Apps

3 Essential Web Tools I Will Use This Semester

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Life is about to get hectic now that the first couple weeks of class are done with and we enter into the intense regular schedule of reading-writing-examing. Most of the time I am not, by nature, an organized, focused individual. Because of this, I’d like to highlight three essential tools that I’ve found on the Web that have helped me to stay on top of my assignments and exams. I’ve written about a couple of these before, but I think they deserve more attention.

1. Jott | Their motto is something like “Think it. Jott it. Do it.” This incredibly easy service transfers a spoken message into text. After registering your phone number with Jott, you can place a call to their 1-800 number, record a message, and it will be converted to text and sent automatically to practically anywhere you want.
   
   You can use it to send a quick reminder to your email account, to another friend’s phone, or even add an event to a to-do list or calendar. For anyone who forgets to write things down as you think of them, this service is essential.
   
   
2. Pandora | I find it easier to study and do homework when there is music playing. (This is a typical characteristic of Kinesthetic/Visual learners.) For those times when I don’t want to drain my iPod battery, I have been turning to this free Internet Radio site. By setting up an account, you can create a personalized radio station. You tell Pandora the name of a song or artist, and it creates a non-stop stream of music that is similar to that song or artist.
   
   I don’t know how it does it, but they make reference to the Music Genome Project. I’ve been using it for a couple weeks now and absolutely love it. If you’re not sure what music to study to, you may want to read this post+comments over at Lifehacker.com.
   
   
3. Google Calendar | For the past few years, I have been using this service to keep track of my life. When it comes to school, I use it constantly. I set up a calendar for each class and transfer the assignment/exam dates onto the calendar as events.
   
   For assignment due dates, I set reminders to my cell phone via text message. For exam dates, I set email reminders for a week in advance. If an professor announces a project or assignment during class that wasn’t on the original syllabus, I send a text message to GVENT (48368), and it is automatically added to my calendar. Since I’ve been using this system, I have not missed a single assignment or forgotten to study for an exam.
   
   The great thing about Google Calendar is that it plays well with others. You can set it up to communicate with Jott. Then you can call Jott and add an event to your Google Calendar. Perfect for those of you who have the dangerous habit of texting and driving. (Shame on you.)

Good luck out there everyone. If you want more productivity tools, there is an amazing list for students at this post here. (Thanks to HackCollege for the tip.)