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Cloud Computing is a great way to work and collaborate wherever you are whenever you need to work. This is especially beneficial for students because students work at home, in school, at the library and at a friend’s house. Why bother carrying a thumb drive that could get lost, dropped or broken when you could just go on the cloud and be able to access your information anywhere on any computer. This applies to Secondary students and even more to college students. Cloud computing not only adds convenience for students, but also allows a group of students to collaborate from their dorm room, the library or across the world.

First and simplest Cloud service is Google Docs; it allows users to write documents, spreadsheets and presentations online and to share and collaborate with others over the internet. This makes working on a project much easier no matter if people get sick or can’t make it to class, work can be worked on across the web. Google has also developed more tools specifically for students which allows Google Docs to be used as an equation editor, has added a built-in language translator, and chemical equation balancer.

Next, Dropbox, if you don’t think that Google Docs will cut it for you, Dropbox is the next best thing. I wrote about how Dropbox is so great and combines having files local and being able to share over the cloud. You can install it on all your computers and easily share data or just use the simple web interface and have a thumb drive you can access on any computer with Internet access and can’t be lost or broken. Dropbox also allows you to share documents either publically or privately with other users.

Cloud computing seems as though it is meant specifically with studnets in mind because it lets user do what they want, when they want and it is near impossible to loose your data unless you forget your password. I have always loved cloud computing but, now using it for school work it is even better!

I moved into college about three weeks ago and being a technology enthusiast, there were certain things that I knew that I would need while at college. Now that I have been in college for some time, I thought that it would be a good idea to share what I think gadget lovers will need to get through college:

Laptop computer:
Unless you absolutely need a desktop, I recommend going with a laptop because you can pick up your computer and take it to class or the library. Desktops don’t offer that flexibility and when living in a dorm room a space is very limited and laptops are great space savers.

Surge Strips- and plenty of them:
The other thing that is very limited in dorm rooms are outlets. Most rooms only have a handful of outlets for a  two people to share. I have at least four surge strips in use in my dorm room and they are full for the most part. Surge strips don’t only allow you to plug many extra devices to one outlet, but also protects your electronics for electric surges that could damage your electronics.

Wireless Router/Access Point (If permited):

Wireless Internet although not always as reliable as wired internet however, it is very convinent if you have mulitple computers because you can connect them all to the internet and not have the clutter that comes with wired internet. However, because of interference, some schools do not allow wireless and some only permit Wireless access points.

Switch:

If wireless is not permitted or if you just want a more reliable internet connection, then a switch may be the piece of hardware for you!  A switch takes one eithernet port and speads the connection to several devices. A 5 port switch is only $12!

Eithernet Cable:

If wired internet is your method of choice or is mandated by your school eithernet cables are a must have!

Digital Camera:

College is a bsy time but it is also a fun time and you will want to remember the fun you had so a digital camera is a must so you can take pleanty of pictures.

Thumb Drive:

Documents will need to be moved around shown to classmates, and professors. Thumb drives are inexpensive and are a greatway to carry data with you.

Microsoft Office:

All students will need to use Word, Excel and Powerpoint at some time in their academic career. Mirosoft Office is the defacto Office suite and they have great prices for students. Onenote, which is included in Student edition, is the greatest notetaking spplication and has greatly helped me take notes. Onenote does a great job simulating a notebook with sections, pages, sub pages all in a computer application. Since I started using Onenote, I have not taken written notes since because Onenote is so simple!

Computer lock:

Make sure you get a lock for your computer  no matter if it is a laptop or desktop it is best that you have your computer chained to a desk!

Safe:

For those gadget that are too small to get a lock to chain to something permanent, a safe would be a good idea so that you can chain it to something permanent and put small electronics you want to keep safe in it. Some schools, including mine rent safes for students so you don’t bring them back and forth to school!

External Hard drive:

If you have a lot of data you may need an external hard drive just to store all the data. Or you could just use it to backup all your data incase the unthikible hapens.

I hope this list helps all you gadget lovers out there prepare for college and be prepared! College is great and technology makes it even better!

I know the idea of general education in college is meant to make the students more rounded people but, I also think that those classes would be better utilized teaching the student more about their field of choice and making them more knowledgeable about what they plan on perusing instead of taking a class that is totally unrelated to their career and the student might dislike wasting time. It’s great to learn about thing unrelated to your career so that you don’t get over loaded with that information,  but you have had plenty of time to become learn all the basic skills like math, science, history and English  in Middle and High School. College should be focused on what you want to do with the rest of your life and expanding the skills you learned already by learning specifics related to your career path such as Scriptwriting for video production and math for Computer Science.  This will allow graduates to be much more competent when they get out into the work force they will have significantly more skills  in their field and they will be much better employees. Elective courses are fine if the student wants to take them but otherwise college should focus on the student’s field of choice and better prepare them for the working world. If general education was eliminated then, the students can be more focused on their field and be better in their field when they go into the job world.