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Essential computer programs for students
All of these programs will help you with various activities or are useful for you organising your computer and your studies.
They are all FREE
They are all FREE
Look out for the badge, these are the ones I prefer.
Mind mapping
You will be using mind maps to collate ideas, to plan essays and even to examine opposing views. They are especially useful if you are a visual person.
Coggle mind mapping is easy to use and you can insert images into it. Best of all it allows cooperative use of the program (great for group tasks).
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Popplet allows you to make mind maps and include pictures. It is either web browser based or can be an Ipad app.
GoConqr previously known as ExamTime is excellent for mind mapping and also creating flash cards, quizzes, flowcharts and notes for revision.
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Online back up
If you do not back up your work online you are seriously in danger of losing that essay that you having been working on for the last two weeks or worse maybe even your coursework. If this is you CHANGE now and BE SAFE. All of these programs allow you to create a back up file on your desktop where EVERYTHING should be placed and it automatically backs up your work across multiple devices.
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Google Drive not only allows you to back up files but you can use Google documents, presentation, spreadsheet or even make Google forms. These are great for group work as you can all work on the same document and share your information instantly. Make sure you download it for automatic backups.
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Dropbox is works like Google drive but without the documents function. It is slightly easier to use on mobile devices.
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Password security
This is essential in today's world where everything needs log in details. DO NOT waste time forgetting your important log in to anything. Save it on this program protected by a master password and it will automatically fill in your details and even log you in to the site. Best of all when (this will happen) your computer breaks down, runs out of battery or you forget it you can use this on ANY device!
LastPass remembers your passwords so that you can focus on the more important things in life.
Bookmarks |
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Sometimes the biggest problem is to remember, tag and annotate websites that are important to you. You can create your own library of personalised websites. Imagine that you can tag this website and use it for revision and add notes to it on any device? Well guess what you can!
Diigo annotate and remember any website.
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PDf Creator
You might already have one of these on your computer. But if you do not it is 100% essential for submitting work. When you submit an essay in a word format the presentation of the document can change depending on the version of Word that the person viewing it is using. If you convert it into a PDF what you see is exactly what everyone else sees. This might be useful for coursework and Extended essays?
pdfforge allows you to convert all word documents into pdf format.
Office Software
Guess what as a student you will have to write something! Shocking isn't it?
Microsoft office. Ok, I know this one is not free but did you know as a student you are entitled to some HUGE discounts through the Microsoft website ?
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Apache Open Office is free and will read most documents. It is not 100% perfect but it is very good if you can not afford the Microsoft version
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Bibliography
The higher up you get in education the more important it is to keep an organised and complete bibliography, especially when completing Internal Assessments or Extended Essays.
Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network. Make your own fully-searchable library in seconds, cite as you write, and read and annotate your PDFs on any device.
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Whether you need to create footnotes, endnotes, in-text citations, or bibliographies, Zotero will do all the dirty work for you, leaving you free to focus on your writing.
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Screen capture
It is very likely at some point you will be asked to explain or describe something, such as a map, image or even graph. One of the ways to do this could be to capture a screen cast of your computer screen and to record your voice at the same time.
If you are Windows user you will want to download a program to do this liteCam HD.
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For Apple users providing your QuickTime player is up to date it has an function to do this. Follow these instructions.
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Discounts for Students and Teachers
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If your school does not supply you with devices or even if you have your own device in addition to your work one you can get discounts from many companies such as Microsoft and Apple as you are in the field of education. Look into it and save yourself money!
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