It’s that time of the year where summer is coming to an end and school is starting back up again. I know some of you will be starting school very soon. Some of you have already started, I’m sorry. But I wanted to give you must-have back to school apps for iOS that will help keep you organized, focused and productive. I’ve already made a video highlighting several must-have back to school apps for Android. Some of the apps in this video are Android-compatible but not all of them so just keep that in mind.
Calendar
The first app is the Apple Calendar app. Chances are, if you’re using an iPhone, you’re probably invested in the Mac ecosystem and the Apple Calendar is probably going to be your best friend as you can sync across all your OS devices. I do love this app for being so incredibly clean and just elegant-looking. And it also allows you to sync events from your Gmail calendar, which is awesome. The whole reason it is on the list in this video though is so you can add all of your classes, meetings and study sessions—whatever it might be so just you can stay on track.
Notes
If you need something a little less formal to remind you of an event, the stock Apple Notes app is a must-have. It embodies that simple Apple layout, everything is super minimal. This version of the app is actually a little bit too minimal in my opinion but it is good for simply writing down notes. The reason why I’m mentioning it over, say Wunderlist or Evernote—both of which are excellent alternatives. I highly recommend them. It’s because the Notes app is actually getting a major refresh with iOS 9. When it launches here very, very soon, you can add checklists, add a photo, map or URL to a note; you can even sketch your thoughts and all of your notes will be synced to iCloud or so. The iOS 9 Notes app will be fantastic for school.
Google Drive
I wanted to include Google Drive on this list because it’s amazing and Apple doesn’t have an alternative. Drive was on my Android-specific must-have school apps video but I had to include it here. You can add full documents, create spreadsheets, and a PowerPoint directly from the app itself as well as share them with your classmates so that they can edit them too in real time. In addition, you can upload anything you’d like to Drive and access that info from any device. It’s pretty awesome. It’s just a must-have app even for Apple users.
Notability
I did mention some note-taking app alternatives but the app Notability is pretty sweet and pretty unique. Not only is it a killer note-taking app with a ton of functionality like the ability to hand draw notes. But you can record an audio while using the app—meaning you can record your lectures as you take notes and it will actually pair up your notes with the audio that you record. So I thought that feature was pretty killer. You guys should check out this app.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is for those of you who may not have fully grasped an idea from a professor and need additional help from someone with a different perspective or just a different teaching style. You may also use Khan Academy just to learn more about a subject as there are a bunch of short lessons on a variety of subjects. They are all in video format, which is great for visual learners. The app is free and it’s just all good so check out this app.
Quizlet
Quizlet is one of the flashcard apps on iOS. You can create your own study set on Quizlet for any subject or you can even search through millions of study sets created by other Quizlet users. How cool is that? I’ve never been keen on making my own flashcards out of paper but I could definitely sit down and bust out some flashcards via Quizlet without breaking a sweat.
Office Lens
Office Lens is great especially for the first day of class where they pass out the syllabus. Let’s be honest, you are either not going to read it or you’re going to read it and lose it and regret it later. With Office Lens, you can digitize the syllabus by taking a picture of it through the app and turning it into a PDF for you to upload to, say Google Drive. You also have the option of sending it directly to OneNote or OneDrive, Word, PowerPoint, or even sending it via email; all of which is pretty cool.
PhotoMath
PhotoMath is one of those apps that will be useful to you and will also impress the people around you when you could answer a complex math problem just by using the camera on your smartphone. It’ll not only give you an answer on the screen but you can actually view the steps to get to your answer. It also records your history so you can view previous Math problems.
MyScript Calculator
If you’re looking for another easy to use Math calculator for iOS, you should check out MyScript Calculator. With this app, you can write down calculations on your screen and the result will be immediately displayed. You can overwrite your previous writing to quickly edit the Math problem. It’s just really simple overall, super easy to use. I really just like using it.
TED
The last app to learn more about a number of topics, issues, and ideas—the TED Talks app is a must-have app for those who love learning and want to spend their free time doing something productive. There are so many incredible speakers and topics on here. I have yet to really find a bad TED Talks video. I really love the surprise feature that gives you a TED Talk video based off genre, like funny, persuasive, informative, etc.; and based off how much time you actually have to spend on listening and watching a video. But overall, it’s a great app for really any human being.
With that last one, those were several must-have apps for back to school. I hope you found at least a couple of apps to check out.
