Quite a few changes were made to the University of Rochester’s campus over the 2011 summer break: re-designed dining halls (both for better.. and worse), building additions, and a completely revamped meal plan. One change that the school didn’t actually implement, but is rather a function of its students, is the more frequent use of lighter and smaller technology. Macbook Airs, iPads, and Netbooks are being brought to the classroom more than ever before. Most people have now surprisingly done away with their “historic” 15-inch Macbook Pros (that’s not supposed to be read in a critical sense. I am unfortunately guilty of this…) in exchange for a tinier device that doesn’t take up nearly as much room in their school bags. Watching someone hook up a wireless keyboard to their iPad for note-taking, or leaning back in their chair as the voice recorder does the work for them, is pretty much protocol by now.
Whether you’re now using one of the above gadgets or not, there are still numerous ways to increase your productivity. I decided to go through Apple’s Mac App store (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, go here: http://www.apple.com/mac/app-store/. If you are still confused as to how it works, please first visit the 21st century and then get back to me) and pick out a few particular applications that are great for schoolwork! Check out the list below.
Free Applications
1. Evernote. If you are someone who is anally compulsive about organizing, reminders, notes, etc. this one’s for you. This thing is hands down the most comprehensive way to take notes in class. It allows you the following options: audio recording, tagging, separate folders for different documents, and even a way to take a PICTURE of your notebook (for example) and save it onto Evernote. I dare you to show me something cooler.
2. iProcrastinate. Because you most definitely do. And so do we all. This application is basically a running list of all the tasks you need to get out of the way. You can sort them by subject, priority, etc. The interface is clean and simple, and it’s a great way of visually looking at what you need to accomplish.
Paid Applications
1. Social Pro. This is more productivity for social networking, but I thought it appropriate. If you find yourself overwhelmed by your Twitter, Facebook, E-mail accounts, etc. this is a great application to monitor you activity on each site. You have easy access to not only updating and composing messages, but also checking on each individual newsfeed. Gchat is also accessible through the application.
OS X Lion. If you haven’t upgraded your software yet to Lion, you need to do that right now. Tons of new features are available: launchpad (which sets your applications up in iPad format, full-screen web brow