Safety Tips for Community College Students Who Bring Laptops to Class

by A Guest Author

It is a rare college student nowadays who brings lined paper and a number-2 pencil to class intent on taking down every word their instructors spout.

Even a couple of generations ago students were bringing mini cassette recorders to class so that they could recall the finer points of a lecture without having to cramp their writing hand in the process.

But thanks to advancing technology, there are far better options these days.

And most students can be seen furiously typing away on their laptops and tablets in nearly every college classroom.

Some have even turned it into a business by taking notes and selling them to classmates.

But if you're going to bring this pricy piece of equipment to campus you want to make sure it comes home with you safe and sound, not only because of the cost to replace it, but because it virtually holds the keys to your future (storing notes and papers for every class).

So here are just a few tips to protect your laptop.

Do Not Leave It Unattended!

The first thing you'll want to do is keep it with you at all times.

You might think it's okay to leave it sitting unattended in class while you run to the restroom or set it down in the hallway while you peruse the wares at the vending machines, but any time you let your laptop out of your sight it's an opportunity for some unscrupulous party to walk away with it.

So you need to exercise a measure of personal responsibility by making sure you've got your eye on your property at all times.

This goes double for leaving it sitting in plain sight in your car since a person willing to break into your car to steal a laptop will likely have no moral issues with damaging your vehicle in the process (costing you more than just the price of replacing your electronics).

At Least Put Your Name On It...

If you're prone to forgetting things, you might want to put a label on each individual piece of property with contact information.

That way if a teacher or an honest student finds it they can call you instead of relying on the lost and found.

You should also make sure to password protect your laptop; this way it cannot be accessed even if it is taken.

And on the off chance that a thief cracks your password, you should either encrypt files containing sensitive information (bills, credit card statements, or anything that contains personal data), or simply make sure that they aren't saved on your hard drive.

Get A Case?

Of course, losing your laptop may not be your only safety concern.

You might be worried about the potential for damage with the amount of shuttling around it gets.

For this reason it's probably a good idea to get a bag that features a padded pocket specifically for your laptop.

And if you carry around a lot of heavy books and you're prone to dropping your bag, you might even add a zippered case for extra padding.

A screen protector probably isn't a bad bet, either.

Finally, for your own piece of mind, you should think about springing for a backup battery, just in case you can't nab a seat by a power outlet.

This post was written by A Guest Author

This post was written by a guest author. If you have high quality, useful information to share with students, send us an email or click Write For Us to learn more. And in case you're wondering - yes, you can promote yourself in this fancy author byline.

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Doris Allen wants to do Make Up Courses October 8, 2012 at 5:49 am

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