We live in an increasingly digital world and every year there are a slew of new phone and tablet apps primed to shape how students learn. With fall right around the corner, we’re covering our five favorite free apps here, so you can load up your smartphone in preparation of your first day back.
1. My Study Life – Digital Planner and Scheduling Tool
My Study Life is a digital planner that manages all aspects of your class schedule and assignments, seamlessly integrating them into one simplified interface. A custom dashboard gives you a complete overview of your entire calendar so there are no surprises throughout the week. The notifications feature reminds you when assignments are due and the app even works offline, as long as you regularly keep it synced to your device. For longer projects, the time tracker manages how much of a task you’ve completed so you can map out a schedule for the remainder of the assignment, right up to the due to the date.
Available for FREE on Apple® and Android®.
2. Khan Academy® – Expert Online Classes for Almost Every Subject
Free online classes are becoming incredibly popular and Khan Academy was one of the first companies to make them widely accepted almost ten years ago. Their longevity and huge network of educational resources make them the gold standard in free online education, offering thousands of tutorials, videos, practice quizzes and articles on practically every subject. The Khan Academy app is intuitive, customizable (you can create your own dashboard and track your progress) and you can even download content for studying offline. Great for students or of all ages.
Available for FREE on Apple and Android.
3. Graphing Calculator App by Desmos®
That one hundred dollar “required” graphing calculator is now a thing of the past thanks to apps like Desmos. The Desmos app is an easy to use online graphing calculator that can quickly plot data, evaluate equations and get you prepped for your next calculus test – all for free. They also have an extensive video resource library on all sorts of common math topics, including derivatives, integrals and statistics. The app offers a new way for classrooms to tackle math by facilitating collaborative learning, allowing students to connect across devices and problem solve together.
Available for FREE on Apple and Android.
4. Periodic Table App by the Royal Science of Chemistry
You have the entire periodic table in your pocket with the Royal Science of Chemistry’s Periodic Table app. Perfect for any chemistry class, you can easily look up important stats on every element or checkout hundreds of videos on popular chemistry experiments and how-tos. The app is customizable too, so you can focus on the elements that interest you.
Available for FREE on Apple and Android.
5. Dictionary App by Merriam-Webster®
With thousands of words at your fingertips, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary app is the definition of digital convenience for the 21st century English student. An easy to use search box lets you look up any word in seconds and vocabulary-building quizzes offer a fun way to test your knowledge. The app also includes a word of the day option, so you can start inserting words like “lexicon” into everyday conversation.
Available for FREE on Apple and Android.
We hope these apps will make the new school year a little bit easier for you, if you have any other recommendations, drop us a line in the comments! We’d love to hear about them.
