Preparing For College: Laptop, Tablet, or Both?

So your son or daughter is starting college and you know they need a computer.  Laptops have been the common decision, but this year is a bit different as tablets enter the market.  Many are wondering if they could go the tablet (i.e. iPad, Xoom, etc.) route instead.  It's a good thought and good question.  There are several things to keep in mind with this decision.

1. Check with the campus first.  The college will most likely have "basic requirements" concerning computing needs.  Ask them about tablets and see what their recommendation is.  You may get some shrugs and don't be alarmed by this.  Many many people are still trying to figure out how these fit in and how to best use them.  Some campuses also use specific software for the campus or courses (i.e. Blackboard).  
2. Keep the course discipline for the student in mind.  It's not always just read books and write a paper.  Some courses require certain levels of web access and software.  Find this out.  The other thing to keep in mind is that students need to store a lot.  Tablets are more designed for web access and not so much storage.  Unless the student is comfortable with and set up for "cloud computing" such as Google Docs or DropBox, they will have issues.  

Could a laptop and a tablet be beneficial?  Yes!  Tablets provide for a great deal of things and can be used in the following way:

1. Organization - Contacts, calendars, note taking, etc.  Some schools use applications like Blackboard.  This is a great system for organizing classes and student/professor communication.
2. eBooks - Tablets allow students to easily get ebooks they may need for their courses or personal reading.  Plus they can take notes, add highlights, etc. in the books as they read also.  They can access their ebooks on both devices.  Companies like Barnes and Noble have free applications for both and the libraries and books stay in sync without having to transfer files at all.  
3. eTextbooks - This publishing area is growing, but the selection isn't stellar just yet.  When it comes to eTextbooks you have a few options.  One option is CourseSmart which provides access to purchase or "rent" (timed access) to eTextbooks and has apps for mobile devices as well.  Barnes and Noble offers NookStudy which is a free laptop application that organizes classes, ties in with one's existing Barnes and Noble ebook library, and will handle eTextbooks.  
4. Writing papers.  This is where "cloud computing" really comes in handy because storage capacity on a tablet is very limited plus you don't want to have to worry about crashes and losing files.  Using things like Google Docs can be great, but you have to be connected to the internet.  Likewise you'll want to get a keyboard for the tablet.  

The bottom line in my opinion is that a tablet on it's own is not the way to go right now, but a tablet as a supplement can have great advantages for students especially with the ever increasing selection of ebooks and etextbooks which can offer huge savings and convenience.  

Movin' On Up

The population of Palm Coast was approximately 37,000 when I showed up in 2003.

If you want to go further back, I have friends who remember the only gas station in town was an Exxon. The particular Exxon is no longer there, but Palm Coast has more gas stations, and more people to go around. Today, the population is approximately 77,000 but it still holds that “everybody knows your name” quality. Perhaps this very sense of community is what keeps the people coming.

Moving to Palm Coast as a kid, entering the 8th grade, the cusp of one of the most important periods of a life, was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Of course, I didn’t see it that way at the time. New Jersey was home and going as south as Florida was a culture shock. There was so much greenery! And where were the towering buildings and bumper to bumper traffic jams?

My mind didn’t start to change until high school. At the time, there was only one high school and the city was rapidly growing. I graduated with over 600 students, the largest in the school’s history up until that point. It was here where I discovered my love for writing. Once I figured it out, there was more than one teacher backing me up, making sure my skills were honed. I’m sure I would’ve met influential teachers in New Jersey, hadn’t I moved, but I would’ve never met THOSE teachers. My time in the Flagler County school system was invaluable.

In the time since 2003, I discovered Palm Coast’s strategic geographical placement. Jacksonville to the north, Orlando to the south, Tampa not so far away if you needed it. I could go to a superstar or local’s concert with friends and still be back and rested for the next day. Historical St. Augustine and legendary Daytona Beach are even closer, providing more native and hole in the wall scenes, allowing for the genuine feel of Florida.

If you want to know the true nature of Palm Coast, the defining attribute is balance.

You can find your night out on the town at the European Village with live music and a few drinks.

There’s the quiet day at a park with numerous walking and bike trails. You’re only a few miles away from the beach at any given moment. People spend years moving place to place trying to find all these things, but here it’s all rolled into one.

We’re still growing. There’s another high school now and more middle/elementary schools. The state of the art Epic movie theater just opened up. There are tennis clubs, genuine New York pizza parlors everywhere you look, dock your boat, go check out an art gallery, everything hipster and old school all at once.

Recently, I had the opportunity to leave to finish my degree.  Instead, I chose to stay and attend Flagler College.

Why? It’s simple. I found myself here. Palm Coast, the people in it, and the surrounding areas enabled me to find what I needed. If life takes me elsewhere in the future, I’ll be equipped because of the strong start I was given here and it’s not even over yet. Are you looking for somewhere to see your kids get the right beginning, or just find your own way?

Do it here!

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Lauren Mack is an aspiring writer, blogger, and overall enthusiast of brainstorms. Home is in Palm Coast, FL, where she works a customer service job for magazine subscriptions. When she isn’t helping you out on the phone, Lauren attends Flagler College where she majors in English and dabbles in Communications. In Lauren’s downtime she labors away, hopefully, at a novel and can be found observing things on her blog) or dashing about on Twitter.

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