Back to School Apps

While I’ve consistently proclaimed that no student needs a tablet or Smartphone to succeed, handheld internet-enabled gadgets can serve a purpose. From downloading textbooks to syncing notes and reference materials, there are some amazing tools for studying, research and organization. I wish that I’d had them when schlepping back and forth to class oh-so-many years ago. If your back-to-schooler has been lucky enough to get their hands on a tablet or WiFi-capable mobile device, these apps can help them make the most of it.

Save yourself from the backache resulting from lugging around that huge Chemistry tome with Kno Textbooks (www.kno.com, free for iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows), an online text book resource boasting over 200,000 titles. Purchase textbooks through the app and you’ll have digital content available on your computer and all your mobile devices. Engage with interactive graphics, click to view more information on intriguing topics, add notes and use advanced search features to make studying easier. There are even integrated flashcards for when exam time comes around. Textbooks are available for grades K-12, college and advanced degree courses.


Going from one class and one teacher to six or seven can be a leap, one that can lead to missed deadlines and forgotten assignments. While there are many homework tracking tools available, I like the cross-platform syncing capabilities of myHomework Student Planner (https://myhomeworkapp.com/, free for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle or Windows, $1.99/year for ad-free experience). Quickly view your course load, see assignments and sort by date due, type (for example, reading, paper, or study), or by course. Due dates are integrated with your calendar and you’ll receive alerts of impending deadlines.

If your teacher uses Teachers.io, myHomework allows you to “join” their class and have course information and whatever the teacher has provided (like the syllabus or assignments) automatically updated to your device. Parents can login to an account that they create for their child to keep abreast of progress on homework and projects, or view notes added by their teacher through Teachers.io. Information is automatically synced across all devices with the myHomework app, or login online to view or update your account.

If your student is getting buried under a sea of paper and losing important notes or reference materials, Evernote (www.evernote.com, free, for iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows) lets you digitally store and organize notes, photos and weblinks related to your course of study across all your devices. Take a picture of a page in a book or the printout of an assignment, and Evernote’s text recognition will convert it into a searchable, easily retrievable digital document. Save, organize and sync everything related to a project, paper or study topic and sync it across all your devices so it’s always at hand. See the video guide here: http://evernote.com/getting_started/

Mobile devices can give you access to a wealth of information:

Never be at a loss for words again with dictionary.com at your fingertips. Download the Dictionary.com app (http://dictionary.reference.com/apps, free, all platforms) so that the next time your professor pontificates about preterition, you’ll know just what he means.

WolframAlpha (http://products.wolframalpha.com/mobile/, $2.99, all platforms) has a silly name, but can answer just about any query from “how far is the Earth from the sun?” to “compare the air speed of a peregrine falcon to the land speed of a cheetah.” There are also apps for data related to specific courses of study, such as Tides, Genomics, Algebra, Corporate Finance, etc.

If you’re tackling a second language, Google Translate (www.google.com/mobile/translate/, free, iOS and Android) lets you type or speak what you want to say and instantly view the translation in over 50 languages. The text-to-speech feature lets you hear the spoken translation for more than 30 languages, or take a photo of non-Latin writing to see the translation in standard American characters.

For anyone who remembers leafing through the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica for well-written and concise information about famous people, places and events in history, consider that wealth of information being constantly updated and always at hand. Britannica offers a subscription-based app (www.britannica.com/, $1.99/month for iPhone or iPad, $4.99/year for Windows) with detailed descriptions, full color images, and all the meticulously fact-checked information lacking from Wikipedia.

Image from Apple

Tech for Students

Tech for Students Reviewed

The best in Technology for Education

If you’re replacing an old, reliable PC that just isn’t cutting it anymore, or you’re outfitting your student with some computing power, the back to school season is a prime time to buy electronics. The wave of shoppers drives down prices as retailers compete for your dollars, so it’s a good time to find a great deal. But with all the choices – desktops, laptops, Ultrabooks and tablets - how do you pick the best device to suit your needs? We’re here to help you choose.

Desktop tower: Even though their popularity is waning, there are benefits to a stationary work station. The lack of mobility is great for younger students. Just set up the family PC in a high traffic area to monitor your kid’s online activities, and you’ll never have to track down the computer under junior’s bed when it’s time to power down at night. They’re also friendlier to clumsy fingers: if Johnny spills his soda on the desk you may have to replace a $20 keyboard, but sticky liquid on a laptop can take the whole system out of commission. They’re more cost effective to upgrade, so the system will likely last you longer than more portable alternatives.

Pick a desktop is you are looking for a family PC and have younger students.

