By Telijah Patterson
Campus News
There was a time when the saying “we’ve got the whole world in our hands” was simply a metaphor, but what was once just flowery speech is now a reality. With our cell phones we literally have the whole world in our hands through the internet and various applications. There are many digital tools a student can use to enhance and help them excel in their education. Here are some of the best apps for college students you’ve probably never heard of:
Photomath – Pointing your phone at a math problem and the answer appearing on the screen might sound like a clever magic trick, but it’s actually a real thing. The app Photomath not only provides answers to your math problems, but also teaches you how to do similar problems step-by-step. The only drawback is that photomath is best suited for algebra or remedial math problems involving decimals and fractions. If you’re taking a more advanced math course such as calculus, Fx Calculus Problem Solver works similarly with more complex problems!
You Need A Budget – Spend your money on lavish meals and bar hopping on the weekend, but end up eating ramen noodles Monday through Friday because you can’t afford anything else through the week? You need a budget, no pun intended, but you really do and you’re not alone because most college students struggle with managing their money. The app You Need A Budget might just become your new best friend. In addition to creating a budget for you, it allows you to enter transactions in real time and it syncs with your mobile phone and desktop computer.
HealthyWage – Make money by losing weight, it almost sounds like a scam, but it’s totally bonafide. You basically bet against yourself to commit to lose a specific amount of pounds within a specific time frame, that you determine yourself. What’s even better, you can add some morale by getting your friends in on the action and multiply your earnings by losing weight as group.
Don’t Break the Chain – The famous Greek philosopher Aristotle once said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” We all aspire to form new, healthy habits like going to sleep at a certain time, eating at a certain time, or exercising regularly. Consistency is hard living in a world full of distraction. Don’t Break the Chain is a productivity app that helps you to form and maintain habits through tracking, alerts, and intrinsic incentives.
Duolingo – In an increasingly globalized world it is more important than ever to learn another language, but learning a new language is time intensive and most of us just don’t have the luxury of attending a class each week. With duolingo, the classes come to you in a super fun, simple, easy to understand format. The modules on Duolingo only take about 15 minutes to complete and utilizes research based memory techniques to help you advance, not to mention the mascot is super cute. There are so many language courses to choose from, from high powered languages like Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese to super niche languages like Klingon and Esperanto.
Honey – Remember the last time you shopped online and were asked during checkout if you had a coupon code? You might have felt like you were being cheated out of a good deal knowing there was a coupon out there that you didn’t have. Well, gone are the days of finding your own coupons because Honey automatically finds and applies coupons for you! Now isn’t that sweet?
Quizlet – Pictures. Check. Pronunciation tools. Check. Game based learning. Check. Digital Flashcards. Check. Quizlet is an online learning community where you can create your own digital learning set to study for your courses. It easy, straightforward, and rapidly becoming a hit among students.
Docscan – Faxing documents is so yesteryear, scanning requires expensive equipment that isn’t always accessible, and taking a photo of a document often leads to low quality resolution. Docscan pairs your phone camera with high tech scanning software to create high quality documents you can save as PDF documents and send right from your phone!
With so many learning and lifestyle enhancement aids at our disposal, these are exciting times to be a student. Whether in desperate need of financial help or in desperate need of a system to help you memorize new concepts, there is an app out there that could help you! Which new app are you downloading?
Telijah Patterson is a full-time student at LaGuardia Community College majoring in International Studies.
Facebook Comments