Written by westwood.edu

The use of mobile applications continues to increase, as more smart phone devices get into the hands of students around the world. While many of the mobile applications hitting the market are games that provide sporadic escapes of entertainment, there are specialized applications that will actually help you get that “A” in history class. No matter what you need, there is definitely an app for you that will help you get better grades. Here are five effective ways how mobile applications can help you get better grades.

1. Quickly reference important information

There are loads of mobile applications that have hit the market allowing students to effectively reference highly specialized detailed information. This information is nearly impossible to remember without using the chart stuffed in your binder or wasting time searching through a book. One such example of a mobile application is the New Oxford Dictionary Application on the iPhone.

If you come across a word that you don’t know the meaning of, simply pull out your phone, pull up the New Oxford Dictionary Application, nd look up the word! In a matter of ten seconds, you will have the word, the meaning, and the language of origin, along with many other important pieces of information about the word.

One other such application that is highly valuable to students is Periodic on the iPhone. This gives you the entire periodic table to reference for that dreaded chemistry homework that you would rather have a friend do for you.

Why this helps you get better grades: Being able to quickly reference important information using mobile applications will contribute to your success in getting better grades because by getting things done more efficiently and accurately, it will help you complete assignments quickly and ensure that you are always getting the right answer every time!

2. Plug and chug formulas

How many times have you solved the quadratic formula by hand? I am sure that number is way more times than you can count, or would like to remember for that matter!

With the power of new innovative mobile applications, solving equations like the quadratic formula and others become a breeze. No longer will you have to suffer from writer’s cramp writing out the same formula repeatedly…instead you can use a simple mobile application!

One such application that helps you solve the quadratic formula is the Quadradic Formula Solver for iPhone. Simply plug in the numbers that you need to solve for (a,b,c), press the solve button, and you will have your answer in less than a second.

Why this helps you get better grades: Obviously many other applications solve universal math equations quickly! Having these plug and chug applications on your phone to solve math or science problems will help you check your work so it is always accurate and cut down homework time, while helping you get the good grades you have always wanted to achieve!

3. Study materials in your pocket

Have you ever wanted to study for a test, but didn’t have your study cards with you? Or had to study the vocabulary for your foreign language class, but forgot to pack your cards in your back pack?

There is a mobile application that allows you to create your own flashcards to study on the fly! Flashcards Deluxe on the iPhone allows you to customize and study every little bit of your vocabulary or assignment essentials.

Why this helps you get better grades: Since your mobile device is small and compact, having this application on your phone makes so much sense. This is a fun application to help you study for that next big exam, while ensuring good grades.

4. Increase productivity and prioritization of assignments

As a student, your time is extremely valuable, and sometimes it is understandable that things fall through the cracks with everything you are juggling. Between homework, projects, and social time with friends sometimes everything can seem somewhat overwhelming.

Knowing when that next exam or homework assignment is due is a crucial part to earning good grades. iStudiez Pro on the iPhone gives you that freedom, and brings you peace of mind knowing it will help you stay on top of your crazy, busy schedule.

Why this helps you get better grades: By staying on top of your schedule, and because this application does all of the thinking and managing for you, there is no way you will miss a deadline, or forget to accomplish a homework assignment. Put this application to work for you in your studies and watch your grades soar!

5. Organize quick notes and ideas effectively

Have you ever been in class listening to a lecture and realized how much you hate taking notes the traditional boring way? Or even worse, have you stopped taking notes because your hand just couldn’t take it anymore?

If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, you are in luck! There are mobile applications on all mobile devices that give you the freedom to take notes and organize them in an interesting way so that you understand them on your terms.

Some applications that help you take notes and organize them in creatively are Mindmeister and iBlueSky .

Why this helps you get better grades: By using these types of applications, they allow your brain to see and organize information that you learn in a way that may be easier for you to remember. You can reference information easier in the future because you won’t be searching through lines of text to find what you are looking for. This will definitely help you get better grades as you exercise your mind using these apps to take notes, and remember the most important facts!

To Infinity And Beyond

The mobile application market is growing rapidly. The capabilities of applications are constantly improving. Fortunately, applications have advanced to the school front to make our lives easier and help us earn better grades. It’s exciting to think about where the mobile market will be in the next two years.

Bonus: Guy travels the world and shoots 1 second of footage in each location, awesomeness ensues.

Written by startribune

Let me tell you a little about the truck driver you just flipped off because he was passing another truck, and you had to cancel the cruise control and slow down until he completed the pass and moved back over.

His truck is governed to 68 miles an hour, because the company he leases it from believes it keeps him and the public and the equipment safer.

The truck he passed was probably running under 65 mph to conserve fuel. You see, the best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 8 miles per gallon. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon — well, you do the math. And, yes, that driver pays for his own fuel.

He needs to be 1,014 miles from where he loaded in two days. And he can’t fudge his federally mandated driver log, because he no longer does it on paper; he is logged electronically.

He can drive 11 hours in a 14-hour period; then he must take a 10-hour break. And considering that the shipper where he loaded held him up for five hours because it is understaffed, he now needs to run without stopping for lunch and dinner breaks.

If he misses his delivery appointment, he will be rescheduled for the next day, because the receiver has booked its docks solid (and has cut staff to a minimum). That means the driver sits, losing 500-plus miles for the week.

Which means his profit will be cut, and he will take less money home to his family. Most of these guys are gone 10 days, and home for a day and a half, and take home an average of $500 a week if everything goes well.

You can’t tell by looking at him, but two hours ago he took a call informing him that his only sister was involved in a car accident, and though everything possible was done to save her, she died. They had flown her to a trauma hospital in Detroit, but it was too late.

