Best Apps For School - Back To School 2015

With school quickly approaching us, it's important to gather all of the necessary tools that you may need. One that you will most likely have but don't associate with school is your phone, which is actually really helpful for revising, organising your homework and remembering your timetable amongst many other things. I've found these apps to be vital when it comes to school and I couldn't go without them, so I thought I'd share them with you in hope that you will be inspired to download them.

FOR REVISING

GOJIMO - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE DEVICES

One of the best ways of revising is through quizzes, but you might not always have someone available to test you or you don't have the time to prepare lots of questions. This app allows you to test yourself on the content of your exams after you tell it what topic you are revising, what exam you will be taking and what exam board it is with. This is a really quick way to study, knowing that everything you come across will be relevant and necessary for your exams. Gojimo is also easy to navigate and makes revising possible from any location.

CHEGG FLASHCARDS - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

I love using this app to aid my studying and find that it provides an effective and successful way of learning, which I find particularly useful for subjects such as RE and Science. You can simply make flashcards, either with a keyword on one side and the explanation on the other or with a question and answer. It's a lot quicker than making flashcards by hand and is more portable, making it possible to study from anywhere when you have a few spare minutes. This app can be helpful for learning vocabulary for a language, memorising keywords and definitions or simply testing yourself on important facts.

PODCASTS - PREINSTALLED - AVAILABLE ON APPLE DEVICES

This app is preinstalled on all Apple devices, but I'm sure there are plenty of variations and other editions that you can download. There is a wide variety of podcasts available to assist you with studying, but I particularly like those for history and have heard that the geography ones are equally as good. They are all written towards the GCSE syllabus, so you know that the information you are getting is relevant, and they provide a lot of extra knowledge that is really helpful. This is also an easy way to revise and I find myself listening to these when I need a break from doing more physical revision like typing notes.

THE STUDENT ROOM - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

This app and its website contain a huge forum aimed at students across the UK, with those studying for their GCSE's making a large part of this. You can go here to gain help and advice from other students, whether that's with a certain class, preparing for college or everyday issues. There are also lots of revision resources available on this website which have been created by other students that might've passed the exams you'll be taking. It's a great way to interact with other people your age and definitely a beneficial way to get help and study.

MATHSWATCH - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

This one is only available if your school has signed up for the service, but if they have I'd definitely recommend it. There are hundreds of maths videos and tutorials that are easy to follow and make difficult questions seem possible. If you're struggling with a particular aspect of maths, I can guarantee that you'll be more confident with it after watching the videos. There are also practice questions for you to complete, so you can test your knowledge and see if you've improved.

FOR ORGANISATION

SHOW MY HOMEWORK - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

This is another one that your school must sign up for, but if they have then it's a great way to track your homework and assignments. Your teachers can enter all of the information about your homework, such as what you need to do, when it is due, how long it should take and how you should complete, and you will find this on your phone ready to complete regardless of where you are. They can also attach resources to help you or include the worksheet, which is helpful if you lose it. The app sends you reminders when your homework is due and keeps you updated if you get new pieces, meaning you'll never feel unorganised again.

CLASS TIMETABLE - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE DEVICES

This app is really simple and minimalistic but is a clear way of seeing what classes you have in a day and what your timetable is. You can manually enter all of your classes, choosing how many days you have school and if your timetable is on a one or two week rota. You can also colour coordinate each class, so it's easy to tell what lessons you have in that day. I really like using this app to keep me organised and knowing what classes I have, and it literally only takes a couple of seconds to check.

DROPBOX - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

For classes where you have to do lots of work at home, this app will be a lifesaver. It allows you to save lots of different files and transfer them to different locations, so you can take work from a school computer and put it on your phone or laptop. This means you don't have to worry about constantly remembering a USB stick or having to spend lots of extra hours in school working. There is a lot of free space, meaning you will likely never run out, and the app is easily accessible, making working from home a lot simpler.

MICROSOFT WORD - FREE - AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES

Most of my homework assignments and tasks need completing on Microsoft Word, which means I have to be on my laptop or in school to work on them. However, this app allows me to create documents whenever I want to, meaning you could do homework while in a place without access to computers. You can also use this app to view other documents you've made, meaning you can quickly take a look at revision notes and downloaded resources that can help you study. I personally think that it's extremely convenient to have this app with you at all times, making doing homework something you can do on-the-go.

I hope that these apps are helpful and come into use during the school year. I'd love to hear what apps you use to keep yourself organised and if there are any important ones that I've missed out. Thank you for reading and I'll be back with another school related post on Wednesday, so I'll see you then!

Love from Daisy x