Laptop vs. Ultrabook: The benefits of an all-in-one mobile computer are clear. It takes up less space, can be used anywhere and could accompany your older student to class if necessary (although they’re still a bit big to handle the surface space offered by the typical college classroom desk). While monitors aren’t as large as those that usually accompany a desktop PC, they’re comfortably sized to accommodate the long term use expected to compose a term paper or, say, research the mating habits of alpacas.

While laptops and Ultrabooks are usually lumped into the same category when you’re cruising the electronics store, there are some key differences. Ultrabooks are often referred to as “next generation” laptops. They’re smaller, thinner and similar to a tablet with an attached keyboard and a fully-functional Operating System. While this may all sound good, keep in mind that these systems trade their upgrade capability for lightweight portability. Components are stripped (you won’t find an optical drive) or soldered to the motherboard to reduce weight and size, so the memory and hard drive that you buy it with will need to last you the life of the device.

Pick a laptop for a household with older students that you trust to use the system unattended but where out-of-house travel is likely to be minimal. Laptops are available with larger screens than Ultrabooks, so they can better accommodate multi-taskers who like to split screen multiple applications simultaneously. Also, a laptop is a good pick for students who will be using it for extended periods of time, anyone who needs to connect to a variety of shared peripheral devices like communal printers, or anyone who will need a DVD drive.

Pick an Ultrabook when portability is paramount. If your student will be taking the system to class on a regular basis, travelling with it to offsite study locations, or has an exceptionally small workspace available, an Ultrabook may be the best choice.

Tablet: While tablets are gaining popularity, they are not designed to seamlessly replace a fully-functional computer. Consider them a Smartphone with a larger screen that requires a WiFi signal to work optimally. Tablets typically run a mobile OS which is pared down from the software offered on a laptop or Ultrabook. They don’t offer as many connectivity ports, so many functions (like printing or transferring data) will likely require that you connect over a shared WiFi network. You won’t have a disk drive, so content will have to be downloaded from the device’s affiliated App store, limiting you to software developed for mobile devices.

However, tablets can serve a purpose. If you have a shared family PC and older students that need an additional device to surf the net or check email, or want to stream content from tutoring sites or video chat with their study group, a tablet can be a handy tool. With the addition of a note-taking program and compatible stylus, your student can take notes in class and have them instantly transformed into digital, searchable text, making studying for exams a bit less daunting.

Pick a tablet if you need additional Internet access without a lot of workhorse capability.

If you’re still puzzled about the best device to outfit your student for back to school, drop us a line. We’ll help you narrow down the sea of choices to the computer or mobile device that’s right for you.

Prep Your PC for Back to School

After spending the summer surfing the net, playing video games, and whatever else your kids do when you turn them loose on the computer, your family PC is probably in need of some R and R. Before you enter the season of homework and research projects, whip your system in shape to head back to school.

The first step to resuscitate the family computer is to clean off the deluge of programs and junk add-ons accumulated over the summer months. Wrestle the kids off the PC for a few hours and do some much needed maintenance. How thorough you get depends on what you use the computer for. Best case scenario? If you use the computer primarily for surfing the net, writing papers and checking email and you are relatively tech savvy, back up the data you want to keep, format the hard drive and reinstall the Operating System.


Before you get started, review the tips posted on Microsoft’s site at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/installing-and-reinstalling-windows-7. This may sound drastic, but most Nerds consider it good form to reinstall Windows every year or two to return your system to as close as you can to “factory fresh” (like it was when you pulled it out of the box). It gets rid of junk programs that have been installed, fixes corrupted applications and gets everything (software-wise) running smoothly again. That said, a basic user might find it daunting to have to get programs reinstalled and data back on the PC, particularly if the system is used for more than just Internet and email. It can also be pretty time consuming – like 4-5 hours of attention from start to finish.

If a format-reinstall doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you can still gain significant performance improvement by doing some relatively easy maintenance. Check out add/remove programs for a list of what’s installed on your system. Remove all the junk programs and browser toolbars that the kids installed when you weren’t looking. Similarly, cruise through the extensions or add-on section of your browser (usually found via settings) and remove all the search bars, games and programs that pop up and beep at you every time you go online.

Next, do a manual run of your anti-malware software (we like Microsoft Security Essentials) - being sure to check for, download and install any updates before scanning. Finally, run a registry repair tool and browser cleanup program like CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download, free) to help repair any registry errors left after removing all the junk programs. Once you’ve got your system purring along again, set up separate user accounts for everyone that gets on the computer, reserving administrator privileges for yourself. Limit user privileges so that only the administrator can install or remove programs.

