Wireless world offers study tools for exams

While technology like smartphones, iPads and the Internet are usually considered to be a distraction from finals studying, there are also ways to use them to your advantage while you’re trying to cram for exams. Whether you’re calculating the grades you need to pass or trying to memorize facts, as always, there’s an app for that.

SelfControl for Mac

This OS X application will block access to certain websites, but still allow you to get to the rest of the Web. For example, you can set the app to block your Facebook, email, Twitter and any other distractions for a certain length of time, such as 30 minutes or three hours. The best — and worst — part: Once you start the timer, there’s no stopping it. Even if you delete the program or turn off your computer, you can’t get to those sites until the time runs out. There’s no turning back!

Flash Card Apps

Flash cards are a key study tool, but carrying them everywhere can be a hassle. Fortunately, there are apps for Mac, iPhone, Android and iPad that provide the usefulness of flash cards with the convenience of constantly having them with you. There are a lot of applications out there for this, both free and with a low cost. Some even allow you to upload premade flash cards from certain websites, along with the option of making your own. The best part is that you can easily review your cards anywhere, from the library to the bus ride to class, without having to deal with the stack of paper.

Content-Specific Apps

There are plenty of applications out there to be your personal tutor in whatever subject you need. Depending on your market, you can download apps for history, physics, psychology and many other topics. Some are better and more specific than others, so reading the reviews before downloading is always a good idea.

iTunes U

This treasure trove is full of podcast lectures on various topics. Although the University does not have much available, there are lectures by professors at other major universities on everything from U.S. history to anatomy to computer programming. This is a useful tool if you’re suddenly realizing that you’ve, ahem, missed a few classes this semester and are looking for a basic overview of the topic. Keep in mind, however, that these podcasts are given by professors teaching other classes and may not be specific to what you need to know for your own exams.

Grade Calculators

If you’re trying to figure out how hard to study for that final in order to pass the class, these apps will make your life easier.
There are plenty available on the markets, and each works differently, but this app will allow you to calculate the exact scores you need to pull off a certain grade in the class.
Basically, you’ll put in the percentages each assignment in a class is worth and keep track of what grades you have received. From there, you can estimate your final exam results to predict a final grade or choose a goal for your final grade and calculate how well you need to do on the exam.

U of I’s GPA Calculator

Luckily for students, the University provides simple ways to calculate and predict your GPA, app-free. Online, the Office of the Registrar gives simple instructions on how to figure out your GPA for the semester and directions for how to find your cumulative GPA on your transcripts. The advising department also provides a very easy to use GPA calculator online — just type in your cumulative GPA, total graded hours and grade and credit hours for each class you’re taking this semester, and it will compute your semester and cumulative GPA so far.

Great Big Toys R Us Book; a gender critique

 
I have to say that it was with some personal interest that I began my review of the Toys R Us catalog. Last year I had noted that the Toys R Us catalog contained pictures of 4 ride-on cars in which a boy was driving and a girl was the passenger. None of the pictures showed a girl in the driver's seat.
That posting led to a conversation with Toys R Us and eventually an opportunity for me to speak to their buying staff about gender and toys. Based upon Toys R Us's interest in the subject, I was wondering what this year's toy book would look like Vis -a- Vis gender.
Well, Toys R Us did not disappoint. For starters, "The Big Toys R Us Book" had more gender equity than any of the others I reviewed. It contains 93 pictures of boys and 83 of girls; 47% of the images were female. That number is close to parity and looks pretty good compared to the ratios in the other catalogs that ran from 17% for Sears, 34% for Kmart, 36% for Wal-Mart and 37% for Target.
The over-all numbers looked good but what about those ride-on cars that started it all. Well, if you look on page 67 in this year's catalog you will find police car driven by a girl with a boy passenger. Not only that, there are twelve pictures of ride-ons in this year's book and riding in them are 9 boys and 11 girls. When you figure that Sears, Kmart and Wal-Mart showed zero girls in cars, that is quite a statement. I would be interested in seeing sales of cars to girls in Toys R Us compared to the other retailers.
Another area that interested me was construction; typically a male preserve. Well, not only does the book show a girl prominently playing with Lego but the boy sitting next to her is watching her do it. When I met with Toys R Us I had showed them pictures of construction toy packaging from the past in which the boy played with the activity while the girl admiringly looked over his shoulder. This then was a notable reversal.
I am going to be taking same time to review all of the information we have gathered and come back to you with more detail and analysis. Until then, keep your eyes open for how the toy industry handles gender and let me know what you see.