Tag Archives: app tuesday

iPad Apps for College Prep

 

iPad apps for college prepCollege prep has certainly changed over the years. Twenty years ago you trudged to the library spending hours foraging through books looking for college facts, test prep, and scholarships. Ten years ago, with the internet explosion, you could do most of your research online and even apply to some colleges. Today, you can do almost everything online: search for scholarships, apply to colleges, study for standardized tests, and get essay help and organization. It certainly is a high-tech world.

The Changing Face of College Prep

I can’t even imagine what it will be like when my grandsons apply to college. If you don’t keep up with the times, you’re going to be left in the dust. With the explosion of apps on portable devices, the face of college prep has changed yet again. Companies are using apps to help students organize, write essays, study for standardized tests, understand financial aid, plan college visits and more.

BestCollegesOnline.com has compiled a list of iPad apps for college prep. I felt it was a good list and want to share it with you.

25 iPad Apps Changing College Prep

You might also like my College Prep App Recap post

 

App Tuesday: A New Ethics App

 

I recently received an email from The Big Q (@thebigqethics), an online project of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. She told me about an app they created to help students with decisions using a step-by-step approach to ethical questions. Today’s App Tuesday post is a guest post explaining the ethics app and its uses.

ethics appWhile most universities offer ethics classes, the focus of these courses is often on questions that can seem distant to most students, like euthanasia or capital punishment.  But college students face ethical dilemmas every day: What do I do if I see someone cheating on a test? Should I take a study drug?  What is my responsibility to a roommate who is depressed?

An app created by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University provides a step-by-step approach to ethical questions both big and small: Ethical Decision Making: A Practical Tool for Thinking Through Tough Choices.  The app takes users through a process that begins with getting the facts and identifying the stakeholders in the situation.  Then they’re introduced to five classic ethical approaches—Utility, Rights, Justice, Common Good, and Virtue—posing questions such as “Does this action produce the most good and do the least harm for all who are affected?” and “Does this action treat people equally or proportionally?”

Finally, users weight the different approaches and get a score that indicates whether their thinking is on the right track or whether they should evaluate another option.  The app does not give a “yes” or “no” answer, but the score helps users decide if they wish to move forward with the decision.

Santa Clara is using the app this year with all incoming students during its orientation sessions on academic integrity and cheating.  The app has been downloaded 4,900 from the Apple App store and viewed almost 8,000 times online.

The app draws on the Ethics Center’s popular “Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” which has been online for almost 20 years and viewed over a million times. “The Center has always believed that we need a deliberate method to make good ethical decisions,” said Center Executive Director Kirk O. Hanson.   “We’ve used the Framework for many years, and we’re delighted to offer it in a new medium that may be particularly attractive to a new generation.”

 

8 History Apps for College-Bound Teens

history appsApps make our lives easier: from monitoring spending, to organizing our calendar, to finding the nearest restaurant. One of the best ways to use apps is to encourage and improve our college-bound teen’s education.

Today’s App Tuesday post is about history apps. Whether you need to reference an article of the Constitution, find out what happened today 100 years ago, or look up some famous speeches, here are some apps that have got you covered.

Documents

Sometimes it would be easier if historical documents and your classroom textbook were pocket sized. Luckily, through a few iPhone apps, some are virtually so.

  • Constitution (Free) – Mix-up no amendment or article again with a complete copy of the U.S. Constitution at your fingertips.
  • Declaration of Independence (Free) – And if you have the Constitution, why not get the Declaration of Independence app as well?
  • U.S. Historical Documents (99 cents) — U.S. Historical Documents contains over 200 of the most influential documents in U.S. history and they will be stored directly on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Quickly and easily find any text from any document with the fastest and most powerful search engine available on the iPhone. Have the documents automatically scroll for you in both portrait and landscape modes while reading. Create notes for each paragraph which can be displayed inline. You can even assign bookmarks to any paragraph in any document for future reference. Highlight important words or phrases using the absolute best highlighting system available.

 Reference

Browse historical maps, quote famous speeches, and find out what happened today in history with a number of reference apps.

