Head back to school with useful apps before the bell rings
Oh yes, it is that time again. Where did summer go and how can it be time to head back to school? The best way to prepare your mobile devices for that bell to ring or the professor’s lectures to start is with helpful apps. We have list of five great apps for heading back to campus; apps that you probably did not even realize you would need.
Safety first
One of the biggest things parents worry about is their children’s safety. And, these days it should be a concern for students as well. If you are heading back to college on a large campus, then Companion: Never Walk Alone is the perfect app for you. This app will not only keep you feeling safer for those long walks back to the dorm, but has features to ensure that safety.
Using your current location, just set your destination and then choose some contacts to be your walking companions. Your companions will then see a live map as you progress to your endpoint and they do not have to download this app to do that. The app will check in with you along your route and if you do not respond to it within 15 seconds, your chosen companions will be notified. As you head to your destination, if you come across an area that makes you uncomfortable, you can report it easily from the app. Or, if you run into trouble for any reason, dial 911 with a tap.
Companion: Never Walk Alone is a must-have for those heading back to a campus. The app is available for free on the App Store and is designed for iPhone.
Get packing
Make sure you have everything you need when you head for the dorms with the College Packing List app. There is a lot to remember when you are leaving for months or even a year at a time. This app will help you get that list ready and mark items off as you pack them, so you won’t forget a thing.
College Packing List comes “packed” with tons of items for you. Items are separated by category, so you can review what you need for your room, desk, and computer. Mark off things for the classroom like binders, folders, and index cards. You can also add your own supplies to the lists or remove those you do not need.
College Packing List is designed for iPhone and available for free on the App Store. There are additional lists that you can get for clothing items or kitchen and bathroom supplies, but each is now available for free and displayed with a $0.00 price tag in the Upgrade area.
Stay on task
Keeping up with homework, staying on track with research papers, and working on group assignments are all important parts of the school year. In order to stay on task, check out Taskworld. This app is a terrific way to organize all parts of a project, big or small.
Easily create a new project, enter participants, and add project tasks. You can attach files from Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box along with photos from your Camera Roll. Set start and end dates, check out a calendar view, and review your notifications with ease. You can also see the status of all current projects with a handy dashboard view which shows those tasks assigned to you, by you, and coming up soon. You can also swipe to check your performance over time or show your family how well you are keeping up.
Taskworld is a simple project management app that can come in handy for short-term homework assignments or large, involved group projects. The app is designed for iPhone and available for free on the App Store.
Read and annotate PDFs
Whether you have an e-book for research or an enormous syllabus from a class, GoodReader is a useful tool. The app provides a nice way for reading PDF documents with different views and also offers some good annotation tools for marking up notes. GoodReader also comes with text-to-speech options and Touch ID support, which are terrific bonus features.
As far as the basics, GoodReader has several helpful features for editing and even signing PDF documents. Use the annotation tools like callouts, highlighting, text boxes, lines, and shapes to mark up your documents for reference. PDF Page Management allows you to add, delete, rearrange, and extract individual pages. You can maintain many files, sync with remote servers, zip and unzip folders, and view Microsoft Office, text, and HTML files as well.
Don’t get caught without a decent PDF tool before you head back to school. GoodReader is a universal app available for $4.99 on the App Store.
Train your brain
If you cannot get enough of education and love to keep learning even outside of the classroom, then check out Memrise. Offering over 90 language courses as well as other interesting topics, Memrise is a great educational tool to have in your back pocket. Check out something new between classes, on the weekend, or before bed to keep your brain warmed up. Or, take a look at the Standardized Tests to be better prepared.
Aside from the many language sessions offered, the range of topics available is wide as well. View a session in some serious History & Geography or Math & Science. Or try something a bit lighter with Memory Training or Trivia. Memrise has plenty of options and awards points based on the topics you complete.
So, for a game-like learning experience to keep your mind focused on learning throughout the school year, take a look at Memrise. The app is universal and available for free on the App Store.
Have a terrific school year
Whether you are a senior in high school, freshman in college, or heading to the campus later in life, there are a lot of useful apps that can help you. Stay safe, keep organized, and make sure you’re on track for the duration. If you know of some other great apps for starting off the school year, feel free to share them below with our readers.
