According to the U.S. Census, 66 percent of elementary and high school students in the U.S. use a computer at home to complete homework assignments, and a Kaiser Family Foundation Study found young people ages 8 through 18 spend an average of an hour and a half a day on their computers.
Technology is a significant part of every student’s educational experience and a notebook PC is a must-have item on any back-to-school shopping list. There are so many options for a new PC that it’s difficult to select the right one for the job.
Understanding the right questions to ask yourself about how the laptop will be used can help you find a computer that will facilitate homework, while also acting as an entertainment hub for music, movies, games, surfing the Web and social networking. To demystify the process and help you get the most bang for your buck, consider these tips for choosing the right laptop:
- Size Matters: How often will the notebook be carried? What screen size is the best fit? A larger screen and keyboard is great for watching movies and homework, but a smaller system is more portable.
- Battery Life: Today is seems “my battery died” is the new “the dog ate my homework.” Make sure your student’s laptop will stay powered throughout the day—from the classroom to the library to the desk at home. Consider choosing a machine like the HP Pavilion dm1z, which is based on technology that enables up to 12 hours of resting battery life.
- Usage: Besides homework, what are the other activities the laptop will be used for? Students today are doing more than ever before with their computers, and often doing several different activities at the same time – from homework to playing games to creating and editing videos and chatting with friends. Laptops powered by VISION Technology from AMD are designed for multi-tasking and can keep up with your scholars needs.
- HD Graphics: Will the laptop be used to watch videos or play games? Considering that forty-eight hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute according to comScore’s U.S. Online Video Rankings chances are the answer is yes – which makes graphics quality important. Look for VISION Technology from AMD to know you’re choosing a laptop that provides a combination of performance and video power for brilliant and beautiful high-definition video.
- Comfort: If you have smaller children who will use the laptop, look for touchpads that will be easy for small hands to use, or consider getting an external notebook mouse. Also, pay attention to how hot the laptop is when shopping, as well as the noise level.
Want to get all your back-to-school questions answered? Join Bob Grim from Advanced Micro Devices, myself and the other AMD Tech Moms for a Twitter Happy Hour next week! We will be discussing ways to save money during back-to-school computer shopping and sharing tips to help you choose the right computer for your family’s needs and lifestyle.
- What: Back-to-School Twitter Happy Hour party with AMD & AMD Tech Moms!
- When: Wednesday, August 24 at 6 pm PST/9 pm EST
- Where: On Twitter using the hashtag #AMDSchool (Tweetgrid: http://is.gd/0FOFWi)
- RSVP: Leave a comment about how you’re getting your computers ready for back to school along with your Twitter handle. Then be present during the Twitter party on Wednesday for your chance to win! Good luck!
I am an AMD Tech Mom and receive a conference stipend and products to review for my participation in the program.
Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!
Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012
@chrissiemz I cant wait for the AMD party : )
chrissiemz (At)yAHoOdOtCom
That’s fantastic! Well, I can’t get my computer ready for back to school, because it is on it’s death bed lol..I really would love to win this new amazing HP! I always hear great things about their products!
Thank you for the chance to win and I’ll see y’all at the party!
@JoeyfromSC
I have been trying to delete things we don’t use anymore, hoping that will speed up our computer.
Sounds like a fun party!
@justicecw RSVP
We are setting up my retiring desktop as a kids station. Limiting it down to a couple of programs and PBS.org. @jdnorthwest
With Laptop and internet we can update ourselves with the latest health updates and could knew about the different diseases.
My daughter is starting a new school that is virtual! She’s going into 6th grade. I’m not really sure how to get ready for this! 🙂
My son is in 7th grade this year and they are being allowed to use notebooks and other electronic devices during class. I think he is excited about this…school no longer seems as boring. lol
Thanks for the party. See you there. @zebastyandylan
@babypyo I’ll try to join but I’ll be driving & tweeting ^*^
Unfortunately their is no getting it ready. Keys are missing, it still runs windows xp, its slow even after a reformat. So it looks like either I win one or Ill be buying a new one.
