Labor day is less than a month away, and that means it’s time to get ready for the new school year. Here’s a list of educational Android apps that should prove helpful to most students.
As we enter the 2018/2019 school year it’s important to look towards the future. And, without a doubt, the future of everything is artificial intelligence. The difference between this year’s crop of apps and last year’s is the inclusion of AI features in nearly all of the new ones.
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This AI-powered planner schedules all of your study sessions for you, because machines are better at time management than humans. It’s actually quite intuitive and it takes your preferences into account. It’s not the most robust planner we’ve seen, but it works offline and doesn’t require registration. Plus it’s free — though it does show ads.
This app uses computer vision – which you can learn about in our beginner’s guide to AI – and your device’s camera to scan a math problem and then teach you how to solve it with step-by-step instructions. And it supports a myriad of different problem types including algebra, geometry, fractions, and graphs.
You probably won’t be allowed to use AI to solve problems during quizzes and tests, so here’s a scientific calculator that contains all of the functions of a physical device, without the huge price tag. The free version comes with most of the features you’ll need, but for calculation details you’ll have to pay $3.49 for the full version.
Making a return this year is this excellent language learning app. If you’re taking a foreign language course, studying abroad, or just trying to round out your application or resume, this is the app for you. It’s free, unlike many other language tutors, and it’s actually a lot of fun to use.
For some strange reason, it’s difficult to find a good flash cards app. Luckily the folks behind Duolingo seemed to recognize this and they made Tinycards. You can create your own decks of flash cards, or download one from the thousands available, and the app handles the rest. It’s intuitive and easy to use, and it’s completely free.
We usually wouldn’t recommend an app that’s like school for people who are going back to school, but Khan Academy is pretty special. The company who makes it boasts both Bill Gates of Microsoft and Eric Schmidt of Alphabet (Google’s parent company) on its advisory board. With this app, you’ll be able to take quizzes and tests on nearly any subject, and study tens of thousands of topics. It’s a great way to supplement your education or prepare you for your next classes. There’s also a Khan Academy for Kids.
There’s a lot of mind mapping apps on the market and, for the most part, finding the one that works best is a matter of personal preference. Mindly, one of the apps we mentioned in our roundup, is one of the better ones for solo brainstorming – perfect for large writing projects.
Headspace is one of the most popular meditation programs there is. Just about everyone could benefit from a daily mindfulness routine (I did). If you haven’t already started one, the fall semester seems like as good a time as any to do so. Beginning your first class of the day with a clear mind and a sense of purpose certainly won’t hurt your chances of meeting your academic goals.
Since we couldn’t possibly include every educational app in this list, we’d like you to let us know which of your favorites we missed in thecomments below.
Have a safe and productive school year!
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