We know finals can be a stressful time for students. Thankfully, the answer to surviving exams season is not out of reach. There are hundreds of apps available for your phone or tablet that promise to help these last few weeks of school be a smooth(er) ride.
We know you don’t need any more research projects on your plate right now, so we’ve done the hard work for you. We dug through the mountains of education tech tools out there to bring the best of the best to you and your phone!
Happy studying!
StudyBlue: The trees will thank you this year when you forgo buying flashcards in favor of this app. StudyBlue allows you to create and share online notecards with fellow students. Missed a History 101 lecture this semester? Just search through StudyBlue to find shared notes from your classmates. With 5 million students at almost every school in the country, you’re bound to find what you need. The app also offers crowdsourced study guides and practice quizzes on the material, so you can track your progress while studying. StudyBlue is free for iOS and Android. You can also purchase StudyBlue Pro for extra features at $9/month, or for a limited time, refer a friend for a free month!
WunderList: Having trouble getting organized? No fear, Wunderlist is here. This app is the easiest way to manage and share your to-do lists for each exam or paper. You can also easily share lists with your classmates to collaborate on team projects. And even better, Wunderlist syncs across all your devices, so you no longer have to worry about remembering that planner when you leave for the library. Wunderlist is free for iOS and Android. You can also purchase Wunderlist Pro for extra features at $4.99/month.
BookTrack: Need to catch up on that Shakespeare class and tune out your roommate’s chatter? Check out BookTrack. It creates a movie-style soundtrack for your book paced to your individual reading speed. Pretty cool, right? Try it out and you’ll get through The Merchant of Venice before you know it. You can use BookTrack with any e-book or other digital text content. BookTrack is available for free on iOS and Android.
EasyBib: Perhaps the most time-consuming part of any research paper is getting your facts straight — or rather, your citations. One professor wants MLA, one professor wants Chicago — how do you keep them straight? EasyBib makes the bibliography, well, easy. Just scan the barcode of your book or type in the name of the article you’re using and the correct citation will automatically generate. Once you’re done, you can easily send your citation list to your email to add into your paper. EasyBib is available for free on iOS and Android.
GeniusScan: If you’ve handwritten your notes this semester and dread lugging all your notebooks around for studying, then GeniusScan is for you. The app is basically a scanner in your pocket — you can quickly scan your notes, class handouts, quizzes, or tests on the go and export them as JPEG or multi-page PDF files. No more loose papers or lost notes! GeniusScan is available for free on iOS and Android.
StudyBuddy: Having trouble concentrating? This app helps you improve your study habits by keeping track of each distraction throughout your study session. StudyBuddy measures the amount and duration of each distraction, and then provides personalized feedback, so you can see just effective you were during your last study session. It helps you manage your time and, hopefully, figure out that Facebook really isn’t helping your grades. StudyBuddy is available for $0.99 on iOS.
Self Control: If even StudyBuddy can’t keep the procrastination at bay, try out Self Control. This app lets you block your own access to distracting websites, email, or anything else on the Internet that tempts you away from your notes. Just set a period of time to block for, add your chosen sites to the blacklist, and click “Start.” Until that timer expires, you will be unable to access those sites–even if you restart your computer or delete the application. Self Control is available for free on Mac OS X (10.5 and above).
