The fall semester is approaching and for many a return to their regular office schedule awaits, waiting in between traffic, meetings and appointments.

People usually spend these periods playing video games, reading, browsing social media, or just staying away from noise. But if you’re looking for more mental stimulation, why not boost your brain with mini-lessons on topics that interest you?

Call the private teacher

Below we’re reviewing apps for iOS and Android devices that can turn your smartphone into a mobile private tutor in your pocket.

* Learn a new language: The past few years have seen a boom in educational apps offering language and music lessons, especially after distance learning became part of people’s lives during the pandemic.

It’s true that Apple and Google have their own translation apps, but some people have found great benefit in learning new languages ​​online. Of course, no one wants to hear you trying to pronounce French on public buses, but many language apps offer free or low-cost lessons on vocabulary and writing rules that you can learn silently using your headphones.

Duolingo, Babbel, Memrise and Rosetta Stone are among the most important apps in this field because they offer short lessons in a wide range of languages. Each of these apps requires a user to create an account to access lessons and track his progress.

Duolingo and Memrise offer free plans and paid options, and are based on a game-like approach that relies on videos and exercises to be solved using the device’s touchscreen. On the other hand, “Babylon” and “Rosetta Stone” focus more on conversational skills and force the user to subscribe to continue the lessons. Prices vary between applications, but should not exceed $100 for one year of use.

Explore global culture

* Cultural and art toursIf you want to pretend you’re not stuck in traffic for 45 minutes a day, you can visit the world’s museums using the free “Bloomberg Connects” and “Google Arts & Culture” apps for iOS. “iOS” devices. Android.

Bloomberg Connect includes more than 200 guides with videos and photos of art collections from galleries and cultural sites around the world. These mobile tours combine videos with text and images and can be downloaded when there is no internet connection.

The Google Arts and Culture app offers content from more than 3,000 cultural institutions and archaeological and tourism sites around the world. Apart from science and history exhibits and educational games, you can also find tourist guides for traveling around the world’s major cities.

We also recommend the “TED Talks” app, available for free on iOS and Android devices, which provides its users with thousands of free lectures on topics such as technology, science, design and culture. After registering a free user account, you can download the lectures to listen to them offline.

Science course

* Study science and computersYou can learn the basics of autocoding on your phone using a number of apps, programs, and websites that introduce you to the basics of coding.

The Sololearn app, for example, offers short, free coding lessons in several computer languages, while its Professional plan has other perks and benefits for $70 a year.

If you opt for the “Code Academy” website, you can also benefit from the “Code Academy Go” app, which provides flashcards and training tools for learning over the phone. If you’re an iPad user, you can learn about the free Swift Playgrounds application from Apple, which teaches you the Swift coding language through interactive puzzles and exercises.

In turn, the non-profit Khan Academy offers educational courses for adults in computer programming, animation and other topics. The company offers mobile apps and YouTube videos, but some of its content is only available in mobile browser format.

Last but not least, you’ll also find a multimedia app that reviews NASA’s space missions. The agency has produced a number of educational apps and electronic games on aeronautics, the solar system and other topics. Links to these apps and programs can be found on the NASA website.

Cognitive exercises

* Cognitive exercises: If you want to retire from education and want to assess the level of knowledge you have achieved, there are countless applications for this purpose; The most important of which is the “Knowledge Coach”, which tests you with 6,000 questions on different topics. You can also get an upgraded, ad-free version for $6 a year.

Among the “brain training” apps, we can name “Elevate” and “Peak”, which claim to build cognitive skills through stimulating games and exercises. These applications are available in a free version and a paid version, the cost of which does not exceed $40 per year.

Not all days are ideal for quick learning, but on those days when you have a lot of travel or a late meeting, don’t hesitate to set aside some time to learn.

* The New York Times Service