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Inside and outside the classroom, technology is a fixture in education. At Cal State Fullerton, Canvas and Microsoft 365 are a given part of the educational experience, but the app store offers countless other tools for cultivating success. These five picks offer students support in different areas of life, from note taking to communication and mental health.
Discord
Communication is invaluable for students, whether it be a late night inquiry about an assignment or reaching out to organize a study session. Originally designed for video gamers, Discord is a messaging app used by students to create class group chats.
Users create servers or chats, inviting others to join with the click of a link. This eliminates the need for sharing contacts or creating groups manually, letting students connect more easily.
Quizlet
A true staple for students is Quizlet, the flashcard studying app that has helped users with memorization since 2005. Quizlet allows students to create and share their own personalized set of digital flashcards on any topic.
With over 500 million flashcard decks published, it’s no surprise that a third of college students employ the tool every month. Students can search the sets available to the public or create and share their own.
Notability
There are countless note taking apps to choose from, but Notability is a college student favorite. Like many of its competitors, the app offers handwritten and text note taking options, subject dividers and note templates.
For first-year mechanical engineering major Connor Tracey, he said Notability was a random pick for note taking. However, it is now his go-to app for getting through the school year.
The unique note replay option allows you to record audio while note taking, a simple yet valuable feature that is lacking in other leading note taking apps.
YouTube
With so much content, YouTube is often overlooked as an educational tool. From real life professors sharing lectures to students explaining concepts and taking on the role of virtual tutors, the platform boasts valuable learning resources if you know where to look.
Between institutions like Khan Academy and influencers like Hank Green on his CrashCourse channel, YouTube puts unlimited resources at students’ fingertips in the form of teachers and tutors outside of their bubble.
Impulse
Impulse is a top brain training app on the market that helps strengthen memory and access full brain capacity. Through brain games that target areas like concentration, creativity and problem solving, the app promises to improve cognitive skills and support productivity and focus.
Mental health is just as key to success as physical health. The app uses this sentiment to stress the importance of exercising your mind as you do your body.
For students that struggle with memory or brain fog, Impulse helps keep the mind in shape. Students spend a lot of their time on phones anyway, but this app offers a healthier alternative to scrolling social media or playing trivial games.
