Student Technology Tips - Why Use an External Hard Drive For School
Ahh, the sound of school bells signals the blissful end of summer...and now those hellions can stop bugging you and get back to school. But along with the traditional pens and paper, most kids want laptops, digital music players and other expensive technological doo-dads.
But one "gadget" that is both practical, fun and affordable is the external hard disk. A long time favorite of busy business professionals and weary road warriors, the external drive is making big inroads into the home computer arena, especially for students.
What is an External Hard Drive?
An external drive is simply a regular computer hard drive that has been encased in a special metal enclosure with USB cables so that it can be connected to your desktop or laptop computer. Once hooked to a USB port, you can quickly and easily transfer massive amounts of data: documents, graphics, photographs, etc. from your standard computer to the external.
This the reason external devices became very popular for backup devices in business environments. But lovers of MP3s and digital photography also saw the potential of having "movable" storage devices and rapidly started filling theirs up with music, videos and graphic art files.
Why Should Your Student Use One?
As kids become more mobile, often traveling from home to school, to after school programs, to friends' homes before returning home; their school work (done on the family PC) can quickly become lost or corrupted. And while the dog didn't eat his homework, it's just as distressing for both child and parent to realize that someone accidentally deleted a student's 20 page book report!
With a external drive, all work can be both saved to and opened from the enclosed disk. No muss, no lost papers! If your student has shot a home made video they wish to show to their science class then it is a simple matter of unplugging the drive, taking it to school and returning it safely home.
How Tough is an External Hard Drive?
Kids are rough on things. They accidentally drop book bags and backpacks on hard, concrete surfaces or careless plop them onto the wet ground. So how will an external drive hold up? While being in a metal case prevents, direct contact with the hard drive, it is still very vulnerable to drops and falls while turned on. Teach your student how to care for their hard drive while it's running.
But once turned off, the hard drive can withstand a certain amount of abuse. But like all electronics, your external drive doesn't work well when exposed to moisture or water. So the best way I have found to provide a little extra padding for the case plus give it nice waterproof cover, it to invest in one of those soft-sided, insulated lunch bags you can get in most any department store.
The these lunch boxes are already waterproofed or at least water resistant, have nice roomy interiors large enough for most enclosures with space to spare to cables and power cords. They have soft padded sides which add another layer of protection for the drive. Plus as an added bonus, these bags are so common place, they don't signal "steal me!" like laptop cases do.
Now that you know a little bit more about external hard drives, you are ready to do some exploring on your own to find an drive that fits both your student's lifestyle and your budget.
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