4 school supplies every adult online college student needs
If you're returning to school, you may feel a little lost when it comes to the supplies you need. While online learners can access their course materials from just about any location with Wi-Fi, there are many additional online and offline tools that can help you learn and keep your priorities straight. We should know — our students at New England College of Business each have unique tools and technologies that help them manage their time and complete their online coursework. We've compiled some essentials for you and your computer:
Time management apps
When you're learning online, it's surprisingly easy to get distracted by a news article or to check your feeds on Facebook or LinkedIn. Time management apps such as focusbooster or the also popular TimeCamp can help you keep track of your breaks or how much time you spend on an assignment. Toggl helps you to keep track of time and easily organize your progress into reports based on individual or team work.
Noise-canceling headphones
The convenience of learning from any location at any time can immediately disappear if you're unable to give your coursework full attention. Whether you do your schoolwork during your commute, in a busy office, or at home while your children watch TV, you can benefit from headphones that block out background noise and help you concentrate on your online lecture. Not all noise-canceling headphones have to break the bank. Check out the ZX330BT Bluetooth Headphones from Sony or the Lightweight Noise Cancelling On-Ear Headphones with Travel Pouch RP-HC101-K from Panasonic.
Mobile hotspot
It can be tough to find a strong Wi-Fi connection when you're outdoors or in a restaurant or hotel. Consider investing in a mobile hotspot (this link offers some options to choose from) to ensure a strong connection wherever you go, no matter which device you're using.
Notebooks and planners
For those who like to keep track of their assignments using paper calendars and planners, Passion Planner provides a wide variety of layouts for your daily or weekly checklists. If you take notes by hand, but still want to access notes on your computer, you're in luck: Evernote and Moleskine have partnered to create a notebook that allows you to digitize your notes and organize them with tags on your online account.
What other school supplies do you think are necessary for online learning? Follow New England College of Business on Facebook, network with us on LinkedIn or join the conversation on Twitter @NECBedu!