11 great Windows features for students and how to use them

A computer is one of the most important accessories for students. The versatility and portability of a laptop makes it a great tool for learning on the go, while a reliable desktop setup helps maximise your productivity when at your desk.

While ChromeOS and macOS are worth considering for students, Windows is easy to recommend. Not only are there loads of devices to choose from, Microsoft’s operating system includes plenty of powerful features that can help you get more done.

But each of the following Windows 11 features are also available in Windows 10, even if some look a bit different. And while this article is focused on students, they’re great tips for all Windows users.

Focus

The Focus tool is a great way to help you concentrate on the task at hand and minimise distractions. What’s even better is that it’s baked right into settings, so there’s no need to download anything.

In order to get to the Focus tab, you should simply navigate to Settings in Windows 11. There, you’ll by default be in the System tab, where you can find the Focus menu.

Click on it and you can change all the aspects of your Focus session – the length of each session, the way it hides app activity on your taskbar and whether you turn on Do not disturb mode. What’s even more interesting is its integration with the system Clock.

In the Clock app, you can also start your Focus session, as well as see your Focus stats. Navigate to the Clock app and from the menu on the left choose Focus sessions. There you can also set your timer and choose whether you want to take some breaks during your Focus session, you can also add tasks that need to be done during that session and see your Daily progress.

Focus sessions even allows you to integrate your Spotify into the app, meaning you can listen to your favourite music when studying without the constant urge to fiddle with the app and get distracted.

Do not disturb

Do not disturb mode is a great feature that works wonders in tandem with Focus mode. It allows you to mute all notifications that you’d normally receive, meaning they’ll just be sent to the notification tray rather than popping up on screen and distracting you.

This is another feature that’s baked into the setting of Windows 11, so finding it is a breeze.

Open Settings and in the System tab click on the Notifications menu. There, you’ll see a Do not disturb toggle, which turns on the mode in one click.

Below, you can also find a drop-down menu called Turn on do not disturb automatically. It’s a great feature that allows you to set certain hours when the mode is on by default, as well as some other behaviours – such as gaming – when you don’t want to be interrupted by notifications.

Calculator

When first opening the calculator in Windows 11, it might look quite barren – just a simple calculator with not a lot to it.

However, do not be deceived: it’s a powerful tool that can come in handy for even complex equations. What’s more, it’s installed into Windows 11 already, so opening it is just a matter of looking through your applications list.

If you expand your Calculator windows a bit from the default look, you’ll already see History and Memory tabs, which help keep track of what you’re doing.

But that’s not all. In the top left corner, you can see three horizontal lines. Once you click them, the magic of Windows 11’s calculator begins – it shows all the specific calculator layouts that you might need, as well as some handy unit converters. It’s everything you’ll need for both your everyday life and maths or physics classes.

Sound recorder

Sometimes, lectures can get complicated, so listening to them just once while taking your notes is quite challenging.

That’s when handy recordings are a great option – they allow you to listen through the talk once again and focus on the details which tend to get lost when in class. Microsoft has got you covered with a Sound recorder app (Voice recorder in Windows 10), which will allow you to both take notes on your laptop and record the lecture at the same time.

It’s a really simple app that allows you to record your mic’s input. You can also mark important moments of the recording thanks to the Mark feature in the bottom right corner, as well as import your already recorder files into the app to mark them. Next to the Mark option you can also slow down or speed up your playback. On the left, you can also see your recordings and listen through them.

Snipping tool

The times of pushing Print Screen button and pasting the result to MS Paint are well and truly over.

Thanks to Windows 11’s Snipping tool, taking screenshots is extremely easy, so you can capture what’s on your screen in a breeze. It’s a great tool for online classes, whether you want to capture an important slide on a presentation or just need a picture to add to your work.

Snipping tool can capture both stills and videos, and you are even able to delay the capture by a set amount of seconds. Everything is contained in a handy menu at the top of the tool.

You can also choose between capturing the whole screen, a particular section or specific selected area. As well as in the app, Snipping tool can be used via the Windows+Shift+S keyboard shortcut.

The app even includes some basic editing tools, including cropping and marking up the image you’ve just captured. Once you’re done, simply click the save icon on the top right and add it to the relevant section of File Explorer.

Snap Assist

Snap assist is a must-use tool if you’re working with multiple open windows. It allows you to rearrange your windows and quickly snap them in place in a layout of your choosing.

