Counseling Department
Bethel Virtual Academy
Academic Skills
If you are struggling to succeed it's okay! High school is demanding! It is structured to both challenge and prepare you to be Career and College Ready by graduation. The good news is that there are resources available at BVA, in the community, and on this website to help you.
Mental health can impact academic success. Please also view the Social/Emotional section and the Wellness sections.
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page.
Reading
Watch the YouTube video below to learn to boost reading speed and comprehension
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Organization & Planning
Start by watching the YouTube videos below. Then, come back and check out the apps below that were referenced in the video(s).
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Apps
Egenda (IOS & Android & Self Service)
A powerful homework manager built by students for students. Egenda makes it simple to add multiple different types of assignments and manage day to day assignments. Manage all of your homework, projects, quizzes, and tests from all of your classes in one place. Never forget an assignment with daily reminders about what's due the next day. Add notes to remember group members or assignment details. Easily sort by class, due date, and completion
Google Calendar (IOS & Android & Self Service) Different ways to view your calendar - Quickly switch between month, week and day views. Events from Gmail - Flight, hotel, concert, restaurant reservations and more are added to your calendar automatically. To-dos - Use Reminders to create and view to-dos alongside your events. Goals - Add personal goals—like “run 3 times a week”—and Calendar will schedule time for them automatically. Quick event creation - Smart suggestions for event titles, places and people save you time when creating events.
Notability (IOS & Android & Self Service) Powerful, yet wonderfully simple note-taking and PDF annotation.Students, teachers, and business professionals use Notability daily to enrich their lives. It is uniquely designed for each device to provide the best note-taking experience at school, home, and work. Create memorable multi-media notes, stay organized, paper-free, handwrite and sketch naturally, record and playback audio (automatically synced with audio recording so you can replay what was said with what you wrote), share ideas in presentation mode, multi-note to work with multiple notes/files at once, type anywhere, easy import and share, auto backup and icloud sync.
Memory
Start by watching the YouTube videos below. Then, come back and check out the apps below that were referenced in the video.
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Apps
Anki (IOS & Android)
A program which makes remembering things easy. Because it is a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn. Anyone who needs to remember things in their daily life can benefit from Anki. Since it is content-agnostic and supports images, audio, videos and scientific markup (via LaTeX), the possibilities are endless.
Quizlet (IOS & Android & Self Service)
Tool that allows users to create study tools such as interactive flashcards, tests, and study games. With Quizlet, students can choose their own “Study Mode.” This allows activity content to be migrated from flashcards to matching games to other types of study games easily and responsively.
Focus & Concentration
Start by watching the YouTube videos below. Then, come back and check out the apps below that were referenced in the video(s).
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Apps
MacOS & Windows Only
Basic: Free
Pro: $36.99 one time fee
Forest (IOS & Android) If you want to temporarily put down your phone and focus on what’s more important in real life, you can plant a seed in Forest. As time goes by, this seed will gradually grow into a tree. However, if you cannot resist the temptation of using your phone and leave the app, your tree will wither. The sense of achievement and responsibility will encourage you to stay away from your phone, and will help you make better use of your time. Stop getting distracted by your phone, make you self-motivated and get more things done. Stay focused. Be present!
Studying for Exams
Start by watching the YouTube videos below. Then, come back and check out the apps below that were referenced in the video(s).
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Apps
Google Calendar (IOS & Android & Self Service) Different ways to view your calendar - Quickly switch between month, week and day views. Events from Gmail - Flight, hotel, concert, restaurant reservations and more are added to your calendar automatically. To-dos - Use Reminders to create and view to-dos alongside your events. Goals - Add personal goals—like “run 3 times a week”—and Calendar will schedule time for them automatically. Quick event creation - Smart suggestions for event titles, places and people save you time when creating events.
Anki (IOS & Android)
A program which makes remembering things easy. Because it is a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn. Anyone who needs to remember things in their daily life can benefit from Anki. Since it is content-agnostic and supports images, audio, videos and scientific markup (via LaTeX), the possibilities are endless.
Quizlet (IOS & Android & Self Service)
Tool that allows users to create study tools such as interactive flashcards, tests, and study games. With Quizlet, students can choose their own “Study Mode.” This allows activity content to be migrated from flashcards to matching games to other types of study games easily and responsively.
Writing Papers & Essays
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Notetaking
Watch both YouTube videos below to learn about the science behind note taking, strategies for note taking, and types of note taking.
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Test Anxiety
Start by watching the YouTube video below.
Also see the Anxiety/Depression page and the Wellness section for more information on managing anxiety.
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Procrastination
Start by watching the YouTube videos below. Then, come back and check out the apps below that were referenced in the video(s).
Also see the Apps referenced in the Concentration Section.
Workbooks and additional resources on this topic are available on the BVA Counseling Canvas page
Apps
Habitica (IOS & Android)
Treat your life like a game to stay motivated and organized! Habitica makes it simple to have fun while accomplishing goals. Input your Habits, your Daily goals, and your To-Do list, and then create a custom avatar. Check off tasks to level up your avatar and unlock features such as armor, pets, skills, and even quests! Fight monsters with friends to keep each other accountable, and use your gold on in-game rewards, like equipment, or custom rewards, like watching an episode of your favorite TV show. Flexible, social, and fun, Habitica is the perfect way to motivate yourself to accomplish anything.
