Back-to-School Technology

Whether you are going to High School or College, there have been significant developments in technology to help you be more efficient, organized and effective in your academic pursuits. Innovative computers, hand-held devices and mobile apps have all been created specifically for the needs of students.

Before you purchase any technology, find out if your school or major recommends any specific technology such as the mobile apps created by Blackboard®, Pearson® or other school-related tracking systems of classes, assignments and grades. If they don’t use or offer a mobile app, then you may want to download myHomework® to your SMART® phone. It can help you track what’s due and when, course schedules and much more.

Going back-to-school may be a good time to purchase a new computer. I highly recommend a tablet PC such as the HP EliteBook® or the Lenovo ThinkPad® that can swivel between tablet and laptop and can run Microsoft® Office®. These computers can also take advantage of the many “inking” features in the Microsoft Office suite of products particularly the product OneNote® which is specifically designed for taking notes either with the tablet PC’s digital pen or via the keyboard. OneNote comes with every Microsoft Office package. If you need to purchase Microsoft Office, you may want to check with your school to see if they have special educational pricing offers from Microsoft.

For purchasing a new computer, you can comparison shop for great deals on computers including tablet PC’s, through www.newegg.com. However, if you can wait a few months, the Microsoft Surface^TM will be out and it promises to be the best in thin, light-weight-while-powerful, tablet PC’s.

For the more traditional pen and paper note-taking, you may want to consider a smartpen such as the echo® smartpen from Livescribe®. It writes notes with traditional ink but it also records the lecture as an audio file. You can then upload both the notes and the corresponding audio to your computer once you are home thereby eliminating the need to carry your computer around. The echo smartpen can hold 400 or 800 hours of audio depending on the amount of memory you purchase. You can also listen to the audio-playback via the built-in speaker or through earphones you attach to the smartpen. The echo smartpen can work with any kind of paper or you can purchase notebooks that have features and commands printed at the bottom of every page for use with your smartpen. These notebooks can usually be purchased anywhere you purchase office supplies.

Finally, if you have an eReader such as a Kindle® or Nook®, many text books are available at significantly reduced costs. I hope these recommendations help you to have a fun academic year and inspire you to embrace a lifetime of learning.