Even though college is still in session, your student or you, being the student, might want to make sure you have some essential gadgets.

These gadgets might at some point in time inflict a distraction when using them, but when they are used for educational purposes they can be very comforting.  Comforting in the sense that these gadgets will provide you or your college student ease of functionality, time, and getting day-to-day jobs completed.

You are probably wondering what these gadgets are, well when it was my first year going to college (now being a Junior) I found a certain five gadgets to be very helpful my first year and every other year since then.

The five essential gadgets I would suggest for a college student to have would be the following:

digital camera, laptop, music player, printer, smart cell phone or PDA

Digital Camera

A digital camera will help capture the beginning and any random, great moments that happen throughout one’s college life. Not only will a digital camera capture the moments that you can show anyone that did not experience the moment, but they are great tools for certain projects and “memory-recording”. 

I think of “memory-recording” as taking a snapshot of something for an assignment that will help you or remind you of something at a later time.

Digital cameras can help with any major projects that you probably will not experience your first or second year of college, but your final years of college because they are used as documentation.

Laptop

Kori Ellis on SheKnows wrote an article containing the laptop as an essential tool for college.

“It’s difficult for a child to survive college without a laptop computer these days. Students need to use the Internet for research, as well as use the computer for papers and coursework. In fact, a laptop computer is required for some college classes.”

I would like to think about this a different way.  What if you did not have a laptop?

You would then have to set your schedule to any computer labs, since they are only opened certain times, if you did not even own a computer.  If you did own one but it was only a desktop computer, then you would have to make other decisions such as what do you do when you need a computer device on than when you are in your room?

Sure you can purchase a desktop, borrow a laptop, or just get by going to campus provided computer labs.  But, when college starts you want to be able to connect yourself with a computer device as fast as possible at anytime or anywhere.

Music Player

There are so many electronic stores these days that draw in people, such as students, to buy their product by offering them a chance to win an iPod.  If you are not familiar with an iPod, they one of the most popular music players out there.

The reasoning behind them offering these music players is because college students are attracted to them. Why? Well, they are very popular amongst their generation and they offer a feeling of “being focused”. Being focused is very essential in getting many tasks done in a short amount of time.  These music players provide motivation, inspiration, feeling of comfort, etc. all depending on what music is playing.  Music is and will always be an important part of our culture and society.

Printer

Printers are very basic but can end up saving you large amounts of money, especially in terms of time.  Sure you can go to the local copy place and pay for what you need to print, but think of how much time is spent.  First you have to go to the store, upload your document, print the document, pay for the document, and then go to another place (back home or to class).

Having your own printer makes getting whatever you need printed off right at your finger tips, especially if you would need to print of an assignment due in 10 minutes.  Another thing is that many universities are “going green” by not printing off syllabuses or other assignments, so many professors are putting them online for you to print.

Smart Cell Phone or PDA

This would have to be the most talked about gadget these days.  The most popular devices, iPhone and Blackberry, would fit into this category.  PDA’s are no longer amongst the popular gadget to get, but I personally use my iPod touch as my PDA and an iPhone or Blackberry are considered the new PDA.

These smart cell phones allow you or your college student to multi-task to the fullest.  Multi-tasking is a key practice throughout college so a smart cell phone would be an essential gadget to have.  The main drawback of these devices are the cost to service them, which can get pretty high.  (this is the main reason this is the last gadget on the list)

The LifeNotion: Many college students go into college knowing they need certain items. These gadgets will offer you a great start to college and if you have already started make sure you have them.

Derek Jensen

Derek is the founder of LifeNotion and a student that's defining his true self through connections, conversations, and media. He strives to improve the college experience amongst students to take their life to the fullest. Talk and connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. Derek Jensen has wrote 83 post(s) for LifeNotion.