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Back-to-School in the Internet Age – More than Pencils and Paper

What's a parent to do when faced with a growing and expensive list of "must have" back-to-school gadgets?

A long time ago, my parents prepared for the first day of school by purchasing paper, pens, binders, staples, a calculator and a backpack. That was before PCs, Macs, netbooks, iPads and iPods, Android and ChromeOS tablets, ebooks and e-readers, digital cameras, backup drives, color printers, smartphones, graphing calculators and all the software applications and Internet services wrapped around those devices. The world is faster, more connected and more complicated than when I was a kid in school (or at least it seems that way).

Local retailers (and online options such as Amazon.com and eBay) know this and have back-to-school technology “essentials” (their word, not mine) displayed with as much prominence as the traditional non-tech items. Back-to-school budgets have an extra zero or two tacked on the end vs. when I was a kid. What do parents really need to consider?

Below is my take on a back-to-school technology shopping list, broken into three categories: “must have,” “nice to have” and “just for fun.” The budget estimates below are guidelines only, based on a survey of local retailers and online options.

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Back-to-school must-have technology list

  • Basic computer: A student without a computer at home faces a disadvantage when writing reports, researching assignments and creating a presentation. Having a computer, however, doesn’t require a $1,000-plus investment. School projects do not require fancy hardware or expensive software — a basic Windows laptop for less than $300 is sufficient. Apple's Macs are more expensive and great if you can afford them but definitely luxury items.
    Budget: $300-$500++
  • Internet service: The digital divide isn’t just about access to a home computer. It’s also about access to the Internet. Your student doesn’t need the fastest Internet option available, but having no Internet access is a disadvantage for the student and the parent. The primary vehicle for communicating with teachers is via email and the Internet.
    Budget: $19-plus/month
  • Key computer applications: The only software you’ll really need to purchase is Microsoft Office (Home and Student Edition) — Word, PowerPoint and Excel are nearly ubiquitous and the freely available Google Apps aren’t (yet) a viable alternative. If you purchased a Windows computer, anti-virus/anti-spyware software is mandatory. Fortunately, there are many free options including AVG, Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSpyware. Internet service providers typically offer additional free anti-virus/anti-spyware software. Windows and Mac computers come with free video editing software. “Windows Live MovieMaker” can be downloaded for free and Macs come with iMovie installed. Watch for specials that discount Microsoft Office Home and Student Editions.
    Budget: $150 (ideally much less)
  • Graphing calculator (for grade 8 and above, TI-84 Plus or equivalent): Our daughter was first introduced to a graphing calculator in eighth grade (provided by her school for in-class use). We decided to purchase a calculator in order to teach her all the features of this sophisticated device. Budget: $100-$150 (look for used options on eBay).

Back-to-school nice-to-have technology list

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  • Color inkjet printer: A printer is a nice-to-have because FedEx Office (aka Kinko’s) is open 24/7. If you are on a very tight budget, you can skip the printer and pay as you go. If you are buying an inkjet printer and a new computer, look for bundles. Remember, however, that printers are like razors … the real costs add up as you replace inkjet cartridges.
    Budget: $50-plus (for the printer) and $15-$30-plus for each replacement cartridge. (Typical inkjet printers have a black and a tri-color cartridge that need to be replaced)
  • Computer back-up: Almost a must-have is purchasing a solution to automatically back up your work. Nothing is more panic-inducing than a computer problem that prevents you from accessing your work. There are numerous solutions, from manually copying work to a USB thumb drive, to setting up scheduled backups to a larger USB hard drive, to automatically backing up to the “cloud” using an online backup solution.
    Budget: $15-$100-plus (for a USB solution) to $5-plus/month (for automatic online backup). Your Internet service provider may have a free option for online backup (with limited storage).
  • Digital camera/video camera: Because so many students create multi-media projects, a digital camera is a nice-to-have —as long as the camera supports taking video. Because Windows and Mac computers both come with good, free video editing software, a basic digital camera with video is an advantage.
    Budget: $50++

Back-to-school just-for-fun technology list

  • Smartphone: While your student likely is convinced that a smartphone is a necessity, and there is no question a cellphone is very convenient, no student “needs” a smartphone for school.
  • iPad/Android tablet: Tablet computers are fun, cool and convenient. Tablets are terrific for reading email and websites, and playing games. Tablets, however, do not replace a computer for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
  • e-books/eReaders: A handful of schools in the United States is experimenting with electronic textbooks. Barring an initiative at your school, however, purchasing an e-book/e-reader for your student won’t replace any textbooks.

Take the time to comparison shop — online, local retail and used options — and your back-to-school technology purchases will be less of a drain on your bank account.

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