Whether you’re in school, looking at going back to school, or have a relative on their way to a higher level of education, there’s a lot to be done to help make it easier for everyone involved. While a laptop computer is still an absolute must regardless of the degree pursued, it can get a little rough on the back to carry one around every day, hope to get a seat in the lecture hall where you can access a plug outlet, and hope there’s enough room on your desk to set it up comfortably without intruding on anyone else’s space. As classroom sizes increase, there’s less and less elbow room for students using laptops in class.
There is a solution, however: eContentMag.com reports that 29 percent of students have all but eschewed laptops in the classroom completely, opting instead for something smaller, sleeker, and with better battery life: tablets. A particularly good choice this season is actually a hybrid device, the NOOK Samsung Tab 4; while there are plenty of other available devices, this one is designed as an eReader first and tablet second, meaning that while you can install all the apps and widgets you need to make class easier, it’s primary function makes it easy to scroll through digital textbooks without having to install a third-party app that may not be able to read the file format in which your books have been digitized.
Check out: The 4 Best Tablet Accessories for Kids
This still begs the question of what exactly you can do with a tablet to make school easier. Thankfully, the possibilities here are pretty much endless.
Build a Better Lecture
It’s no surprise that tablets make lectures easier in simple, obvious ways; you can use your favorite note-taking app on a tablet to save space on your desk, never worry about finding an electrical outlet—according to CNET, the battery in a tablet eReader can last between 8 and 13 hours—making it possible to focus on the lecture more than the positioning or your equipment. This, in turn, will make reviewing lectures in preparation for exams even easier; upload your files to the best cloud service and access them from anywhere, edit them on your laptop back in the dorms or even go over your notes with friends at a café across town.
There are other great ways to turn your eReader or tablet into your new best friend in the lecture hall, however, although they require some pretty specific features. Most notably, you need to have a decent camera, or at least a decent microphone. Sit in the first or second row, and these features could allow you to record your lectures on a daily basis, giving you time to review everything as your professor or instructor explained it rather than just relying on your interpretation of their words.
Staying in Touch
While it’s not necessarily specific to school, using a tablet eReader allows you to check your email from pretty much anywhere without lugging around a big laptop or trying to type out a response in an infant-sized digital keyboard. Furthermore, if your eReader comes with a font-facing camera like Samsung’s addition to the NOOK line, you could even use video conferencing to keep in touch with friends and family back home during the school year.
A tablet can also help you keep in touch with your grades and assignments by offering easy access to Blackboard, reported by Best eLearning Software as the most comprehensive online educational service available. This allows you to review your digital assignments, double check the dates and times of exams, and even get in contact with your instructors in a pinch. With a tablet, you can do this as soon as the thought occurs to you, making it easier to stay up to date at all times in everything you do.
Other Options
There are plenty of other things a tablet eReader allows you to do more easily in school, from checking the school’s event calendar at a readable scale to playing Bejeweled while you wait for your ride to pick you up from class, but it’s realy contingent on what you need your device to do. The best thing about any tablet eReader is their versatility; you can even keep your laptop as a working device and only use the tablet when you have time to play. Install all the games and apps you want and decide how your device can work best for you. Start out by asking your professors if there are EPUB or PDF versions of your textbooks that you can load up onto the device, and save your back the strain of carrying around hundreds of dollars in distressingly expensive paper.
No matter the task you need your tablet eReader for, they’re definitely a useful tool for anyone working at their education. Put down the laptop, pick up a tablet, and see how convenient class can really be.
Featured image credit: ShutterStock