[pullquote]You can limit when your kids can use the computer[/pullquote]

Limit the damage your kids can do in the future by activating the parental controls integrated into Windows. Just open up the Control Panel window and under “User Accounts and Family Safety” choose “Set up parental controls for any user.” You can limit when your kids can use the computer (so they don’t get in trouble while you aren’t able to keep an eye on them), what games they can play and what programs and content they can access. You can monitor and limit the web sites they visit, too, so if there’s a site they frequent for downloading games that you suspect brings additional junk programs with each installation, you can block the site.

Finally, once you’ve got the system cleaned up and locked down, set up a family calendar and organization tool to make the school year easier to coordinate. Cozi (http://www.cozi.com/) offers a great, free family calendar and organization tool. Just set up a free account for your family and everyone logs in separately with their personal email address to view and update the family calendar. Each user can maintain their own calendar or see color-coded events on the master calendar, get reminders or alerts. If your school has an online calendar, you can set it up to automatically show events on your calendar, so you won’t miss another Open House. There’s also task management so that you can set up individual to-do lists for each family member or one for the whole family. Cozi syncs across Windows, Macs and a multitude of Smartphones and handheld electronics.

 

Use Pinterest for Back to School

Use Pinterest for Back to School Tips

While it may seem like summer vacation just started (or perhaps for some, it feels like it will never end), the time to get the kids geared up and ready to head back to school is right around the corner. Pinterest can help take some of the guess work out of getting your little (or not so little) ones back to school. Here’s how to track down some of the most useful board highlighting gear, fashion, lunch inspiration and tips to help your students have a great year.

First, some tips on searching Pinterest. The huge variety of “pinners” and a relatively limited search tool means that it can be challenging to find exactly what you’re looking for using Pinterest’s site search. The search term you enter will have to appear in the description of the pin (if you’re searching pins) or the name of the board (if you’re searching boards). I like to search boards first using general terms like “back to school” or “school lunch” before searching for specific pins. The results returned when searching for boards will show you the image the pinner has chosen as their board cover image, as well as the most recent three things they’ve added to the board. This will let you scan through quickly for images that you find relevant, attractive or intriguing and then click through to see the rest of the links they’ve collected.


You could search by general category under Kids or Education to see the most recent and popular posts that have been categorized by the poster, but I find that overwhelming. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to sort results further. I would find it much easier if I could search by a term and then sort by most popular or most re-pinned so as to find a good starting point of material but, alas, it is not an option. This can make cruising Pinterest a bit overwhelming, so I’ve tracked down some gems to get you started.

Encourage a love of learning. I am one of the over 450,000 people that love the links and information gathered by former teacher Allison McDonald of “No Time for Flashcards” (http://pinterest.com/noflashcards/). From boards dedicated to gear, after school activities, and setting up a study area, to countless projects and games to help your budding scholar get ready for the year to come, there’s something here for any parent with a kid under ten. Not only will you bring your A-game to back to school, you’ll find tools to help your son or daughter get the most out of their learning time, whether it’s at school or at home.

Master the art of lunch. If your kids complain that they can’t stand the thought of yet another peanut butter and jelly sandwich with apple side dish, check out the easy but amazingly creative lunch ideas at the “Easy Lunch Box Lunches” page (http://pinterest.com/easylunchboxes/easy-lunch-box-lunches/). Centering on the bento-box craze, links give you a huge variety of options to meet any dietary needs, from gluten or lactose free to catering to picky eaters. Creative presentation encourages little ones to try new veggies or wraps, particularly when themed to their interests (think, pirate booty box or butterfly extravaganza). It may sound too time consuming, but you’ll be surprised at what you can pull off quickly and easily with a few sandwich or vegetable shape cutting tools and some reusable packaging. It’s even eco-friendly so your kids won’t harass you about wasting plastic bags – win!

Cater to your fashionista. For any parent who finds themselves wandering aimlessly around the clothes section in August, only to return home with a bag of outfits that elicit an “aw, mom, really?” reaction, save yourself some headaches by cruising the style profile boards compiled by Zulily (http://pinterest.com/zulily/), an online “daily deals site for moms.” From “Classic Cutie” to “Mister Hipster,” boards are dedicated to a variety of styles and tastes. Sit your little fashion-forward offspring down and have tem tell you which kinds of outfits appeal to them.

Older style mavens may have better luck with the custom outfits posted to Polyvore’s page (http://pinterest.com/polyvore/). Scroll through their “Top Products” board together so that you can get on the same page before heading out to shop, or follow the links to Polyvore’s main site to have your teen put together some dream outfits with the site’s “Create” feature. Choose from a huge selection of tops, bottoms and accessories to build complete outfits. Not only will you get a chance to preview the digs your kids think are cool, you’ll have the opportunity to talk about anything that may not be school appropriate before you get to the store.