Published
I will be going to Grayson County in the Fall. I was wondering if anyone found it helpful to have laptop.
Laptops are very helpful for all the group work you will be doing. You and your group members can look up information on your library's system from your favorite coffee shop, pull video clips off various sites, and all kinds of useful things. You can also quickly refer to your course syllabi, powerpoints, and the ever-changing notices on "Blackboard" (if you use this system) without carrying around tons of notes!
Before you record a class, be sure you ask your instructor's permission. Not all allow it, I do but make clear it is for personal use only, not to be published anywhere (facebook, youtube, etc.) Its called intellectual copyright (lectures and powerpoints are creations of the mind).
Memory sticks can fail, be sure to have a backup of your papers somewhere! I've been told the more you use it, the more danger there is of losing data.
I couldn't imagine life without my laptop anymore LOL, but I don't take it to school. I only have taken it twice during school and that is the last two NLN tests we did because the schools laptops we were provided kept always screwing up. Instructor said we could bring our own and problem solved.
When I did pre reqs at my old college I brought my laptop and in between classes when I was supposed to be studying, I would just play online.
I bought a teeny tiny netbook just for nursing school. It was wonderful for class because it was so little and light that I could fit it easily in my purse, if for some reason I wasn't lugging my backpack around. It was cheap, I got it refurbished onTigerdirect for around $250. It's by no means a fully loaded computer, but I loved it for taking notes, going on the web, power point, etc.
I will be going to Grayson County in the Fall. I was wondering if anyone found it helpful to have laptop.
I bought a Toshiba Netbook NB310 and find it very helpful. A great deal of class content is online or posted on the class website and the instructors were randomly firing documents and updates to it. I synced the netbook to my home computer so I always have all my school work with me.
The netbook allowed me access where ever there was wifi and I use it plenty. I very often study at coffee shops and having a computer near was very helpful when I needed additional information. I prefer to study from old fashioned textbooks, but it was nice that I didnt have to carry EVERY book around with me and could look up information on the online textbook site.
The computer is small enough to easily carry around and has great battery life. No jockeying for a power outlet.
The downside to this computer is that it doesnt have a CD Drive, so you have to know how to mount disk images on USB drives to load programs. No problem for me, but if you arent computer savvy this may bug you.
Good luck.
madnurse2b
175 Posts
All of my books are available in digital form - I take notes in class directly to the books. I love having the laptop and go everywhere with it. I type faster than most people can talk so it's cool for me. But I am a techno geek so there.