Rich Kiker is the Director of Online Learning at a K-12 school district in Pennsylvania, a blogger, an online professor, and a Google Certified Apps for Education Trainer. Other consulting roles include eLearning design, social learning, technology pathways development, and 1 to 1 computing. He can be reached at 
The fall semester’s here, and you should be ready and raring to go. College is a time for intense study, more intense fun, and figuring out who you are and learning what you’ll do next. But to the clueless freshman, or the fifth-year with senioritis, college can be a disorienting battlefield of misguided priorities. Not to worry — there’s an app for that. In fact, there are six.
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Your College’s App
Stay up to the minute with updates about road closures, inclement weather, and NCAA sports. Your college probably has an app, and it’s a good idea to download it. Even if you’re not into school spirit, it’s always good to know what’s going on in your collegiate community.
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TabbedOut
TabbedOut might be the greatest app ever. When you’re out at a bar, you can pay your tab straight from your smart phone. It’s brilliant, streamlined, and simple, and it comes from good folks in Austin, Texas. Absolutely worth the download. Honorable Mention: DrinkOwl. This one’s for the more hardcore drinker and for those always looking for a deal.
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Study Buddy
Even the most serious student goes YOLO sometimes. For those times, there’s Study Buddy. This cheap little app — complete with literal bells and whistles — helps chart the duration of distractions that you encounter during studying. You get personalized feedback and plenty of help to keep you on task. Eyes on the prize, kids. Get your work in the cross hairs, and take it down.
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iStudiez Pro
More anal retentive than ADD? This is the app for you. If you’re in the habit of acting like your incrementalized schedule is the end-all-be-all of life, get iStudiez Pro. You can compartmentalize, delegate, and look at all your activities — holidays, office hours, test days, those large chunks of time you spend organizing your schedule instead of having a social life — in one convenient, easy-to-use app. It also tracks grades, study sessions, and your overall GPA.
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inClass
You just don’t listen, do you? Meh, there’s an app for that. inClass allows you to record audio, take notes, take video notes, and utilize any handouts or PowerPoint slides. Organize, share, and ace. Best part about it? It’s free.
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Pizza
Domino’s, Papa John’s, or hopefully something local — no matter what name it goes by, you’ll need a pizza app. Eating like a college kid is your still-decent metabolism’s right. Enjoy it while it lasts. And don’t forget the beer.