It works in two main ways. Firstly, if you have a window open, you can hover your cursor over the maximize window icon (it’s the one between minimize and close window), then choose from a range of multi-window layouts that pop up.

A pop-up window will appear and show you available multi-window layouts. Once you choose one, you can able to arrange your windows within the chosen layout.

You can also use Snap assist to manually rearrange your windows. When you grab one of them and drag it to one of the sides of your screen, Windows 11 will automatically suggest one of the snapping arrangements for it. If you drop it, the chosen window will snap into its place and the rest of your open apps will be ready to be arranged in the leftover places.

It’s a great feature, which makes multi-windows layouts a breeze. Further window rearrangement is available by dragging the borders of each window and making them fit your screen perfectly. Windows 11 will also remember your layout if you switch to another window – just use the Alt+Tab shortcut to come back at any time.

Dynamic Lock

Sometimes, you just need to step away from your computer for a moment.

That’s not a problem when you’re back home, but in a library or in class you wouldn’t want to leave your device unlocked, while locking it manually every time is a bit of a hassle. That’s where Windows 11’s Dynamic Lock system comes in.

You can find Dynamic Lock options in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

It’s a feature that allows you to connect your PC to your phone via Bluetooth and use it as a locking mechanism. Your Windows 11 PC will detect when the connected device goes out of range and lock the device automatically after 30 seconds.

You no longer have to worry about your PC being locked – it’ll do that for you.

Night Light

Sometimes there is no better way to study than pulling an all-nighter. There’s something to just spending a night in front of your study material and going through it all – and it’s not just the approaching deadline.

However, after long hours in front of the screen, your eyes might be suffering. Not just because it’s late, but also the blue light emitted from your computer. Windows 11 has the answer – Night Light.

Night Light is a feature that makes your screen much more yellow in colour, helping reduce blue light emissions, which in turn can limit the negative impact on your sleep patterns and vision. You can turn it on by going into Settings > System > Display > Night Light and setting it up there.

You have quite a few options to choose from.

First, it’s possible to turn the feature on manually there. You can also change the intensity of the yellow hue, as well as schedule the feature to turn on automatically. If you turn on location settings, you can have it turn on at sunset, but if you don’t want to do that, you can set your own schedule for when it turns on and off every day.

OneNote

OneNote is the go-to note-taking app for many people, and it’s easy to see why. This is a fully featured digital notebook which can be used both as a basic tool for notes or something much more complex.

At its most basic, OneNote is divided into Notebooks, which are in turn divided into Sections and Pages. In these pages, you can add anything – text, photos, lists and much more. OneNote also supports pen input, as well as voice memos with built-in transcription.

Its integration with other software makes it a great choice on Windows 11.

OneDrive

There’s nothing worse than losing your coursework because of a drive malfunction or another mishap with your PC. Unfortunately, that sometimes happens, but you can make your files much safer by backing them up to the cloud.

Microsoft’s own OneDrive integrates well into Windows 11 and even allows you 5GB of storage for free.

To set it up, search for it in the search bar and open the first app that comes up. It’ll prompt you to log in with a Microsoft account if you haven’t already, then choose which folders to back up automatically and be available on all your devices. It’s worth including all your important documents if you have space.

It’s also important to remember that the files that you have backed up into OneDrive can be easily shared with anyone. You can do that by opening your OneDrive folder, then right-clicking on the file that you want to share, hovering over OneDrive option and clicking Share from the pop-up window. You can then send or copy a link to share it, as well as set its privacy options.

Microsoft To Do

Sometimes, all the things you need to do can get overwhelming, and remembering them all is a challenge in itself. That’s where dedicated to-list apps come into plays, allowing you to effectively record and prioritise the most important tasks.

Windows 11 offers a great app just for that – Microsoft To Do. Compared to writing a list on paper or even using OneNote, To Do has extra features which make creating and managing your list of tasks a breeze.

You can find Microsoft To Do installed natively on your Windows 11 device, but a mobile version for Android and iOS means you can access your to-do list from wherever you are.

In To Do, you can create everyday tasks in My Day tab, set starred or planned tasks and even import flagged emails from Outlook as new tasks. There are also options to create your own folders and lists of tasks.

What’s even better is the way that tasks are added to the app. You don’t have to fiddle around with time sliders or calendar options – you just write down the task that you want, together with the date and the time, and Microsoft To Do should recognisee it and schedule accordingly. It’s a great way to streamline creating your to-do list, which in itself can be quite a daunting task.