests! They are just not prepared and lack belief in themselves.

Let’s get over that, shall we?

The key to overcoming this negative belief is called re-framing. Re-framing is a process where you look at your test-taking ability through a new window or a new frame. You build this new frame by answering questions effectively. This is a large part of the Blast Study Method.

When you answer questions effectively, you start to re-frame your mind into becoming a great test taker. Olympic gymnasts follow this methodology to calm themselves down under the extreme pressure of Olympic competitions. They practice, have mock competitions, and visualize themselves succeeding.

You can do the same thing with studying! You can study, have mock quizzes and exams, and visualize yourself doing well or getting an A. The Blast Study Method does just this by giving you organized questions to help improve your test-taking confidence.

Tip #7: Start early

It is best if you do not wait until the last minute to study (i.e. the day before the test or, dare I say, tHe cLaSs pErioD beFoRe tHe tEsT). Waiting until the last minute is where the majority of test anxiety comes from: you wait, get surprised that the exam is tomorrow, then cram. It’s a vicious cycle.

Ideally, it would be wonderful to review what the professor spoke about in class after class each day. Though, sometimes, that is not possible, which is why we wanted you to make that one-week reminder to the test date (see tip #1)! At the very least, you will have a one-week heads up.

Blast Study is a great way to start studying early. The Blast Study method prepares a course study plan for you that tells you when to study. You will not be surprised when the test arrives using the Blast Study method. You will also be more confident because you will have taken mock quizzes and exams on the Blast Study site.

Tip #8 Study hands-free and on the go

Um, say what? How can I study hands-free? Yes, this can be a bit tricky for many students. Oftentimes students need their tablet to study and have to have their hands available to scroll.

But the best way to study on the go is through audio learning.

The Blast Study Method uses Alexa and audio learning as an easy-to-use, hands-free, on-the-go study method! Alexa will read questions and narratives to you that you can answer while exercising, cooking, cleaning, commuting, or many other daily activities.

And those are our 8 tips to help beat test anxiety!

Remember, studying can be easy and fun if you have the right strategy but terrifying if you don’t. This is also the case for taking tests. If you are not confident in your study method, then you won’t be confident during the exam.

But, with these methods, not only will you increase your test-taking confidence, you will also reduce your test-taking anxiety and improve your overall grades.

So, try it out and happy studying!

[blaststudy]

How to Cram the Smart Way – The Absolute Best Way to Cram Before the Exam!

Okay, so you’re in a predicament. The test is coming up, and you haven’t studied at all! You have to cram, there are no ifs ands or buts about it!

But what is the best way to cram for a test?

Well, that depends on a number of factors, the most important being – have you studied at all, and how long do you have before taking the test?

Let’s assume you haven’t studied a single thing (because if you have studied, then you probably won’t be in this predicament in the first place). In that case, we have exactly what to do based on how much time you have.

Whether you have the class period before, the day before, or three days to work with, we have a study tip for you! Just click on the link below to take you to which predicament you currently find yourself in.

I am cramming the:

Class Period Before the exam

Day Before the Exam

3 Days Before the Exam (Best Option!)

The Class Period Before the Exam

Wow, okay, this is definitely a predicament that you have found yourself in. The name of the study game in this instance is short-term memory, and to get something quickly in your short-term memory, you need repetition! Hopefully, your test is memory-based.

Have you ever heard of the naming game Impulse? In this game, you start in a circle. The first person in the circle says their name. Then the next person in the circle says their own name and the first person’s name. The third person in the circle says their own name, the 2nd person’s name, and the 1st person’s name, and so on until everyone has said their name.

It is a fun icebreaker where you can surprisingly learn a lot of names quickly.

Well, you are about to do the same thing with cramming!

First, create a list of what you need to learn. If you have the time, turn that list into flashcards. Then go down the list one by one. For simplicity’s sake, here is an example for a Spanish cram session:

Casa – House

Mesa – Table

Libro – Book

Lo Siento – Sorry

Salud – Bless you

Quien – Who?

Que – What

So, for this repetitive study method, you would start with #1 and try and memorize that Casa means House. Next, you would memorize that Mesa means Table. But instead of going to #3, you would go back to #1 and say that Casa means House, then you go to #3 Libro means Book, Mesa means Table, Casa means House. It looks like this:

1st round

Casa – House

2nd round

Mesa – Table

Casa – House

3rd round

Libro – Book

Mesa – Table

Casa – House

4th round

Lo Siento – Sorry

Libro – Book

Mesa – Table

Casa – House

You would keep going in this repetitive method until you get to the end of your list. Then try and say the entire thing in one go without looking at the answers. If you miss a word, take note of that word. At the end, go over all the words that you missed until those words are memorized as well.

If you have time, scramble the list and do it again. Keep reviewing the list until it’s the very last moment to take the exam. When you get the exam, write down as much as you can remember on the back of the exam paper. Then you can refer to that during the test.

Of course, this is only if the teacher or professor allows you to write on the exam. If your teacher does not allow that, then be sure to quickly scan the exam and answer all the questions you know first!

The Day Before the Exam

In comparison, the day-before-the-exam crammers have a bit more room to work than the class-period-before-the-exam crammers ­– though not much.

The first thing you need to do is find out what is going to be on the exam. So, if you are still at school, be sure to talk with the professor or teacher to find out what to study. If you paid attention in class, then you should have a roundabout idea of what is going to be covered.

