Photo courtesy of Mikhala Stutzman
Whatever you need in life, “there’s an app for that,” as commercials are so fond of telling us. With the boon of smartphones and the multitude of handy applications they boast, it’s no wonder that many students have turned to technology to help them in their schoolwork. Whether they’re checking grades, checking the weather or checking things off their to-do list, students rely on their smart phones for everyday life.
One of the most academic smartphone applications, and a favorite of junior Austin Cooke, is the iStudiez Pro app, which allows you to track classes, grades and professor emails. It stores all data long-term for any semester, as well as shows you a daily customizable calendar to keep you on top of your schedule. Cooke recommends this app for anybody who has a lot going on in their lives and needs to stay ahead of it all.
“I love that it is a uniform, simple and effective way to track all of my school work and personal events,” Cooke said.
Seniors Laura Wittren and Samantha Clewell also agree that their phones have helped them in school. Clewell, an education major student teaching in a kindergarten class, uses her and her teaching mentor’s phones to play learning games with the kids, reporting that the phones give the children the ability to hear how letter and word pronunciation sounds. She likes the interactive aspect, and how the kids can use the apps to listen and learn on their own.
On the lighter side, junior Mikhala Stutzman is a proud user of the application Stylebook to help her sort through her closet. Stylebook is like Pinterest, but tailored to your own wardrobe, allowing you to take and upload photos of your own clothes, then helping you mix and match them together into outfits.
“What I like most about this app is that I can apply the style ideas directly to my wardrobe instead of having to seek out the newest fashion trends and buy something new all the time,” Stutzman said.
Wittren says that other than the popular dictionary/thesaurus app, calculator app, flashcard app and blackboard app, she uses her phone for checking email. It’s nice to have a 3G backup when the Drake internet is running slow. Several times, it was a last-minute check of her phone that saved her from walking to a canceled class.
Wittren uses her phone more in college than in high school. She remembers how most of the time having a phone out would get you in trouble in high school, but now, especially in her Social Media class, utilizing a phone is encouraged. In response to the iPhone/Android debate, Wittren says “app-wise, iPhone’s the way to go for sure,” citing how Google meticulously monitors the apps produced and sold.
