Back To School: 10 Apps For Your Student iPhone or iPad

Depending on where you are in Australia and what year you’re in, school starts back again tomorrow or Friday — urgh. Here are 10 apps, as suggested by Apple, to install on your high school iPad and do some ol’-fashioned book-learnin’ — whether you’re in the classroom, on the train or bus, or sitting in your room at home.


30/30, free

30/30 is a task manager, letting you set up a list of must-do and can-do objectives and then working with a 30-minute timer.

It’ll tell you exactly what you’re supposed to be doing, and how long you have left to do it. If you never have enough time to do the things you need, a timer-based to-do list like 30/30 could be just what you need.

30/30 is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


Notability, $9.99

Notability is a straightforward note-taking app that also lets you annotate or sign PDFs. You can record audio, too, and type or write notes that accompany your recordings.

You’re able to type and adjust headings and colours, add drawings or sketches, and then organise those notes into categories and subcategories.

Notability is $9.99, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


iTunes U, free

iTunes U is Apple’s own massive library of education material, including courses from major universities around the world, interactive museum exhibits and other important cultural icons.

As a student, you’ll need your teacher to be using iTunes U to publish courses to use it for your own in-school work, but you can still read and educate yourself more broadly on it too.

iTunes U is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


Duolingo, free

Duolingo is an amazing app that uses mini-games to teach you a different language. It has time-wasting courses for Spanish, French, German, Portugese, Italian, Irish, Dutch, Danish and Swedish, as well as English.

It works really well, too — you can use it for just a couple of minutes at a time if you’re otherwise busy, or you can sink a couple of hours and really get some learning in. Eventually, you’ll be an expert.

Duolingo is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


EasyBib, free

EasyBib is a bibliography and citation app, which will automatically create citations for you in any of thousands of styles of citation that are used around the world — so chances are your school’s style is in there.

Bibliographies are almost a mandatory part of studying at uni, so it’s a good idea to get into the skill as soon as you can. Using EasyBib will make sure your citations are consistent, too, which is the most important thing.

EasyBib is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


Swifty, free

Swifty is an app that teaches you how to code from start to finish in Apple’s Swift programming language, giving you tidbits of information along the way. Like Duolingo, it’s split into smaller segments; you can take as long as you need.

School these days is all about coding, and about learning the computer skills that you’ll need in the next five years, and you should take Swifty almost as required reading — trust us, you’ll be grateful for this in the future.

Swifty is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


TED, free

TED talks are inspiration, educational, mind- and eye-opening. On a range of topics, each delivered by an expert in their field, you’ll be able to learn about developments in tech, cultural revolutions, or teach yourself about something important.

The library of TED talks is constantly updated, too, so you can treat them like podcasts and dip in whenever you’re feeling like you might need some inspiration.

TED is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


Earth-Now, free

Earth-Now is a climate science app — it’ll show you surface air temperature, ozone and carbon dioxide levels using false-colour mapping, all around the world. You can zoom and navigate around the globe by swiping and pinching.

If you have any kind of interest in environmental science, if you’re studying chemistry or physics, then Earth-Now is a fascinating app that’ll open your eyes about different parts of the planet you’re currently hanging around on.

Earth-Now is free, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


iMovie, $7.99

iMovie is one of those apps that you don’t need until you really do. Drama class might be a little tame and boring, until you film your production from half a dozen different angles and then stitch it together into a short movie.

The best thing about iMovie is that it’s made for iPad or iPhone, and as a result its multi-touch features are the best in the game. After you’ve made a couple of quick flicks, you’ll be a professional.

iMovie is $7.99, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


Pocket Anatomy, $14.99

Studying biology? Always forget the difference between your phalanges and your sphincters? Pocket Anatomy gives you a ridiculously comprehensive look at the human body, from the skin all the way to the innermost organs, with a full body view of male and female alike.

It also has 30- to 120-second rundowns on the major functions of the human body, like the pumping of the heart and the operation of valves, the pulsing of nerves and flexing of muscles. If you want to work out how you work, this is a great place to start.

Pocket Anatomy is $14.99, and designed for both iPad and iPhone.


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