Computer programs to help you get through the IB

[catatouille]

Moderator note: Please only post ideas of new programs, no thank you messages etc., let's try keep this thread as clean as possible to help actually finding those programs

I do about 90% of my IB work on my laptop, so I thought I'd share some of the many computer programs that I find very helpful when it comes to school work (other than your standard Office). I'd also like to hear of any programs other people use for the IB! (Yes, I'm a computer geek! )

Oh yes...these programs will be for Mac but I'm sure they are either available for PC or there's an equivalent out there somewhere.

EndNote (PC & Mac) - Makes bibliographies for you in perfect MLA format! And works together with Office.

Freedom (Mac) - If you're like me, and the internet is the biggest distraction of them all, this program turns your internet off for however long you want it to. The only way to turn it back on is to restart, so you'd have to be really tempted to do it. And best of all, it's FREE!

Circus Ponies NoteBook (Mac) - This is like OneNote for Mac, and they're releasing a new version soon. It really helps you organize your notes, due dates, helpful website links, and any other info all together in one place. I don't know what I'd do without this.

EverNote (PC & Mac) - This is one of the greatest programs ever created. I won't be able to explain it as well as the website does, but basically you can keep notes and clippings stored on program on your computer, but it's also synced with your internet account, so you can access these notes from any other computer or phone via internet. It can also recognize words in photos! Great for when you're working at school and you've left some notes you need on your home computer. Also FREE!!!!

Bento (Mac) - Bento connects your address book and calendar and can also help you keep track of classes, assignments, projects, and events in one place. Perfect for the hectic life of the IB student.

I hope this will be helpful to someone, and I'd like to hear of other programs too.

[hamani]

I noticed that you out Endnote. Why not try Zotero Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It worked me wonders for my ITGS portfolios!!

visit this site for the download: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3504

[Abu]

IF only you told me these a year or 2 ago

The software sounds great, a lot of help for current students.

My suggestions (for Mac only):

-GRAPHER: Located in the utilities section of your Application folder. Graphs any equation, especially useful for the Maths Portfolio.

-TI Connect: To download screenshots from your TI Calculator, you will need to have a Windows based computer -or- install Windows on your Mac. Personally, I used VMWare Fusion and a copy of windows and it worked perfectly.

-If you have Office 2008 (Both Windows and Mac), you have the ability to use citations automatically.

[cereja]

OneNote (PC & Mac) from the Microsoft Office pack - you can take as many notes as you want, have different tabs, type anywhere you want (like an actual piece of paper) without any problems and you don't have to save. It does it for you. That's all I use to take notes in school.

[Xerox]

advanced grapher and mathtype for the sciencestudent, i think both mac and pc

[chrypton]

Assignment Planner(Mac):

http://www.loganrockmore.com/assignmentplanner/

A simple but powerful school manager. I've been using this for a long time and it helps me organize my school assignments and whatnot.

[blindpet]

Assignment Organizer (PC)

Agilix GoBinder here

Mindmap Creator (PC/Mac)

Mindjet Mindmanager here

Microsoft Onenote (duh)

I would really like to know if this application can be used on Windows. or Even Ubuntu. If not this exact application, is there any other?

Both Gobinder and Onenote are similar to this. Sorry mods for adding a not-so-useful post :/

[Argiyama]

i'm not sure if this is relevant since mine isn't a program but a website. anyway, i'll share it here since i think it's really useful in managing ur CAS activity. http://www.managecas.com/ maybe u can contact ur school to use it as mine do and it really saves us a lot of times and we don't have to worry any issue about losing paperworks and evident since it is saved online in this website. Your teacher / school can submit all the evidence and moderate all of ur CAS activities / reflection through this website. Lets me know if it helps

[chrypton]

This one isn't a computer program, but more like an online application:

http://www.mathway.com

You can enter a math problem and choose which area of mathematics you are doing and what you want to find out. The website will solve the problem and give you a step by step explanation on how to solve the problem. I have tried it out and it is amazing! Recommended!

[moneyfaery]

Leechblock - blocks time-wasting sites (Facebook, Youtube...) after a set period. You can set a static time for it to block (i.e. from 9 am to 6 pm) or have it block a site after say, 45 min on that site. You can also track how much time you spend on certain sites. Really useful.

