Now that you’ve made your decision between IGCSEs and O Levels and have chosen your subjects, the next most important step is probably identifying a range of sources to help you excel in your academic journey and achieve the best possible grades. In this mini blog, I would like to talk about a very popular online textbook: Kognity.
Table to summarize Key Pros and Cons of Kognity
Overview of the workings of Kognity with its Pros
To begin unravelling and developing a deep understanding and connection with the syllabus, it is essential to have a good teacher. In my case, this was Kognity, an online interactive textbook that integrates theory and application by providing an extensive and detailed presentation of topics. Besides this, it incorporates short questions at the end of every subtopic and a comprehensive summary with questions for the entire topic to aid in recalling key concepts and reinforcing them. Additionally, making your learning experience active rather than passive, Kognity also includes a wide range of links to simulations, YouTube videos, or articles to address the application aspect of your subject and perhaps answer some questions that the syllabus may not cover, thereby increasing your passion for a specific subject or topic.
How to access Kognity for Free and its Cons
Now, I know some of you may be wondering, isn’t Kognity paid? Well, you wouldn’t be wrong, but using their fabulous free trial option allows you to experience the software for a month before requesting your school to purchase it. However, Kognity isn’t all rainbows and sunshine; being an online textbook means it requires a device and an internet connection to operate, and excessive use, especially in poorly lit areas, may have negative consequences for the user. Even if you’re able to overcome these challenges, it should be noted that Kognity is primarily just a textbook. Although your teacher can assign you questions, practicing past paper exam questions would certainly be more beneficial.
Personal Resonation and Suggestion
Having said all that, I predominantly prepared for Physics, Chemistry, and usually ICT theory using Kognity and achieved A*s in all three disciplines, so clearly Kognity is doing something right.
In the end, I would suggest you familiarize yourself more with the syllabus and understand its requirements better, and then use Kognity to determine if it truly suits your learning needs.
Conclusion and Transition to the next Blog
In the next blog, I will discuss another source, Save My Exams, which also covers the theoretical aspects like Kognity but is filled with questions and other key aspects. Do read that blog as well if you aim to achieve A*s across the board!
