For modern day students, it’s harder to study or write term papers with their trusted, forever-by-their-side, check-it-every-20-minutes smart phone, but those electronic devices more times than not are just a distraction, unless they are used to the students’ advantage.
Here are 13 apps for both iPhones, Androids or desktops that can help make more proficient, punctual, and all around better scholars:
1. SelfControl App
Don’t sweat it if you’re easily distracted by the addictive Facebook, Instagram, Vine, SnapChat, Twitter or other social networks out there because SelfControl can help you take that social media time and refocus it to your studies. This app blocks certain sites for a desired amount of time so that you will not be distracted when you study.
2. Math Alarm Clock
Now if you’re like any other newly high school graduate or college student, you probably love sleeping in. More times than not college won’t allow you to hit the snooze button 10 or 11 times before getting up, so that’s why there’s Math Alarm Clock. This is an app that makes you solve a math problem in order to turn your alarm off, which not only works your brain’s muscles but also helps you wake up.
3. Sleep If U Can
If you’re not a fan of math, but need help from sleeping in, another app to check out is Sleep If U Can. This morning alarm requires you to get up, out of bed, and take a picture of something in your room or the bathroom (maybe the sink or the toilet) to deactivate the alarm. The point of this app is to not only wake you up, but keep you awake.
4. Oxford Dictionary
If professors sometimes say words you don’t really understand, they probably are not making up the word. That’s why it’s useful to have the Oxford Dictionary app available to you. Type in the word and the definition will be spit back out to you, allowing you to understand perfectly what your professor is implying.
5. TED Talks
Now some of you may already be fans of these lectures, but if you’re not, today is the day you should begin to check them out. No, it’s not added homework, but it can be a great way to take a break from your work and be inspired, enlightened, educated or encouraged. TED Talks are a collection of lecture videos from some of the most influential, intelligent and inspirational individuals from all over the world talking about research, education, business experts, etc. Don’t hesitate to check them out.
6. Sworkit
If you don’t know already, college will consume your schedule, and more times than not, getting in a full 45 minute to one hour work out everyday can be tough. But Sworkit can help you. This app allows you to create a quick 5 minute workout that will help keep the freshman 15 off and stress away.
7. Exam Time
Besides workout routines, wake up calls and enlightening lectures, college is also about exams, and Exam Time is a great resource for many college students. Exam Time allows students to create Mind Maps, Flash Cards, Online Notes and Quizzes. This not only allows students to have all their notes in one spot, but also allow them to be in control of their learning and studying styles.
8. Rate My Professor
This is probably one of the best resources any student can have in college. Professors are a key contributor to making good students. If you need a specific instructor for a specific class, it’s wise to get to know them before you select them blindly to instruct you for the semester. Rate My Professor is a site where current and former students rate professors on a 5 point scale on helpfulness, clarity, and easiness. It also has detailed comments from current and former students on the professor’s personality, discipline, and course schedule.
9. FaceTime/Skype
If you have a smart phone you probably have one of these applications on it. These apps are helpful communicators when you need a last minute study session with friends the night before a test. By using an app like this you can quiz your classmates and they can quiz you in return.
10. Quizlet
Students can stay glued to their phones when using Quizlet -- a helpful study aid that provides students with flashcards that are personally created, searched for or shared. This kind of app allows students to study for whatever they’re being tested on, and stay close to their phones.
11. Google Drive Space
Instead of emailing yourself those long essays for your English professor that you need to print out before class, just upload them onto your Google Drive. Keeping enough space on your drive and saving content to it will eliminate forgetting to email a paper or leaving a project on your home computer.
12. MyScript Smart Note
If you love writing your notes by hand, but don’t want to carry around multiple spiral note books or binders around campus, try out MyScript Smart Note. This app lets you take notes on your iPad or tablet, or draw, add equations, annotate, and insert pictures or sounds to your notes.
13. Cliff Notes
Time in college is very special, so when professors assign hundreds of pages to read at night along with your other endless assignments, it’s good to have a guide on what you’re reading. Cliff Notes are the best friend of any college student going through a literature class or anything of the like. Cliff Notes are good to use if you skimmed the reading and need a refresher, helpful study aids, and/or a last minute read if you spaced on your assignment.
Being a student in college can be tough, but it is doable. These and many other apps are out there to help you become the best student you can be. This is just a list of 13, but if you check out Life Hack’s websiteyou can find more resources. And lastly, chat with other students or professors and see where they go, what they use, and how they work to be better scholars.