He hadn’t seen her since last Christmas, but they talked on the phone every week. The load he is pulling is going to Atlanta, and he will probably not be able to get to the funeral.

His dispatcher will do everything possible to get him there, but the chances are slim. So he has hardly noticed your displeasure at having to slow down for him. It’s not that he doesn’t care; he’s just numb.

Everything you buy at the store and everything you order online moves by truck. Planes and trains can’t get it to your house or grocery store. We are dependent on trucks to move product from the airport and the rail yards to the stores and our homes.

Every day, experienced and qualified drivers give it up because the government, the traffic and the greedy companies involved in trucking have drained their enthusiasm for this life.

They take a job at a factory if they can find it, and are replaced by an inexperienced youngster dreaming of the open road. This inexperience leads to late deliveries, causing shortages and higher prices at the store, and crashes that lead to unnecessary deaths.

It is even possible that is what led to the death of this driver’s sister.

This is a true story; it happened last week. The driver’s name is Harold, and I am his dispatcher.

Dan Hanson, of Belle Plaine, Minn., is a fleet manager.

Bonus: Asked a friend to take photos of me skydiving. This is the only one he took.

Created by: Online Nursing Schools

Written by stylist.co.uk

An education in the bizarre and obscure

Forget wading through English Lit or Ancient History – if you want to have a whale of a time at university, there are certain courses that stand out from the crowd. With news that a dedicated Gelato University has opened in Italy, Stylist has delved into the prospecti of universities and colleges the world over to uncover other unique and offbeat courses on offer. From the rigorous study of David Beckham to the existential meaning of fat, here are 10 courses that may not get you a job, but would definitely make for entertaining lectures…

Picture credits: Rex Features and 20th Century Fox

1. SIMPSONS AND PHILOSOPHY

Touted as a “fairly rigorous” course, this two-unit class at the prestiguous University of California at Berkeley examines the hit cartoon series through the eyes of Nietzsche, Plato and more – asking weighty questions such as what does Homer’s infamous D’ohutterance really say about his existential self? Is Marge’s volumous hair life-affirming or a symbol of the degradation of society? Or so we imagine…

2. DAVID BECKHAM

This 12-week module at Staffordshire University was offered as part of the BA in Sports, Media and Culture, and included heavyweight topics such as Beck’s ever-evolving hairstyles, the state of his marriage to Posh and his status “as the object of a great many fantasies.” That’s certainly one text book we’d enjoy leafing through.

3. ZOMBIE STUDIES

We enjoy a good zombie movie as much as the next person, but if you really have a thing for animated corpses, head to theUniversity of Baltimore where a dedicated course allows students to “get ready for a zombie apocalypse” by writing horror scripts, watching zombie flicks and drawing storyboards of their ideal monster movies. Gold star for the killer idea.

4. THE PHALLUS COURSE

Yes, really. Offered by the department of critical theory and social justice at Los Angeles’ liberal Occidental College, this indepth study program explores “feminist and queer takings-on of the phallus.” Topics include “the relation between the phallus and the penis … and the relation of the phallus and fetishism.” That’s your dinner party conversation sorted, then.

5. FAT STUDIES

The term ‘chewing the fat’ takes on a whole new meaning with this course offered by George Washington University in the US. The class examines concepts of fatness and obesity through the realm of film, literature, anthropology and history, throwing the “cultural baggage” of overweight people firmly into the spotlight.

6. ARGUING WITH JUDGE JUDY

If you find yourself screaming at the TV at the sheer injustice ofJudge Judy and the like, it’s time to enrol at the University of California, where Arguing With Judge Judy: Popular ‘Logic’ On TV Shows will allow a channel for your frustrations. The course picks apart popular logical fallacies on reality TV shows, examining why the small-screen audiences decide on the concepts of social justice that they do. Sadly, it hasn’t got as far as Jeremy Kyle yet but where there’s life, there’s hope.

7. LADY GAGA AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF FAME

In no small boast to the star’s ego, Lady Gaga has been awarded her very own degree course at the University of South Carolina. Run by what sounds suspiciously like a Gaga groupie masquerading as a college tutor (Professor Mathieu Deflem has been to see the singer in concert 30 times), the unit gets students to “engage in sound and substantiated scholarly thinking” on Gaga’s meteoric rise to fame. Then they all dance in the lecture theatre aisles to her greatest hits (or so we like to think).

8. HARRY POTTER AND THE AGE OF ILLUSION

If you’re a muggle who wants to be a wizard, prepare for a disappointment. The Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion module, available as part of the BA in Education Studies at Durham University, doesn’t teach spells and Quidditch – instead the series of 22 lectures and 11 seminars looks at how JK Rowling’s novels reflect prejudice and citizenship in modern society. Not quite as thrilling as Hogwart’s, but a good excuse to re-visit the books.

9. UNDERWATER BASKET WEAVING

Contrary to what the name suggests, you don’t need a diver’s license to enrol on this module. Offered at a range of universities in the US, including the Reed College of Portland and the University of California, it involves crafting baskets by dipping them in water and letting them soak. Recently, the term ‘underwater basket weaving’ has come into usage to refer to a course that’s deemed to be worthless – which we’re sure holders of the qualification appreciate.

10. MAPLE SYRUP MAKING

Want to impress your friends with your very own handmade maple syrup? Then it’s time to give the Maple Syrup: The Real Thing course at the Alfred University in New York a whirl. As well as learning the history of syrup production, students get to rustle up their own brand of the sweet stuff, for a life skill never to be forgotten. Yum.

Bonus: Water drop falling in front of an MC Escher sketch, I took this pic