10 Essentials for Online School Nobody Told You About
By: Celine Vazquez ‘24
As college students, we don’t get those organized back-to-school supplies lists anymore. We often look to the internet or asks friends to see what we need. However, with this semester being a new experience for everybody, it can be hard to find what materials are best to have a successful virtual semester! Luckily, I’m here to help! Here are 10 things I found extremely useful during USC’s 2020 Fall Semester.
1) iPad and Apple Pencil
I started this semester with 5 notebooks, dried out pens, and dying highlighters. After my first month taking chemistry and math online, I found it to be an extreme hassle writing solutions by hand, and then taking the extra time to scan them individually and upload to Blackboard. Luckily, my friend told me to look into getting an iPad! I ended up splurging and buying both the iPad and its corresponding Apple Pencil. My life has been forever changed, and I am now 100% paper-free. It’s so easy to write on PDFs your professor provides, and uploading homework directly from my device has lowered my stress levels during quizzes and exams. I strongly encourage you all to invest in an iPad - I couldn’t recommend it more! Need more convincing? Watch this video!
2) GoodNotes
If you already have an iPad and Apple Pencil and are looking for note taking apps, let me introduce you to GoodNotes! In this app, you can create folders for each of your classes, and even assign notebooks for each subject! There are awesome tools, such as pastel highlighters and pen colors, as well as a looping effect that lets you copy and paste anything your write! The best feature of this app is being able to import any documents into its interface, which is super helpful for worksheets, class PDF notes, etc. You can also make your notes super aesthetic, which is a huge bonus in my book!
3) Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a GOD SEND. It is incredibly difficult to keep track of Zoom classes, club meetings, and when assignments are due. Luckily, Google Calendar helps you keep track of alllll of that. I synched my Google Calendar to my USC Schedule, which is super helpful! For every event that I put on my calendar, I set notifications so it reminds me that an event is happening/something is due 1 hour before it happens. This keeps me on top of my meeting times for sure! I highly recommend not only setting this up on your computer, but also downloading the app on your phone.
4) Blue Light Glasses
With online school comes so. many. SCREENS. It can get tiring just staring into the void that is the internet! I don’t about you guys, but ever since online school started my eyes have felt extremely tired. Luckily, Blue Light glasses are here to help! If you have prescription glasses, you could ask for them to apply this tint. If you want a cheaper option, you can just buy these Blue Light glasses from Amazon! My sister bought some this year, and she said they definitely ease some of that eye strain. Best part? they are only $16 for a pack of 3!
5) Desk Lamp with Outlets
During Zoom classes I’m constantly needing to charge my iPad, laptop, and phone all simultaneously. At first this was impossible because I only had one outlet next to my desk. Luckily, this Target lamp literally saved my life. You just plug it into your outlet, and then the lamp itself has two USB outlets and two regular outlets, allowing me to charge four things at once! It also has organizing compartments to put sticky notes and any other miscellaneous items. Lastly, it’s also a great lamp to light up your late-night study sessions! I HIGHLY recommend getting this lamp - and it only costs $16!
6) Reusable Water Bottle
I know it may seem weird having a water bottle when you aren’t out and about on campus, but trust me, it’s essential! It doesn’t matter which brand you get, as long as it’s reusable! You’re going to need to stay hydrated throughout the long online school day, and you definitely don’t want to be using plastic water bottles (they aren’t environmentally friendly). Getting yourself a reusable water bottle will help you stay hydrated and energized throughout the long work day, and will also be helping the environment out a little each day!
7) Laptop Camera Cover
When I’m in large lecture classes that don’t require having cameras on for Zoom, I sometimes panic that my camera accidentally turned on! To avoid this unnecessary anxiety, I just bought myself a laptop camera cover! I found this to be so much better than a sticker, because when you do have your camera on in smaller lecture classes, the sticker can leave a sticky residue that makes your video look fuzzy. I’ll link the shutter camera covers here - they are extremely useful, and super cheap ($4 for a six pack)!
8) GroupMe
Connecting with your classmates, especially in this digital school year, is extremely important! Creating group chats through iMessage can become complicated because not everybody has an iPhone, and groups can only be so large. GroupMe is used a lot by USC students because it allows you to create huge group chats with any phone type! I’m currently in a GroupMe for every single one of my classes, and they’ve honestly been so helpful .
9) Flipd
If you’re like me, you’ve probably been struggling with time management this semester. Luckily, Flipd is an app that exists. It has saved my life countless times. It’s basically like a free version of Forest! You set an allotted time that you want to work, and it locks all of your apps so you don’t get distracted! You can also create study groups and invite your friends, where you compete to see who has the most time spent doing tasks! It’s just a great app that fosters productivity, and it’s really helped me get through the semester. Bonus: the app has music playlists, including Lo-fi Study Vibes!
10) FOOD
This is the most important thing you need for online school. How can you possibly complete tasks without fueling your body? Answer: you can’t! Make sure you eat throughout the day, and take that extra time to take care of yourself! I know online school can get crazy, but don’t let that get in the way of taking the time to address your personal needs.
I hope this list was helpful! Online school can be a struggle, but having these things by my side has made my Zoom University experience much easier! Good luck during finals week Trojans - we’re almost there!
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