Not everyone plans ahead for disaster, but when something bad happens they wish they had. You don’t need to have skills training from the Boy Scouts to “be prepared” for unexpected and unwelcome catastrophies and mishaps.
The disasters I’m envisioning revolve around technology and what you’re working on for your online classes. Things can go wrong so simply, such as a bad storm knocking out your power but you need to finish writing a paper for class, but you didn’t charge your laptop, can happen. Or you’re up late juggling work and a discussion board assignment and your computer crashes; then what can you do? Even a small slip-up of forgetting to bring battery back-up while you’re on vacation….just because you’re taking a break doesn’t mean the classes you’re taking can be put on hold.
Lifehacker.com proposes having a “tech backup” kit on-hand to prepare for technology related disasters.
- In this “kit” they suggest having chargers for all your devices. For example, bringing a laptop charger with you on vacation in case you’re in a place without outlets for some time.
- Next is external hard drives and flash drives; this would be more vital for people working on projects that consume a lot of memory and you need to transfer files to another machine quickly to continue working. A flash drive is easily transportable by pocket or key chain if your computer is down and a trip to the local library is in order to complete work for class.
- Your own wireless hotspot. A Mi-Fi, for example, is a stand alone devise which allows for multiple connections over Wi-Fi. But if you don’t have the money set aside for it make sure you have an emergency list of free wi-fi locations you can travel to to get online access quickly and easily.
- Wired keyboard and mouse. Even though bluetooth and wireless are the more desired avenue for collecting and sharing information, hardware-wise, it’s always a good idea to have “good, old-fashioned USB”. When you’re out of batteries for your wireless devices the old stand-by’s are a great alternative.
– By J. Mason
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