Quinn Wilson
In Motion Staff Writer
The beloved characters from “Game of Thrones” may be fun to watch, but putting aside beloved television shows and books will be a reality for many students in the near future. Ned Stark was right — winter is coming — but what was the one thing he didn’t account for? Final exams.
There are plenty of programs meant to entertain, but many apps used for educational purposes go unnoticed. Some students are still living in the Stone Age, a time where planners and Rolodexes were commonplace, but now the Internet is good for more than just cute cat videos. The apps and programs below are all compatible with devices that run on Windows and Mac OS X. More importantly, they’re free and a sure fire way to get a handle on upcoming tests and projects.
Evernote is a simple, efficient way to compile notes, web pages and other useful things for projects. Not only does it allow you to take notes, this program also records audio, saves snapshots and much more. The interface may take some getting used to it’s not as straightforward as Google Drives but it does a lot in one small package. The PC version is a mere 55 megabytes, which is about the same amount of information as a track of songs on a CD. Being able to have all of your notes, favorite web pages, and inspirational photos in one place is convenient and Evernote manages to provide that in one small package.
Prezi is a free alternative to its ancestor Powerpoint, which has survived through the ages, but the templates are bland and the options minimal. To make matters worse, Microsoft Office’s current Student Edition costs $139. Books, tuition, and lab fees are more than enough to dry up a student’s wallet, but Prezi’s student and teacher licenses are free! An Internet connection is
required for the student and teacher version, but an EDU license removes Prezi’s logo from presentations and gives the user 500 MB of online storage space. The templates are flashy and easy to use. For those that are not familiar with basic editing, Prezi provides an interactive tutorial for newer users to learn the ropes.
Open Office is the open-source office suite that many students and teachers have been dreaming of. This free software is a great alternative for those that do not want to pay for Microsoft’s office suite. Compatibility issues are minimal and Open Office can read as well as swap files from different office suites. The suite includes the following:
- Writer — a word processor you can use for anything from writing a quick letter to producing an entire book.
- Calc — a powerful spreadsheet with all the tools you need to calculate, analyze, and present your data in numerical reports or sizzling graphics.
- Impress — the fastest, most powerful way to create effective multimedia presentations.
- Draw — lets you produce everything from simple diagrams to dynamic 3D illustrations.
- Base — lets you manipulate databases seamlessly. Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, all from within Apache OpenOffice.
- Math — lets you create mathematical equations with a graphic user interface or by directly typing your formulas into the equation editor.
StudyBlue gives students flashcards in a place that none of us are apt to forget on a library desk: our phone. As of Oct. 21, over 600 students have signed up for a StudyBlue account. An account enables you to connect with fellow students, upload flashcards, and download flashcards that other students have created. With a click of a button files can also be imported from Evernote–they go hand in hand! Notes taken in class can now easily be converted to flashcards without needing to waste paper. The more students that sign up, the bigger the community. The bigger the community, the easier it is to get great flashcards for all of your classes.
BibMe is the final must-have app. Bibliographies are a tedious part of writing a report, especially when remembering how to format so many different styles is time consuming. BibMe’s supported formats include the MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian styles. An account isn’t required to make citations, but the site will save your bibliographies for free if you do. This is a quick, easy way to make bibliographies especially if the idea of formatting every little source on your own seems daunting.