School-related applications for smart phones are climbing the charts. One of the many is the free app inClass.

“The app allows you to upload your class content, the instructor and the time blocks of your class schedule,” said Keith Lester, a Health Promotion and Wellness student. “It also allows you to insert homework assignments and important dates in your phone as a reminder.”

The app allows students to use their cell phones to manage their schedules and keep track of tasks without having to write in a planner. It also includes unique note-taking features, such as video notes, audio notes, and photo notes, and is pro­grammed to know which class the notes belong to since it is matched to the time of your schedule.

“It is a great tool for management on the go because it is always with you. Most people always carry their phone,” Lester said.

However, Lester found the app to be more of a hassle. Entering his assignments and checking due dates took just as long with the app as it would a planner.

“Although the reminder system on the phone is nice, it’s not the same as being able to check off things on a daily planner as you finish them,” Lester said.

After using the app for a week, Lester returned to using a paper plan­ner.

“The app is impractical in the sense that most professors are rather against you trying to put something in your phone because they don’t know the difference between texting and entering assignments,” Lester said.

Although many professors do not mind the use of phones in the classroom, many require students to treat the classroom like an airplane: phones off and stowed away.

No, the phones’ electromagnetic radiation won’t mess with a class­room like they would an airplane, but smart phones can be a distraction to both student and teacher during class time.

Nicholaus Collenburg, a media studies student, thoroughly enjoys using his phone as a planner, but he also finds it difficult to use during class.

“The problem I have is that it is awkward to take my phone out in class and type the notes in the phone. It feels as if I am being rude to the professor,” Collenburg said.

Despite the potential classroom inconvenience, Collenburg finds the app a helpful organizational resource and recommends the app to students with smart phones.

“I would hands-down use the app rather than a planner. I have had planners, and I just stopped using the planner, and it stayed empty,” Collenburg said.