Learning

  • History App (Free) —Watch your favorite HISTORY shows and content on your iPad, iPhone or Android device with the HISTORY app. Get free access to full episodes, clips and topical videos, all available whenever and wherever you want. New video is added every day so you’ll always have something to watch! Hundreds of videos on historic topics, including the original web series. And a great feature—History: Deconstructed and Bet You Didn’t Know. Available for iPad, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile
  • Historia World (Free) —Think you know everything about the world history? Try Historia World! Historia is a quizz which will test your general knowledge in History. Historia is very easy to play: try to find the date of the historic events of the selected category. The closer you are, the bigger your score! If you can gain enough points you will be rewarded with a book in your library.

10 Study Apps for Students

 

study appsInstead of study apps, let’s call these “10 apps to help you get merit-aid scholarships”. Improving your GPA is the best way to qualify for merit aid, and the best way to improve your GPA is to study.

Here are 10 study apps that should help your student win merit-aid scholarships:

1. Quizlet

Offering a wide array of subjects, different study modes and a variety of test prep resources, Quizlet allows students to sign up and utilize its study tools free of charge. Students rave about the ease of using the app and the site, along with the awesome tools that Quizlet offers on them.

2. Study Buddy

Do you have a personal study coach? Now you can with the Study Buddy app. Improve your study habits by keeping track of your study time versus distraction time, get efficiency reports, plus use timers and warnings to get you back on track from those breaks that just linger. The app even notes any phone call interruptions, so you can’t sneak in a quick chat on the clock. The cherry on top? Inspirational quotes to keep you motivated at the beginning of each session.

3. Simplemind+

Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of all the thoughts in your head. Luckily, Simplemind+ is a tool which allows you to create mind maps, collect your ideas in one place and improve your brainstorm productivity. Instead of mundane text versions, the mind maps allow you to visualize and connect your thoughts, plus you can hyperlink, share and export them as needed.

4. iStudiez Pro

Easily navigate the overwhelming aspects of student life like tracking your schedule, daily tasks and keep track of upcoming assignments and deadlines. You can also track your grades and calculate your projected GPA for current and past semesters using a variety of grading scales. In addition, you can back up any data you enter by sending it directly to your email or by syncing to your other iOS devices.

5. Open Study

Free tutoring? Who doesn’t love that? Open Study launched a mobile app in May 2012 that gives students access to study assistance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,gratis. Students can work together or get the help of a volunteer “hero” to solve challenging homework problems and complete assignments.

6. Study Blue

What happens when you’ve memorized every flashcard and definition, backwards and forward? You can use this app to create a review sheet, to have all the information readily available at your fingertips. But, you don’t have a practice exam in front of you…or do you? With this app, students can quiz themselves on the go, so it’s perfect for studying on the way to class, or for getting that last-minute review in before the exam in handed out.

7. Evernote Peek

Sometimes, when we study, we often give ourselves margins of error, and tend to peek at the answers (even if it’s just a tiny bit!) and tell ourselves that we will know the answer when it comes time for the exam. In order to cater to this tendency, and make it useful, Evernote has produced an app that gives students the opportunity to learn by using the cover to their tablet. By lifting the cover, the answers are slowly revealed, thus providing a more useful and helpful study experience.

8. Flashcards

Bringing an ancient learning method bang into the 21st century, Flashcard+ is perhaps the best flashcards app you can find at the moment. You can create your own flashcard decks consisting of as many cards as you want, free of charge. There are also a number of default decks which test you on things like state capitals and math facts. And if you’re in a study group, you can share these decks with your peers. Check if your college or university already uses this app.

9. iHomework

Before school even begins, you will want to start by getting yourself organized. Keep your courses, school work, grades, to-dos, teacher information, and more right at your fingertips with iHomework. The app is integrated with Questia (www.questia.com), a library that provides you with a wealth of material for researching purposes. Sync information between your iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac with this useful app. In addition, iCloud support is available for those using iOS 6.

10. Study Habits

Study Habits offers more than 30 strategies for developing effective study skills, including memory techniques such as using acronyms, creating charts and diagrams, and teaching others what one has learned. It also tracks your grades and GPA, helps manage your time, and reminds you of classes and assignments.