Top Tech for Back-to-School
September 10, 2019
Whether you have children entering school for the first time, kids headed off to college, or you simply want to refresh your tech tool kit for fall, back-to-school is an excellent time to research and test out the latest and greatest personal technology on the market. Here are a few top tech items the MGP team can’t live without:
Olivia: Nowadays, classrooms are becoming paperless, and college students are using their computers for almost everything. As a college student, I have realized how valuable my computer is when it comes to my learning abilities. I store everything that involves my academics on my computer, such as important dates, documents, and projects. It would be my biggest nightmare to lose a 15-page paper before the deadline. That is why having the Toshiba Portable Hard Drive is a lifesaver for college students. I will never have to worry about losing assignments, and I can have one less stressful thing off my plate.
Allie: Venmo makes it super simple to make a group purchase, whether it’s a large teacher’s gift or a back-to-school pizza party – this seems to happen more often during the school year. Also, our babysitter is heading to grad school and swears by Quizlet. I would have loved to have had access to this while I was in school! Quizlet essentially helps students and teachers everywhere (over 50M active learners from 130 countries) practice and master whatever they are learning by sharing customizable activities and quizzes, so you aren’t limited to your own course study or class plan. It’s neat that the educational community can engage with one another and foster a more global learning experience.
Kayla: My top tech for back to school is less about the kid and more about the parents. A family calendar is essential. We use Google’s pretty much by default, but any digital calendar would work. Our daughter has been in kindergarten for less than a month, and we’ve already had at least ten school-related functions. Combine this with work schedules, family and friends, and a myriad of other appointments, meetings and more – we could not live without a shared calendar that provides alerts.
Jenn: There are a lot of essentials when it comes to back-to-school beyond just pencils and paper! As a mom of both high school and college-age students, one essential tech item I find often overlooked is a VPN. It’s a back-to-school essential for kids who surf the web and access public Wi-Fi hotspots. My favorite VPN is BullGuard VPN. It’s easy to use and install, and you don’t have to be an IT guru to figure it out. BullGuard VPN covers all my family’s devices from computers to mobile phones. The best thing about it? It gives me peace of mind my kids’ security and privacy are protected!
Carla: How often do you or a member of your family drive yourself mad with misplacing things? Constantly helping each other search for keys, phone, wallet, etc., when you’re running out the door always seems to happen when you’re in a hurry, doesn’t it? After a summer of no school runs, you’ll probably find this will be a common occurrence while getting back into the rhythm of it. My suggestion would be to get a Tile. I am FOREVER losing car keys, and this little device has been an absolute godsend. You just download the app and attach it to your keys (or whatever you want to attach it to, and you can ring your keys from your phone. It also works the other way round – can’t find your phone but have your keys? Press the button on the Tile, and it will ring your phone. And if you can’t find your keys OR your phone then, well, I’m stumped.
Mindy: Lots of studying and note-taking in class makes it easy to see why my top back-to-school gadget is Apple’s iPad Pro. Attach the smart keyboard cover to it and you can use it as you type notes in class, or buy and use the Apple Pencil for note-taking and drawing in your own hand. Round things out with a few apps such as Otter (great for recording lectures and challenging dissertations with an excellent AI component that makes it easy to search recordings to find specific information), Notability or Evernote (for expert, easy note-taking) and Dropbox – to back everything up in the cloud – and you are good to go!
Allie Gavan
Account Director
Top Tech for Back-to-School
September 10, 2019
Whether you have children entering school for the first time, kids headed off to college, or you simply want to refresh your tech tool kit for fall, back-to-school is an excellent time to research and test out the latest and greatest personal technology on the market. Here are a few top tech items the MGP team can’t live without:
Olivia: Nowadays, classrooms are becoming paperless, and college students are using their computers for almost everything. As a college student, I have realized how valuable my computer is when it comes to my learning abilities. I store everything that involves my academics on my computer, such as important dates, documents, and projects. It would be my biggest nightmare to lose a 15-page paper before the deadline. That is why having the Toshiba Portable Hard Drive is a lifesaver for college students. I will never have to worry about losing assignments, and I can have one less stressful thing off my plate.
Allie: Venmo makes it super simple to make a group purchase, whether it’s a large teacher’s gift or a back-to-school pizza party – this seems to happen more often during the school year. Also, our babysitter is heading to grad school and swears by Quizlet. I would have loved to have had access to this while I was in school! Quizlet essentially helps students and teachers everywhere (over 50M active learners from 130 countries) practice and master whatever they are learning by sharing customizable activities and quizzes, so you aren’t limited to your own course study or class plan. It’s neat that the educational community can engage with one another and foster a more global learning experience.
Kayla: My top tech for back to school is less about the kid and more about the parents. A family calendar is essential. We use Google’s pretty much by default, but any digital calendar would work. Our daughter has been in kindergarten for less than a month, and we’ve already had at least ten school-related functions. Combine this with work schedules, family and friends, and a myriad of other appointments, meetings and more – we could not live without a shared calendar that provides alerts.
Jenn: There are a lot of essentials when it comes to back-to-school beyond just pencils and paper! As a mom of both high school and college-age students, one essential tech item I find often overlooked is a VPN. It’s a back-to-school essential for kids who surf the web and access public Wi-Fi hotspots. My favorite VPN is BullGuard VPN. It’s easy to use and install, and you don’t have to be an IT guru to figure it out. BullGuard VPN covers all my family’s devices from computers to mobile phones. The best thing about it? It gives me peace of mind my kids’ security and privacy are protected!
Carla: How often do you or a member of your family drive yourself mad with misplacing things? Constantly helping each other search for keys, phone, wallet, etc., when you’re running out the door always seems to happen when you’re in a hurry, doesn’t it? After a summer of no school runs, you’ll probably find this will be a common occurrence while getting back into the rhythm of it. My suggestion would be to get a Tile. I am FOREVER losing car keys, and this little device has been an absolute godsend. You just download the app and attach it to your keys (or whatever you want to attach it to, and you can ring your keys from your phone. It also works the other way round – can’t find your phone but have your keys? Press the button on the Tile, and it will ring your phone. And if you can’t find your keys OR your phone then, well, I’m stumped.
Mindy: Lots of studying and note-taking in class makes it easy to see why my top back-to-school gadget is Apple’s iPad Pro. Attach the smart keyboard cover to it and you can use it as you type notes in class, or buy and use the Apple Pencil for note-taking and drawing in your own hand. Round things out with a few apps such as Otter (great for recording lectures and challenging dissertations with an excellent AI component that makes it easy to search recordings to find specific information), Notability or Evernote (for expert, easy note-taking) and Dropbox – to back everything up in the cloud – and you are good to go!