Start this study session as early in the day as you can; right after school is best. If it is the weekend, then lucky you! You can study all day!

Now, find a quiet spot and turn off your notifications to devote all your focus to studying.

Because it is only one day before the exam, it is best to ignore your book and go straight to your notes for the essential topics covered. Organize these important topics into a list of potential items that could be tested. This is called a reductionist strategy. It is where you take something big and reduce it into smaller manageable parts. We are going to do this by forming questions.

Once you have your notes list, now you will form a study question. If your test is on Biology, then your questions could look something like this:

What is photosynthesis?

How does sodium bicarbonate affect photosynthesis?

What is an allele frequency?

What does an allele frequency measure?

Questions reinforce your knowledge in two ways. First, your knowledge is reinforced when you create the question. Second, your knowledge is reinforced when you answer the question. Once you have your questions formed, spend the rest of the evening memorizing them. You can use the same method mentioned above or any memorization method that works best for you.

If there are any questions that you keep missing, put them to the side and go over those questions separately until you memorize them.

Right before going to bed, review all the questions again. Review the questions you kept missing last. Then go straight to sleep so your mind can continue working on them while you slumber.

Yes, the mind actually does this!

In addition, it is important to get a good night’s rest before the exam because the brain cannot function properly on a lack of sleep. So, even if you don’t want to, sleep at least 7-8 hours.

When you wake up, immediately go over the questions you got wrong. Hopefully, your brain has been working on them overnight, and now you know them! If not, go over those questions again as well as the questions that you have memorized. Do this throughout the day.

Right before class, go over your questions list once more to make sure this information is fresh in your mind.

3 Days Before the Exam

Yes, if you start studying 3 days before the exam, you are still cramming. Though, this is with the assumption that you have not studied anything for this class at all. But, looking on the bright side, you are in better shape than the person who started studying the day before the exam and much better shape than the person who started the class period before!

If you have 3 days to study, the first thing you need to do is find out what is going to be on the exam by asking your professor or a studious friend who takes the class with you. You can also refer to your notes (hopefully, you have been taking great notes!).

Read over your notes, make questions from them, and try to answer those questions. Pretend like the exam is tomorrow and try to memorize as much as you can using the methods described above. You are basically giving yourself a cram session three days in advance of the exam. You do not have to try and memorize everything, but do try and memorize at least half the study material.

From those questions, identity which ones you get right or wrong, and review the questions you got wrong right before going to bed.

Cramming 3 days before works well because you have just enough time for spaced repetition in your studying. On the second day, continue your study method with the questions you have created. Try to memorize as much as possible, and be sure to review what you studied the day before. Take note of the questions that you routinely get wrong and review those right before going to bed.

As mentioned, when you go to sleep, your brain will work on those questions.

The day before the exam, it is time for another cram session. By now, there should be questions that you know well, questions that you get right most of the time, and questions that you frequently get wrong. Put aside the question that you get right all the time; those are firmly in your short-term memory.

Now it is time to focus on studying the questions that you are still getting wrong. Keep using repetition memorization techniques to study these questions.

If these questions just aren’t sinking in, then you may have to get creative. Here are some tricks to help retain information in your short-term memory:

Explain the answers to a family member or friend

Draw what the answer means

Write the answers in different colored ink

Write the answers in all caps

Have someone quiz you

Give yourself a single M&M candy if you get an answer right

Try doing jumping jacks while memorizing the question

Right before you go to sleep (and remember, you are going to get a good night’s sleep of at least 7-8 hours), review all the questions for the test, saving the most difficult questions for last. Then go straight to sleep.

As mentioned, (yes, we want to repeat this because it is important) your brain will work on these questions while you sleep. Which is why it is important to get a good night’s rest!

In the morning, as soon as you wake up, go over the harder questions. Hopefully, now you know all or the majority of them.

If there are still some that you do not know, then group those questions together. As the day goes on, continue to review your questions.

Right before you go into class, review those harder questions again, so they are right inside your working memory. But they are going to fade fast, so as soon as you get the test, write those facts down on the back of the test right away, then take the test and refer to what you have written.

Overall cramming tips

Don’t drink alcohol the night before; you will learn nothing!

Coffee is great to drink the morning of the exam, but have it without sugar. Coffee has proven memory benefits, but the sugar messes that all up.

Do not have sugar 20 minutes before the test because you will sugar-crash once the test begins. But you can have sugar during the test. Dark Chocolate is probably the best sweet to have, though an apple might be the overall best test-taking snack to eat (however, it could be too loud for your test-taking neighbors).

Turn off social media while studying because you need to have an intense study session, and social media provides too many distractions.

If you prefer studying in a group, try Zoom cram study sessions that are 25 or 55 minutes long with 5-minute breaks.

Hopefully, you will never be stuck in an all-or-nothing cramming situation, but if you are (and we all are at some point), we hope these tips are helpful and helped spur you to more frequent study methods (ala, at least once a week).

You can try the Blast Study Method for lecture-based study quizzes, learning narratives, and reminders on the best days to study to reinforce your knowledge.  Plus, Blast has a Countdown cram study session built right in to cram the smart way!

If you have found a study method that works best for you, then stick with it! Don’t be swayed by someone who says they barely study and ace the test. Perhaps that works for them, and that’s fine. You do what works best for you.

If you try the Blast Study Method, pretty soon, people might be asking what the secret is to your study success! *whispers* We don’t mind if you tell them.