Top five apps to survive the school year

Kathryn Yslas
Mesa Legend

Katie YslasThis summer might have been all about getting the best beach pic on Instagram, but priorities begin to shift as a new semester begins. Now there are grades to keep track of, work schedules to balance; all sorts of academic conundrums that seem to constantly arise as the school year progresses. The modern college experience keeps students busier than ever before, however many are utilizing a quintessentially millennial solution to ease their scholarly struggles: academic apps.  Apps like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have arguably made cellphones the center of people’s social lives, but students are now using their phones to aid in their academic lives as well.  To navigate academic life at MCC, here are the top five apps being used by Thunderbirds to make their college lives easier!

Smartphone Apps
Photo by Tania Ritko

1. Canvas by Infrastructure
As most students know, MCC uses Canvas as its main program that allows them to track their grades in each course as well as communicate with their professors. Recently, Canvas has been converted into app form and is now available on both Android and iPhone. Students find the app especially convenient because it sends immediate notifications regarding assignments and grades, while the computer version requires a manual login. While not everyone opens Canvas on their computer everyday (although they probably should), everyone checks their phone.
“It’s just as useful as the computer version,” said Jairo Chavez, a freshman at MCC “I’ve been using it since I started and it’s really helped just having it on my phone.”

2. Calendars by Readdle
Many students have found that the key to succeeding in college is a well-kept schedule. Although any phones come equipped with calendar features, they are often unorganized and difficult. Calendars by Readdle on, the other hand, is crisp and clear, allowing the user to keep their events meticulously coordinated.

3. Mathway
Imagine a math tutor available on call anytime, who could walk a person though the most complex equations. They show clear, easy to follow steps to solve whatever problem at hand. The Mathway app is just that, the dream math tutor.  Haylon Reyes, a freshman at MCC says he has used Mathway since Trigonometry in high school. “If you don’t have the notes, or if you’re just not good at math, Mathway really helps.”

4. YouTube
With its slew of adorably annoying cat videos, it is hard to imagine YouTube being a resource for education. In recent years however, YouTube has become somewhat of a digital classroom. Shows like Crash Course, created by author John Green and his chemist brother, Hank Green, have entire collections of videos teaching numerous subjects including literature, world history, and science. Students can watch inspirational TED talks given by experts in everything from global policy to surfing, and then tune into actual lectures given by professors at Harvard.
Some argue that with their phones constantly beside them in the classrooms, students will eventually become distracted.   Teachers particularly fear that if students have constant access to Facebook and Instagram, they will eventually be on their phones the entire lecture. However, MCC student Matthew Levy has a different opinion.  “It really depends on the attitude and the discipline of the person themselves.” Said Levy. “There are some people who are really into social media who would be on their phone in class versus people who are self-restrained and can focus on their school”.  For those students who find themselves in the former category of Levy’s assessment, productivity apps exist that offer to keep students focused on schoolwork.

5. Forest: Stay Focused, Be Present
Based on the principles of self-motivation and interest, the Forest app is designed to keep users off their phones and in the moment. Users set the timer for however long they need to stay out of their device and a tree is planted. If the user can remain away from their device for however long the time is set, the tree grows, if they access their phone before the time is up, the tree dies. Due to its use of the psychological functions of responsibility and reward, the Forest app is an ingenious way to keep students on task. Whether it is due to low cost or accessibility, more and more students are finding that academic apps are some of the best tools to make the most of their college experience. Now if they could only find a way to beat their high score at Flappy Bird.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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