[Cami]

I recommend using Post-It Digital Notes for PC (Incompatible with Mac). It works just like normal post-its but this is a digital version that you can place anywhere on your desktop.

It's not free, but comes with a trial.

There is another similar program that's free; Post-It Software Notes Lite.

I hope this was as useful for you as it is for me!

Edited September 3, 2008 by deissi
Mac compatibility changed -d

[flsweetheart422]

For those of you who have Firefox, you can download an add-on called zotero.

Its a pretty cool research tool. Its goal is to be an easy way for you to 'collect, manage, and cite' the sources you use. It will save digital snapshots of the websites you use, save information about books, and and then create a bibliography for you in whatever format you desire.

It has a bunch of other features I have yet to explore, but just thought i'd throw it out there for those of you who are working you your EE research.

http://www.zotero.org/

[Vicdashit]

A program which i found to be perfect for ib math IAs is a graphing called Graph made by a nowegian company called Padowan, just google Graph by Padowan

[Sherry]

A program which i found to be perfect for ib math IAs is a graphing called Graph made by a nowegian company called Padowan, just google Graph by Padowan

There is also another program that is really good for MAth IA's that does not just have graphing in it the website is www.math.exeter.edu/rparris/

[chrypton]

OpenOffice(Mac/PC/Linux)

Free and worthy alternative to MS Office. Version 3 just came out and It's better than ever. Recommended for anyone who wouldn't like to spend money for MS Office(like me).

[mane]

hahhaha the "freedom" program is the typical thing a dedicated IB student would use... =P

i would recommend photobooth (mac), which comes with the computer, and is the perfect way for u to entertain urself and not get bored to death while doing schoolwork

[gaggia]

Try SigmaPlot, it's got a bunch of useful statistical tools not found in Excel for lab reports and the like. It's well-known among science professionals but yet it's quite easy to use. It integrates with Excel, too, but don't expect it to be too useful on the graphs.

[Unperfect]

http://www.foxmarks.com/

Foxmarks is extremely if you have a school account with Firefox(I use a portable version for the school account) to keep your searches/bookmarks between school and home.

[strawberrypigs]

Secure Notes Organizer is a pretty good notes organizer.

Its not free but comes with a trial

[Jernej]

In addition to what was mentioned, I would also like to add the following:

DeadLine: http://deadline.3x.ro/ - equations solver and plotter; very useful for math homework (functions, derivatitves), but unfortunately only works under Win32.

Maple 12: http://www.maplesoft.com/products/Maple/index.aspx , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_computer_algebra_system - all-you-need software for IB Math with very intuitive interface. Only con: shareware (pro: you can find serial in no time ... )

GeoGebra: http://www.geogebra.org/cms/ - excellent free and multi-platform software that joins geometry, algebra and calculus. Nuff said.

Autograph: http://www.autograph-maths.com/ - very good shareware math software especially good for function graphing (draws beautiful graphs by default).

AnalyticMath: http://www.analyticmath.com/ - FREE, cross-platform (Windows, Linux, etc.) mathematics / plotting program with a powerful editor and integrated 'auto-calc' features that will help you develop and visually analyse mathematical expressions quickly and easily. The program is intuitive, simple to use, and suitable for everyone from students to theoretical physicists and, of course, IB students as well.

Maxima, a Computer Algebra System: http://maxima.sourceforge.net/ - Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and tensors. Maxima yields high precision numeric results by using exact fractions, arbitrary precision integers, and variable precision floating point numbers. Maxima can plot functions and data in two and three dimensions. It is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS X and is also one of the must-haves for either IA or Math homework and is also of great use at Physics and Chemistry as well.

If you prefer simplicity over functionality, here are some other popular alternatives to Windows Calculator and unit conversion:

Calculator (Mozilla Firefox Extension): https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1194 - just what is says.

Microsoft Calculator Plus: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en - a bit better than Windows Calculator since it has conversion tab. Big wow for nothing and you have to validate your Windows copy, download bulky Windows Installer and all you get out of it is a little .exe with a slightly more functionality than Windows Calculator. For those of you, who would just like to double-click and try, I uploaded the .exe file in the attachement below.

CalcPlus.zip

This is how I struggle through IB course and it would be much harder for me if it weren't for software you've already mentioned and the one I listed here.