Site chases away studying blues

Study smarter, not harder.

Thus reads the motto of studyblue.com, a note-sharing and study-aid Web site founded in 2006. The site also features flash card generators, textbook outlines, study groups and tutoring services.

Ben Jedd, chief communications officer for StudyBlue, said although many similar sites exist, such as Gradeguru.com and Notecentric.com, StudyBlue's versatility makes it stand out.

"I think the biggest differentiator we have to our competitors is the fact that we're a suite of academic tools," he said. "A lot of our competitors are just flash card sites, or just study group sites, or just note-sharing sites. Our tool collaborates all of these together in one."

Lisa Malmgren, a freshman journalism and mass communication major, said she'd take advantage of StudyBlue but not necessarily add her own notes to it.

"I'd never put anything on it because I'm too lazy," Malmgren said. "But I'd definitely use it if it was available."

Victoria Wilson, a sophomore education major, said she had never heard of StudyBlue but liked the sound of it.

"It'd help you study more and get notes that you'd missed and things like that," she said.

That attitude is exactly why StudyBlue is a valid tool, Jedd said.

"At the end of the day . if you miss a lecture, you're going to go to one of your friends and say 'hey, can I borrow your notes?' So we're just providing a forum for that," he said.

StudyBlue has tens of thousands of registered users and more than 12,000 schools represented, Jedd said. Although originally intended for just college student use, the site has recently expanded its access to include high school students as well.

"We had so many requests from high school students who wanted to come on and use our flash card tool, or share notes for class or create study groups, that we really, just based on response and request, just had to meet their needs," Jedd said.

Although the site is popular among students, professors may take longer to warm up to it. Carol Fischer, professor of accounting, said she would have some reservations about encouraging her students to use the site.

"Like (a lot) of things on the Web, you do it at your own risk," she said. "There's no guarantee it'll be accurate or useful. Students are better off using resources from their professors and specific courses."

Jeffrey Peterson, professor of finance, said he'd never heard of StudyBlue. and would have to investigate it further before recommending its use.

"I would want to know a lot more about what was going on there," he said. "I'd have to go there and look around and see what these guys were up to."

Distrust is a common first reaction from professors, but it generally doesn't last for long, Jedd said.

"I think initially a lot of professors are concerned because they look at us as just another note-sharing site," he said. "But once they get on and they realize that we're so much more than some of our competitors that do just focus on sharing notes, and that we have tools in place to help students study more efficiently . we actually get great feedback."

Kayla Zimmer, lecturer of education, said she agreed with the site's basic premise.

"It makes sense," she said. "I always think that students who study together and collaborate in the reading and taking notes from the text are going to be more successful as students."

Peterson also said he's in favor of whatever helps his students better absorb material.

"If this site will help them (learn what I'm teaching), then I'm delighted," he said. "But if it's a site that simply allows them to perform well on tests without actually having to learn the stuff, then that's not something I'd encourage them to do."

This semester, StudyBlue greatly expanded an already popular feature, Pay-for-Notes. Once restricted to only a few professional note takers, Pay-for-Notes tool now allows all StudyBlue users to earn cash.

Students receive $25 for every 25 files or flashcards uploaded, $1 for every new user they refer to StudyBlue.com and an extra 50 cents each time a user clicks on his or her notes. Users can potentially earn up to $5000 per semester.

StudyBlue, which is free to use, pays students with funds from a combination of sources, including ad revenue, internal investigators and strategic partnerships, Jedd said.

Both Malmgren and sophomore finance major Luke Balbo said the monetary incentive would play a big role in getting their attention.

"I think that's a really, really good idea," Balbo said. "If people are going to pay me to upload notes, and I know other people are out there who have notes that they're getting paid to upload, I'm going to look at them."

Wilson agreed.

"I think it's a good idea," she said. "You're helping other students study, so it's almost like tutoring."e-mail: kiblerkj@sbu.edu