Most college students have a Facebook account, and many also use Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks. These can be leveraged for collaborative study with other students, but academic honesty must be the main priority of anyone participating in an online study session. Students can set up a Facebook Group for their school, department, or a single class, and send it to everyone in their school's network. This can be used as a continuous study group where students log in, post their questions and help others find answers. However, it is important that students do not collaborate on assignments that are meant to be individually completed, or cheat on exams in these online study groups.
When there is simply not enough time to meet in person, it is possible for students to start an e-mail thread to study online together. One student can begin by asking a question or proposing a topic, and send an e-mail to all other students in the class or study group. An e-mail thread is a great way to study online because it is quick, and a record of everything the group said is kept in each student's inbox. This way, an e-mail study group serves as study notes as well.
Often, schools offer an online learning environment to their students that can be used for collaboration and group study. Some of the more popular online learning tools are Blackboard, Moodle and JoomlaLMS. These tools allow students to log in with a student ID or e-mail address, and participate in online forums and chat rooms with other students and, occasionally, instructors. Students can create forums to discuss material for an upcoming test, clarify questions about a particular lesson and discuss the requirements of upcoming assignments.