School Productivity: Five Ways To Work Well On Your Mac
I am always salvaging the web for new and cool apps to use. However, I always keep my eye out for apps related to work or school. The Mac can use all the school related applications it can get, and I went out and rounded up the best of the best – the apps I found most useful for school.
1. iFlash (Loopware, $14.95) When it comes to making flash cards, it’s a pain. So why not virtual flash cards? iFlash lets the user create virtual flashcards, store decks, and even upload decks to their online database. You can visit the database and download home made decks by other users, or upload your own. iFlash, if told to, even auto-defines vocabulary words you put on the front of the flash card.
2. Soulver (Acqualia, $13.95) Let’s face it – OS X’s built in calculator isn’t that great. Introducing Soulver, a simple yet very advanced calculator. Soulver lets you do calculations in a plain text box, with the answer appearing next to the problem. It generates the answers instantly, and also auto-calculates the square root, the mean, the average, the mode, and much more.
3. Sidenote (Pierre Chatel, Free) Stickies is a great application for jotting notes and such. In time, the stickies consume your desktop, cluttering it. Sidenote is a great alternative. Sidenote is a little notepad that sits on the edge of your screen, and only appears when you move your cursor towards the screen edge. (Of course, there is an option to have it open all the time) Sidenote has the ability to store many notes, change fonts, etc. It is a nice tool for jotting down little notes, and the best part: it’s free.
4. Assignment Planner (Logan Design, $5.00) I used to use iCal for assignments, but iCal was not built for handling assignments and work. Assignment Planner is iCal for assignments. Assignment Planner allows you to jot down assignments in a calendar-style layout or a list layout. You can file assignments into categories, sort them by complete and incomplete, and insert “metadata” for the assignments, including course, textbook, and type. Assigmment Planner also comes with a Dashboard widget, allowing you to view upcoming assignments in your dashboard.
5. OmniOutliner (The Omni Group, $39.95, $69.95 for Pro version) Word used to be my primary app for outlining, until I tried out OmniOutliner. Created by The Omni Group, OmniOutliner allows the user to create good looking outlines without the hassle. Outlines can include photos, attachments, and groups. You can collapse and expand portions of the outline, and have multiple columns in the outline. This allows more information to be entered, and allows better organisation.
These five applications will allow the user to be more productive and more organised. From taking notes and making outlines, to jotting down homework assignments and solving equations, these apps will help you out.
Reposted from alecfeld.com
Excellent recommendations. I constantly use OmniOutliner for my class notes, and without I don’t know where I would be. I’m also quite fond of Assignment Planner. The widget insures I never miss a deadline.
iFlash is great, especially for Vocabulary or memorizing the Periodic Table. OmniOutliner is also a great note-taker, much better than just a text editor.
I don’t know where I’d be without Assignment Planner… great app…
another app similar to Assignment Planner is Task List. It’s pack with features and yet it’s free.
another app similar to iFlash is Genius and it’s free.
I’ll send another vote for OmniOutliner. I have so many people, who are used to taking notes with Word, look at my notes with a “WOW!!”
You said it right, outlines without the hassle.
It can be as simple or as customized as you’d like.
Way to advirtise your blog. If you wanted to post this in both places, mention on your blog that it’s from here.
Lame.
too bad my school won’t allow me to use my Mac.
I think I would be so much more producitvie and organized..
Andre,
This was originally posted on my blog a few months back, and felt it was appropriate for this blog as well. I gave credit in my post that it was reposted from my original blog.
It’s not from here, it’s from my personal blog.
@ Andre. We talked to Alec about it, and agreed it was a good article and that he could repost it.
Michael Yurechko,
MacApper Staff
I think ebbinghaus is a LOT better than genius! And still free.
You also left out info managers like K.I.T./Yojimbo/DevonThink.. I use them extensively for keeping track of research – I used to use a bibliography manager as well, but I just could never integrate it into my work flow. Little notes in DevonThink always sufficed. “School” is a good assignment organizer as well.
And OmniOutliner rocks my socks off!
Why assignment planner when you have 2 great free alternatives. Schoolhouse (version 2.0 is in beta and it’s amazing) and Task List.
Thanks Jon. I meant “schoolHOUSE”. I think it’s great also.
Also Schoolhouse 2 was just released today, which is a major update. Check it out at http://www.loganscollins.com/schoolhouse/
[...] screaming “iFlash!” at their computer right now. Sure, iFlash (which has been mentioned previously) is a great application to help you study, but its features are (in my opinion) overkill. Who [...]