iStudiez Pro

I love this app. I really do. I mean, on Graduation Day if I am asked to give thanks, this would be the first thing I thanked.

So, what is this fabulous app? Essentially, a planner. You know, the kind you used in school to write down your homework. Except it is so much better than that. There are a lot of different features, but let me tell you a couple of the one's I've found most useful.

The most useful has been the schedule/calendar. I put in all my classes and it looks like this. (This isn't my phone, but an image I found.)

So, you see, it says what classes on a particular day, as well as the assignments for the class, the professor, the location, and the time. But then in calendar view you can quickly see when things are. What's even cooler, it pulls from your phone calendar, so if I have a Doctor's appointment it will show up on the iStudiez calendar.

It sends you a notification 15 minutes before class starts, as a reminder, which has been helpful. It is really helpful having easy access to class rooms.

But that is just one useful component.

It also has a section for instructors. This allows you to have a sort of separate phone book for all your TAs, instructors, and Professors.

I love this because it is easier than trying to track down the syllabus if I want office hours, and sometimes the TAs don't have an official syllabus, they write it on the board during the first tutorial and that's it. That's all you get. And if you lose the piece of paper you wrote it on, switch tutorials, can't read your writing, were absent, or didn't think to write it down at the time you are in trouble. 

The third, and last feature, I will talk about is the assignments feature. 

It lets you put in the assignment information, what course it is, if you have partners and who they are, it lets you set a priority, and set up a reminder of anywhere between a week or a few hours before. It then keeps them all in a list and lets you sort by date, class, or priority. And once you complete it, you select it and it saves it but takes it off the list. 

Also a week before something is due, no matter the priority or reminder date, a little number will appear in the corner of the app just as a subtle reminder. 

I have taken online classes and gotten in trouble, because I lost track of dates and then had to rush or missed something. I have forgotten about small assignments. I have lost track of professor information. I am kind of scatter-brained and this app keeps that scatter in line. 

I would definitely recommend this app to ALL students of EVERY grade. It is really useful as an University student, but I feel like there are features that are here that will help students of every grade. Who knows, there might even be features that will help non-students as well. 

Post 126: Is Spring Here Yet?

I really hope spring gets here soon. It certainly is starting to feel like it. It has been pretty sunny lately, even (dare I say it) warm. But I hesitate to declare Spring is on its way, for fear of jinxing it. Though, if I had that much control over the universe that I could jinx away a season, I'd have a superhero name and a cape.

Actually, I don't know how I feel about capes. The idea seems nice. And as a fan of swishy skirts and dresses, a cape seems like it would fit well with that category.

Except, just because I like them doesn't mean I like them for me. I don't really wear skirts or dresses much anymore. For a variety of reasons.

So, would I want to wear a cape?

Although, the fact that I, personally, wouldn't pick to wear a cape might mean that to protect my secret identity I should wear a cape.

I have a secret name or two for websites and the like, but it isn't akin to a superhero name. Though, sometimes my pen name feels like it.

I mean, you can say more under a pen name about what you think about people, the world, issues, etc. without having to worry about the consequences the same way. I don't mean how people use anonymity to trash people. I mean having the freedom to say things about social issues without having to worry about getting fired for addressing real issues in the work place.

That's really more of an example than anything, but you can see how it would be important to have a pen name if you were going to talk about things that your workplace might want to bury.

I am currently only volunteering, and have no access to such information.

But I have friends who work in places and sometimes complain to me about things that are going on that are serious, but that they aren't really supposed to be talking about (sexual harassment from supervisors/ legal issues) and for some of them, they really want to tell someone to keep it from continuing.

Anyway, I have gotten really off topic from talking about if it is Spring yet.

So, I guess, I will conclude with a general shrug like answer that Spring is a constant reoccurring thing. Is it Spring yet? I don't know. But it will be Spring eventually.

Post 125: Post Gap

There has been a relatively long gap between the last time I posted and now. Not to say I didn't sign in or start a post or two, I just haven't had the chance to post anything. I have, at least, two or three started blog posts queued up in drafts, I just haven't had the chance to finish them. And some of that is because I've been busy lately, but it is also been a loss of my train of thought.

One of them I started and then had to put on hold, but when I went back to continue it, I no longer knew what it was I wanted to say.

I am so behind, but I will catch up. I have reviews to do (some of which are done but just haven't been posted because they were hand-written or typed when I didn't have internet) and I am going to finish the drafts that I have saved, but I might not get to the drafts for awhile.

Waiting to remember what I wanted to say for them might take longer than writing new ones.

Anyway, just a notice that I am in fact alive, if anyone was wondering, and that I will be back to posting soon.