The progression of classroom technology has accelerated since the turn of the century. In the early 2000s, the overhead projector was a popular way for teachers to project their notes onto a whiteboard. Now, technology is finding all sorts of ways to help assist kids in the quest for knowledge. Here are a few popular ways teachers are using technology.

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Microsoft PowerPoint
Although it’s a relatively old software, Microsoft PowerPoint is an extremely effective way to present a creative and fun lesson. While some teachers use it just to display text in black and white font, other teachers are utilizing its animations and pictures to help make learning fun. From Kindergarten to grad school, teachers and professors love using PowerPoint to assist their lessons and lectures.

Electronic Whiteboard
An electronic whiteboard (or interactive whiteboard) is an interactive computer display that allows people to control its functions using a finger, stylus, or marker. On some models, there are different markers that correspond with different colors, and you can use these to write notes or draw pictures. Plus, you can run software such as Microsoft Powerpoint and display websites on the electronic whiteboard.

Keyboarding
Keyboarding is a skill that is extremely marketable. Good typing skills are an important way to ensure you are completing assignments at maximum efficiency. This skill translates well to higher education, especially in fast pace lectures. Effective note taking is imperative to excelling in the collegiate and post-graduate learning environments.

Educational Podcasts
Podcasts provide an excellent way for teachers to present educational material. Simply googling “educational podcasts” will reveal a plethora of useful material that can be implemented in the classroom. NPR and TED Talks are two popular educational podcasts that can provide a lot of good insight on certain disciplines. The list doesn’t stop there; several other podcasts exist that can help assist nearly any curriculum.

Webquest
Sending students on webquests involves them searching the web for certain materials. This will help build the foundation for their researching and Internet skills. For example, you could assign the students as museum curators, and have them research information on dinosaurs. This will give them a brief taste of Internet research.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch)
It seems like all the cool kids and their mothers have this laptop. Besides being sleek and living on the more expensive side of the laptop spectrum (starting price $999), what gives? As the name suggests, it’s extremely light (just under three pounds) which is great to carry around campus without feeling weighed down. It also has an astoundingly long battery life of 17.5 hours, so you can feel at ease if you forget to bring your charger. This would be the perfect laptop for the English and History majors out there writing their way into Fulbright Scholarships.

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Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series
On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the reliable Dell Inspiron. This laptop is geared towards those who like to keep things simple and practical. It has 6GB of memory (2GB more than the MacBook), a sturdy amount of battery life (8 hours, 44 minutes) and doesn’t have a million features to keep up with. With a budget-friendly $299 starting price, it’s hard to argue against it. Those who are looking into majors that require multimedia projects can be rest assured that this laptop can handle your workload even when you’re at your wit’s end with deadlines.

Acer Aspire R 14
If you’ve never heard of a convertible-hybrid laptop before, get ready to have your mind blown. The Acer laptop works both as a laptop and as a tablet by simply folding the keyboard back and facing it down. It includes a beautifully large touchscreen with strong, built-in speakers that adjust according to whether you’re in laptop or tablet mode. At the same starting price as a Dell, double the memory of a Macbook (8GB), and 9.5 hours of battery life, Acer is out to slay your assignments and impress your friends during movie nights in your dorm room.

Whichever laptop you decide on, make sure to protect it with PSafe Total Windows. With its unbeatable protection, PSafe will keep your computer virus-free and working as fast as possible.

Evernote can serve as your go-to app for all organizational tasks. It allows you to take notes in various formats, including text, photo, audio, video, sketches, and web clippings. Evernote is perfect for creating to-do lists to keep track of everyday activities or your many tasks at work. It also allows you to seamlessly share your ideas with others, which is perfect for working environments.

You can create a presentation and then immediately share it with your colleagues for collaboration. Students can make use of Evernote as well, as it’s ideal for annotating drafts, taking notes, and sharing ideas with peers. Evernote also offers an extension for your desktop.

2. Google Calendar

The Google Calendar app saves you time by automatically adding events in your Gmail account, such as restaurant reservations and concerts, to a calendar on your phone. It also collaborates with any other calendars on your phone so that all of your events are saved in once spot. If you have any daily or weekly goals, you can prompt Google Calendar to automatically schedule them.

3. MyLifeOrganized

Another versatile app, MyLifeOrganized is perfect for organizing both work tasks and everyday activities. When you enter a task, MyLifeOrganized lets you divide it into branches and focus on each one separately if you desire. It allows you to flag priority tasks and sends you reminders when due dates or events are set to arrive.

4. Google Keep

Google Keep captures your ideas and saves them for later or shares them with friends and family, depending on your preference. Perhaps one of Google Keep’s most interesting features is that it lets you set reminders based on location. That is, if you need to remember to buy toothpaste at the nearby pharmacy, your phone will send you a notification when you walk by it.

5. Tripit

This app gets more specific — it’s designed to manage all of your travel details. Tripit takes all of your travel plans, like hotel reservations, flight reservations, and daily sightseeing itinerary and merges it into one schedule, ensuring that your trip runs smoothly. For the avid traveler, Tripit is a necessity.

6. Planner Pro-Personal Organizer

Planner Pro-Personal Organizer allows you to easily keep track of events and create projects with up to 25 priorities. The app also provides a unique system through which you can mark tasks with five different statuses that denote your progress.