Party sounds fun!! see you there @msbcarver
: ( My first comment is showing up. I am trying to rsvp and say we get computers ready by defragging, clearing cookies and temp files, removing unwanted excess documents, photos, music, videos, and if running poorly take in for check up
RSVP – clearing out excess pictures, moving to cd, updating contacts
we are still shopping for the required laptops for school- yep prepping by defragging. will be there mom4everever
Trying to get all of the unused programs off and running a full virus scan!
@kevinbe1
All we have is one desktop and have been on the market for a laptop for my daughter so this party will be great for us!
Our desktop computer at home (the ones my kids use for schoolwork) crashed over the summer so we are looking into repair options and doing research in the event we need to purchase a new one. This party will be really helpful!
@WinneratLife
Well, I am looking at getting a new monitor for our desktop to use for school, and I always run anti virust and spyware to keep my computer running at its best. @vloky
making sure all virus and spyware are up to date. @sunrae17
I just bought a new battery for my laptop and have been transferring my millions of pictures to an external drive! – @mamasarahjane
I actually just saved a lot of older files (mostly photos) to flash drives so that I can free up some space on the hard drive for new files. @huppiemama
I’m getting my computer ready for back to school by downloading Office 2010!
@livelovelynn
RSVP @xstitchschool
I am getting my laptop back to school ready by defragging the hard drive and backing up all my pictures and documents onto my external hard drive
Can’t wait, this is so exciting, I need a new computer, my laptop is kinda old and It gets slow, so it would really be a blessing. Thank you @sexyknickers68_ Paula C.
Upgrading the memory on my computer! RSVP @yourpotofgold
rsvp @bobisyellow cleaning up old files
rsvp @spursaggies
i’m getting my computer ready for school by getting rid of any useless stuff that’s on it! and also getting all the necessary updates to make it function faster! thanks for the chance to win!
Hi! I need to transfer pics of my family from my poor little netbook to a usb so that I can have room to download playrific for my little guys!!! Thanks for the party, so fun!!! 😀 @VectoringMomma
I’ve been letting my computer’s battery die in hopes of getting a little more life out of it. (I always leave it plugged in normally.)
@lilac_the_bunny
I usually get my computer ready for back to school by organizing my files/documents into folders and updating my anti-virus.
RSVP @sarahsparks79
I’ve put parental controls on both of the laptops. So when the kids want to use them, they can without me worrying over what sites they are visiting!
One pc here, 3 kids, hubby and I to fight over it! Trying to get everything off there that we don’t absolutely need before school starts, hope it makes things faster!
I am clearing off programs that we no longer use, organzing pix, videos, and ebooks from summer, and trying to speed this laptop up for all the work it will be doing once everyone is back at school!!
jjudy04 at hotmail dot com
@jjudy04
I’ve been transferring all of the pictures I took during our summer events to CD to save hard disk space!
kjmaje(at)gmail(dot)com
Twitter Handle: @kjmaje
Parental controls on all the laptops for my tween!
rsvp for the party! @zippy573
cleaning out the hard drive and getting a word program.. also updating the security system. updating parental controls.. research tends to bring up unwanted garbage.
zippy573 AT netscape DOT net
weathermomma- i’m making sure to have he right software and virus protection
We are getting the computer ready for school by updating our software.
already setting up schedules for the kids and mom who can use pc when! updating virus protection and more!
Am followin you on twitter…but in and out of twitter jail! Not LOL!
Cathy B
@projecthope7
I’ll be making sure that my computer is running in tip top condition before school starts. Defrag the hdd, updates to the OS and what not. @nodoubtpunk
I redid my virus protection and took the laptop in for a checkup at Staples–can’t wait for the new school year now!
We are working on reimaging an old computer to let the oldest child use it.
Also finding some type of nanny ware
@trisha71478
I’m finally in the market for a new computer. Looking at desktops notebooks netbooks and iPads. Hope to make a decision looking forward to learning more about The HP pavilion laptop.