Back To School Gadgets for Older Students

Can it be that August is already upon us?  August means back-to-school here in California…and many more schools across the country.  Summer is too short.  I prefer the days when school started after Labor Day.  For my children, school starts on August 14th.

We have already begun our school shopping.  We love going to the penny and dollar sales at our local office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot.  Next week, I take my daughter to the local mall for clothes shopping.  

Clothes and school supplies are indeed important.  But if you have older students – a high school or a college student, we recommend a few gadgets that will greatly aid or enhance his/her school experience.

Here are our top 5 picks for gadgets for your older students…

WD MY Passport External Hard Drive

Brother Laser Printer

It’s no surprise that high school and college students print A LOT of papers.  Whether it’s their typed up notes or their frequent essays and research papers, a printer is essential.  

Though you may already have a color printer at home, it’s not always cost effective for the amount of black and white printing your student will use.

The Brother HL-L2340DW compact laser printer is the perfect solution for professional black and white pages.  It features automatic 2-sided printing and can speed print up to 27 pages per minute.  With its toner ink cartridge, students will be able to print up to 2600 pages and its paper drawer can handle a full ream of paper, so constantly refilling it is no longer an issue, as with color printers.

With its toner ink cartridge, students will be able to print up to 2,600 pages and its paper drawer can handle a full ream of paper, so constantly refilling it is no longer an issue, as with color printers.

The printer also features mobile printing, so students can print out emails and documents straight from their phone…wirelessly, a great feature for students!

Students can connect via USB or through Wi-Fi (though an easy set-up) and it works with both PC’s and Macs.  Its compact size takes up little room on a desk or in a dorm.

The Brother HL-L2340DW compact laser printer is the first laser printer sold at Target and retails for a very reasonable price of $119.99 plus free shipping or you can find it in the store.

Jaybird Freedom Secure Sports Fit, Metal Wireless Buds

The Jaybird Freedom Wireless Ear Buds are micro-sized metal ear buds offering premium sound, comfort, and fashion.  It’s patented silicone ear fins help the buds to fit securely and snugly in the ear, locking them in during workouts and intense physical activities.

Jaybird’s Freedom Wireless Birds are designed for sports, workouts, and all-weather conditions.  They are sweat proof and their hydrophobic nano-coating keeps away moisture.  are ideal for running, weight lifting, high-intensity workouts, mud runs, whatever your student is into.

They are sweat proof and their hydrophobic nano-coating keeps away moisture.  are ideal for running, weight lifting, high-intensity workouts, mud runs, whatever your student is into.

And Jaybird helps users personalize their experience through the MySound app, to customize and save their own sound profile.  The wireless ear buds can connect to today’s smart watches, so students can leave their phone at home, especially helpful when running.

Not only is the sound fantastic (we know, we tested them!), the battery life lasts up to 8 hours of playtime (4 Hrs onboard + 4 Hrs with the included Charging Clip).  They’ll last the whole day with your student’s busy schedule.  

We love that the Jaybird Freedom Wireless Ear Buds actually do give you freedom – they are completely wireless and the Charging Clip detaches and charges separately from the buds.  So students can continue to enjoy music without interrupting it to recharge the buds, it’s brilliant!

Lastly, your student can connect their buds to 2 devices simultaneously.   For example, s/he can connect her phone and laptop to the wireless buds.  S/he can listen to music from her/his laptop in his/her room while at the same time use the buds to answer phone calls from his/her mobile phone.

Compatible with pretty much any and every device, the Jaybird Freedom Wireless Ear Buds combine an amazing sound with fashionable metal quality.

Available in Black, Gold, Blaze Red, Ocean Blue, Blush pink, and Space Gray, the Jaybird Freedom Ear Buds start at $113.99 at Amazon plus free shipping.

Honor 6x Phone

Looking for a premium phone for an affordable price for your student?  The all-metal bodied Honor 6x is a great solution (see our review here).  The Honor 6x’s screen size is just right at 5.5 inches and comes with a 12 MP rear camera (with a second 2 MP lens for depth), an 8 MP front camera, and a long-lasting battery.

The Honor 6x’s screen size is just right at 5.5 inches and comes with a 12 MP rear camera (with a second 2 MP lens for depth), an 8 MP front camera, and a long-lasting battery.

We love their dual SIM card slot which includes a slot for an SD card too for extra storage.  A dual SIM card means you can put in two different phone cards from different carriers (think one from a country while traveling and one for home life) and receive and send calls and texts from both.  

The SD card allows for the ability to increase the storage of the phone’s memory for tons of pictures, music, movies, and more.  In fact, you can buy a 128 GB SD card from Amazon for $44 and your student will have plenty of memory for the phone.  No need to upgrade to a phone with larger memory, just upgrade the SD card, it’s cheaper!

Students will love its multi-media capabilities with its fast Qualcomm Octa-core Snapdragon processor.

The Honor 6x uses a battery that has a higher capacity than the top of the line mobile company phones.  Students will appreciate not having to hunt around to find a plug at school to recharge.

The Honor 6x can be purchased directly from the Honor website for $249 in gray, silver, or gold.  

TrackR pixel

So you bought some nice hardware for your student, perhaps a new phone, laptop, WD My Passport portable drive, etc.  But buying this technology makes you nervous.  What if your student leaves his/her device somewhere and loses it?

TrackR pixel is the solution for some peace of mind…for you and your student.  TrackR pixel is a small, coin-sized Bluetooth tracking device that can be attached to your student’s backpack, wallet, laptop, tablet, even portable hard drive.  It can be attached by a strong sticker or its attached mini lanyard.  

Your student pairs the TrackR pixel with the pixel app on his/her phone via Bluetooth.  If your s/he loses his/her item, s/he can use the app to see the last place the item was in Bluetooth range with their phone and actually see the location on a map.

In addition, the network expands with other TrackR users.  Their apps are always searching for TrackR items – which helps users find their item even if they are not near it.

Placing the app on your other family member phones allows you to take advantage of Family Sharing, which expands the search in the home with multiple tracking.  

TrackR pixel batteries last up to one year.  The good news here is that you can replace the battery yourself, for under $5.  You can also track multiple TrackR pixels with one app – so you can put one on each of your student’s backpacks, tablets, etc.

TrackR pixel gives your student (and you) some peace of mind that if s/he loses his/her device, s/he has a better chance of recovering it.

TrackR pixels come in a variety of colors and be purchased through Amazon for one pixel for $24.99, a 3-pack for $49.99, or a 5-pack for $74.99.  You can even purchase an 8-pack!  Free shipping is available by spending $25 or more.

There’s no doubt, attending high school and college can be intense for your older students.  More is expected from them than ever before.  Equipping your student with tools to make his/her studies easier can help her/him manage his/her studies, workload, and stress levels.

*I was given samples of each of these items for purposes of evaluation for our older students back to school guide.  All opinions are my own.