As you report for college as a freshman, you need to have several essential electronic gadgets to make your stay for the duration of your study more comfortable. Ideally the gadgets that you are supposed to invest in are meant to help you succeed in your classes – either in notes-taking or working on your assignments. At the same time, the same gadgets can also be used for entertainment purposes during your free time. The following list outlines the five must-have gadgets for any college freshman:
1. Portable Computer
A portable computer system is a must for a college freshman. A freshman can choose between a tablet PC and a laptop. The tablet is particularly popular because of its lightness compared to the laptop. However, the needs of the students should be used to guide the buying decision. Between the two gadgets, the student has to find a system that is more practical in the classroom. Compared with a tablet, a laptop makes it easy for a student to enter information. With a tablet, you need to hold it in one hand while you type with the other. However, unlike a laptop, the tablet boots up quickly.
2. Camera
A camera can be used for a number of activities both in class and outside the classroom. A digital camera is the best option for a college student. A camera can be used to capture college sporting events and also the fun moments in a student’s college life. In addition to these fun activities, a camera can be used in more serious academic activities such as taking photos of academic projects or participating in projects related to art, design and photography. As a general rule of thumb, the cost and quality of the camera are influenced by the lenses.
3. Livesribe Smartpen
The Livescribe Smartpen is a type of pen that is capable of recording text and audio. The pen is about 5/8″ x 6 1/8″ in size, and it comes with a removable ball-point ink cartridge. Also, the Livescribe pen comes with a microphone for the recording of audio and a speaker to playback the audio files. The student can use the pen to record handwritten text as digital documents and lectures as audio files. The smartpen, if equipped with a large memory, can be installed with a number of additional applications that are very useful to the student.
4. Portable Book Scanner
A portable book scanner is a very handy gadget for a college freshman. Unlike traditional scanners, most of the portable book scanners do not require the students to feed the documents into the scanners. The scanners are especially useful in group work assignments where one student from a group can get to the library to do some research on behalf of the others. The needed research work can be scanned in the library, uploaded to a computer and emailed to the group members as digital documents. With a portable scanner, the student can save a lot of money on printing and time on meetings for the distribution of information packets.
5. Headphones
Most students use headphones to listen to music or watch movies in private. However, some lecturers also make use of videos and other interactive media in teaching. Wireless headphones are the best as they do not come with the inherent problem associated with wired headphones, which means that there won’t be any tangling of the cords.
Byline
This article was written by Karl Stockton for the team at kendall.edu. For those interested in hotel management, contact Kendall to learn more about their hotel management school.