Top Apps to Download Before Move In
If you are just stepping on campus for the first time or if you are a returning student, there are a couple of ways to make your school year easier. One of those ways is to download several apps that will aid you in your Miami experience. These apps do anything from getting you into your residence hall room to helping you catch the bus. Each one of these apps is essential in its own way in making your transition easier.
Get Mobile
I highly recommend the Get app for everyone living in the residence halls. Trust me, there will be a time when you forget your ID and lock yourself out of your residence hall door. Avoid having to pay a fee or call your roommate to come help you out, and use this app instead! Additionally, this app can be used to purchase food on campus with your meal plan and order food for pick up from select on campus locations. You can also use this app to get into places like the Rec center if you forgot your physical ID.
Duo Mobile
Duo Mobile is a security app to prevent hackers from getting into your Miami University accounts. Whenever you log onto any platform (Canvas, email, etc.) with your Miami credentials, you will be sent a push notification through Duo Mobile that you must accept in order to get into it. This may feel like a hassle at first, but you’ll quickly get used to it and appreciate having the extra security.
Pro tip: you can select the box that only requires you to do this every 14 days.
Miami University Events app
Welcome Weekend is a series of events and programs designed to welcome students to Miami University before the start of fall semester classes. Downloading the Miami University Events app will allow you to see the time and location of all events so that you can get the most out of your welcome weekend!
BuzTrakr
Rain, snow, and ice won’t stop you from having to walk to class every day. The bus is a great resource to use for harsh weather days when you don’t want to walk to class or if you need to go to Kroger/Walmart and don’t have a car on campus. BuzTrakr shows you all of the different bus lines and where they are – in the moment – so you can track them and time out your trips.
GroupMe
I’m betting almost every college student in the country has the GroupMe app on their phone. Anytime you are doing a group project or involved in a club/organization, they will most likely use this app for communication. It’s extremely user friendly and makes it easy to communicate with people no matter the type of phone they have.
Google Calendar
Miami is a Google school, so you’ll soon find that Google programs will become a large part of your experience at Miami. Whether it’s using Google Slides to collaborate with a team on a project, Gmail to email professors, or Google Calendar to organize your life – these programs are widely used. Professors and group project members may use Google calendar to schedule meetings at times that work for everyone. You can also set up reminders, alarms, and even maps that link to your destination. It’s not a bad idea to scan your syllabi for important dates and put those into the calendar as well!
Zoom
Even if you don’t have any remote or virtual courses this semester, chances are you’ll have at least a few meetings via Zoom. Additionally, if you are placed in quarantine, you may have to attend classes remotely. Having the Zoom (and Webex) apps on your phone will help you avoid missing class due to technical difficulties. Whether your computer died, or you want to take your class on the go, having the ability to do class from your phone will ensure you always have access to your classes.
Gmail
You should check your Miami email at least once a day and one way to make that easier is to have it on your phone. Having the Gmail app will allow you to check and respond to emails anytime and anywhere.
Canvas Student
While you can always log into Canvas to see your course information on a computer, it is super convenient to have access to all of your courses and information at the click of a button through the Canvas app. It makes looking up class times and locations in the first few weeks quick and easy. Additionally, when you want to see how you did on that test or paper while you are away from your computer you can easily pull it up.
By Grace Cooper, Class of 2022