Introduction
Electronic gadgets have become very integrated into our existence. One study even shows that we spend more time on handphones than sleeping!
But, when it comes to education, is this necessarily bad? I admit that after so many years in teaching, nothing distracts my class more than the buzzing sound from a student’s handphone. However, I must admit that some gadgets are necessary for practical lessons.
For example, in some of my classes, it's my responsibility to record the students' attendance every day. If I used traditional methods like pen and paper, I would end up with twice the workload because I'd have to enter the same data into the school's database again at the end of the day.
Another example would be showing students short educational videos that can aid in their understanding in class. In the past, teachers would have to depend on their descriptions (or drawings on a whiteboard!) to explain complicated concepts. Today, we only need to point them to a YouTube video.
These are not the only examples of technology in classrooms. All the videos here were created using an iPad and an Apple Pencil.
Tablets, Notebooks, and More: Essential Educational Gadgets for Students
Handphone
Speaking of convenience, google Spreadsheets can be another useful tool for teachers. By creating a database for marking, you can easily key in pop quiz results using a handphone. Since it is connected to the main database, you will not have to transfer the marks later. The spreadsheet will even tally the scores on the spot!
Tablet
I recall carrying stacks of printed lecture notes during my undergrad years.
My daily routine involved coming early to university and going to the library printer to print the materials for the day. I recall printing stack after stack of papers before classes. If we forgot to print even one piece of paper, we were in trouble as some tutors would penalize us for not bringing the worksheet to class (thank God we are a lot nicer these days =x)!
I recalled a break in this routine one day. My groupmate had asked me not to print any materials. He told me he had borrowed two tablets from the library before our lecture began. In those days, Apple had just launched the iPad “1,” and the tablet market was virtually non-existent. Not being a tech-savvy person back then, I held this rectangular aluminum brick in my hand and scratched my head.
I was confused about how an expensive aluminum tablet could help us, but I printed the materials anyway due to trust issues. My friend then demonstrated how to connect the tablet to the university Wi-Fi, and with a few clicks here and there, I suddenly had access to the lecture notes for the day and the entire semester. It turned out that I had wasted RM5 for printing the materials.
That one experience with a tablet so many years ago made me realize I could replace my huge backpack stuffed with paper with a smaller one to fit a tablet. This was a significant advancement in technology, even to this day. Not only was I able to replace my huge backpack, but my grades also improved significantly since I no longer needed to go to the library for reference material. Everything I needed was online and only a click away!
Notebook
Being a student, you usually have many assignments that rely on computers. For some assignments, especially in engineering fields, powerful notebooks are essential educational gadgets for students. We have daily, weekly, and monthly assignments involving Solidworks, Ansys, MATLAB, and Abaqus software. The computational requirements for this software are quite high, especially on the memory, CPU, and GPU side.
Some software assignments might even require the student to leave the PC overnight for rendering or simulation. From my experience, if your PC cooling is inadequate, the PC components will not last long. Due to the pandemic and the shift to online classes, the dependence on notebooks will only increase, and you do not want it failing before assignment due dates (yikes!).
To minimize downtime from computer repairs or maintenance, it is also vital for students to buy only notebooks with an onsite warranty. With an onsite warranty, the repairman comes to your home (or anywhere) to repair the notebook as opposed to you sending it to the service center (this is called a carry-in warranty).
Onsite warranty service is usually much faster since the repairman will complete the repair on the same day, and you do not need to leave your notebook in the service center for months. One good rule of thumb is always checking your warranty type before buying a notebook from the manufacturer's website.
How to save money
If you add all the electronic components (handphone, tablet, and notebook), the total cost can be staggering for parents (not students). Thankfully, being a student comes with certain benefits. From Apple student discounts for iPads to special PC discounts from various brands.
ED Tech Instruments Resources specializes in helping students procure electronic gadgets at a lower price. Additionally, if you are a member of Senpai Corner, you can get an even greater discount!
Since the topic of computer specification is quite complicated, we will leave this topic for another post.
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