Payton Wilmott, Outlook Youth Writer

Are you ready? Do you really think you are ready for that long, hard and painful thing we call back to school? My aunt usually said to me, "Yu free paper dun next week youth - back to slave labour for you, ha ha ha."

You may think that you're ready for the rest of the school year, but there are still certain items that students and parents fail to take into consideration when shopping for back to school. These are the most needed gadgets for school:

Flash drive

Diskettes are outdated and they fail you when you most need them. Every year I have seen students fall victims to diskettes that just stop working at the end of their SBA (School Base Assessment). The benefits of having a flash drive are countless. A flash drive is highly durable compared to a diskette, an average flash drive has way more storage space than 31/2-inch floppy disk. Also, most flash drives can double as an MP3 player that is great for those long study periods.

Digital tape recorder

Maxi Disc mp4 player - Contributed photo

There will come a time when you are in a class and you just can't keep up with the lecturer, and you need to slow things down a bit. Hence the need for a digital tape recorder. Just record the lesson being taught and play it back when it's most convenient. The Maxi Disc mp4 player has a decent voice recorder that can record for hours, depending on its storage capacity. The clarity of the sound it reproduces is exceptional. Did I mention that the Maxi Disc mp4 player could be used as a flash drive as well?

Laptops

Most laptops are expensive, but are still an essential item for students who are always on the move. We all know that most assignments are not done at home; they are either done on the way to school or at the school just before the time to hand them in. With this in mind a laptop would help ease the tension of everyday school hassle. There is a range of laptops on the Jamaican market, from Acer to the most common Compaq Presario Notebooks.

Desktop Computers

Yes, there is a cheaper solution than purchasing a laptop, and that is purchasing a desktop computer. A desktop computer will definitely get the job done if you cannot afford to purchase a laptop.

Computer desk

OK, if you are going to purchase a desktop computer you will definitely need one of these. I don't think that you want your brand new computer to be sitting on your dinning table, beside your lunch or dinner. It is certainly for the best if you get a computer desk to organise your study area.

Computer software

There are a lot software out there to help you when you have assignments to be completed, and also when you have research to be done. I certainly can't list them all but I will definitely tell which two you should have on your personal computer. One is Microsoft Office 2007, the most recent version of Microsoft's productivity suite. It is an upgrade if you need to make sleeker-looking documents and presentations to share with others, and Outlook is better than ever. My second recommendation is Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007, which is a well-designed reference tool that's especially friendly for young learners. Encarta offers some 68,000 articles, only two-thirds the amount within Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007, but to support interactive learning, Encarta's pictures, videos, and audio files are more easily accessible.

All the products I have mentioned above are great long-term investments for both students and parents alike. You will need to purchase at least four of the items mentioned above if you take your education seriously and want to get the most out of school.