by S. G. Harsha

Created on: April 14, 2009

The bell has rung, school has begun, and so has the 21st century. The ubiquitous pencil and paper will have to move over and share some glory as the most useful school tools with newer digital supplies. What's invading your school supply book and student wish lists? Here are 10 digital supplies, five for the student and five for the school, helping to push our education system into a higher tech learning institution.

For the digital minded 21st century geared student, here are some wonderful items you may want to get your hands on.

Number one on the list is computers and the Internet. For almost any age student, the combination of a computer and the Internet is a powerful tool. With proper guidance and instruction, the computer and Internet may be the most important supply of the 21st century. Computers are so important that the non-profit group O.L.P.C. has made it their mission to provide one laptop per child living in poor countries.

How about an Internet notebook computer for 50 dollars? Many Internet providers are now offering service similar to cell phone companies. Sign up for Internet service and get an Internet notebook for less than an I-phone! If you haven't seen these offers at your local electronics store yet, you will soon!

Number two on the list is digital textbooks. For college students or private school students, this handy supply can be a boon! They are infinitely lighter than textbooks to carry around via a pocket computer, palm device or perhaps even your I-phone, but with the money saved on purchase, it is also lighter on the wallet. For K through 12 grades, digital textbooks may take a while in coming as most schools supply the students with the textbooks they need.

You can purchase digital textbooks online from well-known sellers such as Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com or from specialty sites like Digitaltextbooks.com. Once downloaded, you can transfer them to your favorite digital book-capable hand held device (Internet notebook comes to mind.)

Number three is the digital recorder. Gone are the days of clumsy tape recorders and sifting through cassettes to find that lecture, interview or memo you need. New digital recorders can record hours to hundreds of hours of audio in easy to manage digital files such as MP3 or OGG. Audio quality is many times higher than those old tapes and the devices can be as small as a lighter.

Digital recorders come in many shapes, sizes and capabilities. Ask at your local electronics store or search for them online.

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