Messaging apps are a key component in the daily school lives of students as they share notes and assignments, and need to message each other regarding school-related tasks. Students primarily use two apps: Telegram and WhatsApp.
Students can create study groups and share recordings of each of their lectures. But in regard to school collaboration, which messaging app is better? Let’s analyze the two apps and determine the better messaging app for study groups by comparing Telegram vs WhatsApp, and examine the growing popularity of telegram download and whatsapp web in the educational sphere.
1. Group Size and Study Community Power
Telegram: Built for Large Study Groups
Students in university, need to take online courses, or are preparing for competitive exams, can use Telegram as a messaging app and a learning forum.
Users can create channels, and these channels can be public or private. Teachers can upload voice recordings, notes, pdfs, and other learning materials and Telegram can house all of these resources for students.
Write for free and use the trending Telegram app for students, as you can create groups of more than 200,000 members.
Ideal Messaging App for Small Study Groups – WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a messaging app that is simple to use especially for individuals that are not as familiar with technology. Because WhatsApp is so commonly used, and is so easy to use, creating a study group on WhatsApp is very simple.
As compared to Telegram, WhatsApp group chats have a limit on the amount of people that can join the group. This makes creating a group for a large academic community restraining.
2. File Sharing for Notes and Assignments
Telegram: Large File Sharing Advantage
When students want to share lecture slides, recordings, and notes that have been scanned, they can use Telegram to share their documents as it allows each file to be up to 2GB. This is ideal for sharing:
– Zoom recordings
– Scanned textbooks
– PDFs
– Files from coding assignments
Your phone storage will not be a concern, as Telegram stores files on the cloud.
Cloud storage is a great feature for students in medical and engineering fields. As they often have large files.
WhatsApp: Convenient but Limited
WhatsApp may have document sharing features, but they lack in comparison to other messaging apps.
Small notes and PDFs can be easily shared, but when it comes to larger files, they will need to be compressed and that can negatively affect the document.
Nonetheless, one significant perk of using WhatsApp Web is that students can access it from their laptops to make the process of dragging and dropping files for their assignments easier.
3. Cross-Platform Availability
Telegram: Total Multi-Device Liberty
With Telegram, you have the freedom to use it across all of the following platforms at the same time:
– Android
– iOS
– Windows
– MacOS
– Any web browser
You can use Telegram on any of the platforms above and they will automatically sync messages regardless of whether your phone is connected to the internet.
During exam prep, students can seamlessly switch devices without interrupting their flow of communication, which is especially beneficial when they are switching between notes and conversations.
WhatsApp: Phone-based Access with Web Access
Also, WhatsApp has a web version (WhatsApp Web), which is useful for file sharing and answering questions. It also allows access to your WhatsApp account from a computer.
What’s even better is that WhatsApp Web used to exclusively rely on your phone being connected to the internet (though newer versions have less of this), so if your phone dies, you lose your whole workflow.
4. Easy Privacy and Less Distractions for School Purposes
Telegram: Communication via Usernames
With Telegram, you can communicate via usernames and avoid sharing your phone number, which creates a safety barrier if students want to join public study groups.
Username-based communications also significantly decreases spam and the sharing of phone numbers.
This is particularly beneficial for students who are part of large groups that focus on exam preparation.
WhatsApp: Phone number is needed
WhatsApp asks for a phone number as a unique identifier for an account. WhatsApp has end to end encryption for messages. Sharing a number in a large group is uncomfortable for many students.
For classmates that know each other, this usually isn’t a big deal.
5. Voice Chats and Online Classes
All the apps allow the sending of voice messages, but they also allow audio calls. In addition, Telegram includes audio group calls, which are basically live audio chats. Teachers can conduct live classes without having to use other apps.
WhatsApp is great for team discussions or project meetings, as they offer group video and voice calls.
For large group sessions where students are looking for more structure, Telegram provides better options.
6. Bots and Study Automation
Telegram has one feature that other messaging apps do not, which are bots. These can do the following:
– Remind users of things
– Facilitate quizzes
– Conduct polls
– Track study timers
– Manage files
This leads to greater productivity with less effort.
WhatsApp lacks a lot of automation features and built in tools.
7. User Experience and Popularity
Familiarity is a big plus for WhatsApp. Almost every student is already using this app to chat with families and friends. There is no need to learn anything new.
While Telegram has a rapidly increasing user base, it will likely take some time for new users to familiarize themselves with all of the features.
With that in mind, telegram download seems to be the most popular with students who want greater control and features.
Conclusion: Which Is the Better App for Study Groups?
It all depends on what the students need:
Use Telegram if:
– You want to work in/with large study communities
– You need to send and receive large academic files
– You want to keep your username private
– You want to use cloud-based storage
– You want to use bots and other automation features
Use WhatsApp if:
– You want to work in/with small study groups
– You want to keep things simple
– You use it every day
– You use it for quick access on your laptop
Concluding Remarks
Two of the most useful apps for students today are WhatsApp and Telegram. When it comes to large communities and flexibility, Telegram is the better option. When it comes to simplicity and universal access, WhatsApp is the better option.
For serious academic collaboration, Telegram offers the best features. For study chat collaboration, WhatsApp is the better option.
In the end, it all depends on the students’ collaboration, resource sharing, and time management of their academic life to choose the best study group apps.
