Technology: College Edition

By Walbert Castillo on September 15, 2014

If you are going to survive in college, technology is an absolute must. As students, we all live in an age of technological advancement that is progressing ever so rapidly. With that being said, schools are utilizing a variety of methods to educate students virtually.

Technology serves not only our educational purposes but also serves a purpose in networking with others, enjoyment, and of course, news at Uloop!

Here are the types of technology you should bring with you to college.

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Cellular Phone

If you want to contact friends you’ve just recently made at your university, having your cellphone around will highly benefit you.

You are in an environment where everyone shares the openness in establishing new friendships and where students are going to be asking for help from others. The best way to contact somebody is asking for their phone number. Also, if you are starting to miss home, your parents are merely a phone call away.

There is also a downside to using phones because unlike high school, students can use their mobile devices in their classroom. Stated in an infograph from Hack College:

“As it turns out, a whopping 94 percent of college students are texting everyday. Ninety-seven percent of those with smartphones are using them for social networking and 88 percent regularly in class.”

It seems cellular phones are shaping the lives of college students as we know it.

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Laptop

Trust me on this one. This is the one thing you’re going to need if you are going to get through college. Back in the day when technology was not so advanced, students would go to the library and spend countless amounts of hours taking notes by hand straight from the textbooks.

If you want efficiency, stick with the laptop. Unless you have not been using the laptop for a long period of time, it is assumed that students can type quicker than they can write. Since most classes require you to use the Internet, the laptop is a useful object to possess.

Most colleges offer computer labs for students but some are not open for 24 hours. What if you had to pull an all-nighter for an assignment due the next day? This is where your laptop comes in! Another pro of the laptop is being able to play computer games, peruse on social media, watch movies and read the news.

However, there is a downside to laptops, as stated by USA Today:

“It is crucial you don’t abuse your laptop by scrolling through your Facebook feed during class. If you know you do not possess the needed self-discipline, leave the laptop at home.”

With technology increasing ever so rapidly, you, as a student, have to watch out that you do not abuse it.

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Wi-Fi Router

During freshmen year when students live in dorms, they are usually given an Ethernet cable to connect to the Internet. Most dormitories will already have a modem to your disposal. If not, it is assumed that dorms already have Wi-Fi for students to connect to.

Although Wi-Fi has been around for quite some time now, it is still not flawless. Unless you have a really long Ethernet cable, chances are you won’t be able to move around your apartment that often.

If you want to work on your assignment in places other than your room such as the living room area, Wi-Fi will be needed. Also, if you plan to have several friends over to work on a group project, Wi-Fi will allow more than one person to connect.

According to an article from Digital Trends, Ethernet has many advantages because “it’s generally quicker and more reliable than today’s best Wi-Fi routers, and it’s usually less expensive.”

If you plan to live in an apartment, it is advised that you purchase a wireless router in order to set up a Wi-Fi connection. Typically, students will have to purchase a plan at a local service company and they will provide a router for you. Sometimes this is not the case and you would have to purchase your own router.

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External Hard Drive

Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if your laptop crashed and all of your documents were deleted in the process? Is there a way for you to retrieve everything that was lost?

Save the agony because an external hard drive will come in handy. One of the best things about an external hard drive is that you can essentially back up all of your work, projects, photographs and videos. In the event your work might be deleted, you can always recover it from your external hard drive.

One thing to keep in mind is that you are going to be a college student for four years and possibly even more. With that being said, the space on your laptop is going to fill up eventually, thus slowing down the overall performance of the laptop because there is not enough space in order to keep the system running at its best.

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Video Consoles/Games 

Bringing your video console could be the best decision you’ve ever made or the worst. If you are the type to become easily distracted from playing video games, sadly your grades will suffer.

If you have great time management skills, I would say video games are a great way to relieve stress and have fun while you are in college. Playing video games is a great way to socialize and make new friends especially in a dormitory-type environment.

Image via: giphy.com

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