Gadgets to Make Your School Day Smarter
With school now back in session and going full swing, these handy gadgets from Verizon Wireless will help both students and parents make their days easier and smarter.
GOOGLE HOME
Lets start with the Google Home. I love this thing and tested it out earlier this year which you can read about here.
Some features I did not mention in that post is what a handy homework helper it can be. Need to know the 16th President of the United States? How about the square root of 620? Ever wonder how many square feet are in an acre? Google knows all, just ask. The answers are Abraham Lincoln, 24.9 and 43,560. Unlike Siri, whom I have a love/hate relationship with and sometimes just says “Here is what I found on the web for….”, “Okay, check this out” or worst of all, “I don’t understand….” . I’ve found that the Google Home is a little better at giving me a straight forward answer.
The Google Home can also help you get ready for the day and help you know if you are going to need that jacket, by answering all your weather related questions. You can also tell it to set reminders on those extra circular activities and who needs picked up when to keep you on track and much more.
GIZMOGADGET
The next gadget that will make your school day smarter is the gizmogadget. This super cool watch is perfect for those kiddos who are to young for a phone but still need a way to communicate. Parents can set this watch up through the app and have constant communication.
This touch screen watch is simple to use and has quite a few features that are perfect for staying in touch without the cost of another phone line.
It can keep your kids safer since there is no access to the internet and no way to call or receive calls from strangers. The app allows parents to add what numbers the gizmogadget can call or receive calls from. It also works the same with the text messaging feature.
There is no keyboard on the gizmogadget so the child can send or respond to texts using the voice to text feature, the pre installed responses like, “I’m at school” or “I’m on my way” or respond from a selection of emoji’s.
Through the app you can get notifications of messages received and see the location of where the watch is through the GPS locator.
Not only is this handy to keep track of where your child is but can help find it if the watch gets lost. The watch also features an activity tracker, compass, timer and stopwatch.
TILE SLIM and TILE MATE
While the gizmogadget may have a GPS locator on it, many things do not including wallets, purses, backpacks, notebooks, etc…
I am notorious for losing things. As a matter of fact, I have currently lost the spare key to my car and just went to the dealership to have one made because it is only going to be a matter of time before I loose my original set and then I would not have a key at all!
Now, there is a solution to that with tile slim and tile mate, which I am wishing I had earlier to put on that key I am now missing! Earlier this week my husbands misplaced his wallet and having a tile would have helped locating it much quicker!
The Tile Mate has a key ring hole and The Tile Slim slips easily into a purses, backpacks, wallets, luggage, etc.. These handy little bluetooth enabled tiles help you find what is lost. Just pair them with your phone through the app and select what tile is going to track what item such as your purse, keys, wallet, backpack, notebooks etc…
Having these tiles paired with a variety of school supplies will definetly relieve the headache of looking for lost items during that early morning rush of getting out the door.
Here is how it works. If you have lost your wallet open the app and select wallet from the list of tiles paired. That tile will then chime which will lead you into the direction to where the item is you are trying to find.
What if you lose your phone? Well, you can pair a tile to find your phone. Just double press the tile you have paired with your phone and your phone will then ring to lead you into the direction if it’s whereabouts.
To keep you from losing both your tile and your phone check out the tile website for a variety of accessories and adhesives to keep track of all your paired tiles.
I seriously lose everything and need about 20 tiles of these to attach and pair to all my things. I often tell people that when I die instead of finding out the meaning of life, I want to know where everything I lost went. Not that all that stuff is important because almost everything can be replaced, it just drives me crazy to not know where it is or what happened to it. I guess it is just a pet peeve of mine.
There are quite a few other features and answers you can find out about on the tile FAQ page. This page includes information on the re-tile program which allows you swap out the tiles after the batteries have worn out, how two devices can share one tile, the tiles range, etc…
MOPHIE POWERSTATION XL
Although, the gadgets mentioned above are certainly helpful for making life easier and smarter they are all useless if their batteries are not charged! That is where the Mophie Power Station XL comes in handy. This portable charging device works as an external battery giving power to what ever device is in need of charging. With up to 48 hours of extra battery life and 2 charge ports it is sure to keep you and your devices up and running. No more being tied to an outlet as this portable charger about the size of a deck of cards can go with you wherever you are.
The best way to keep your Mophie Powerstation up and running is to plug it in nightly so it can be at its full potential to keep your devices charged all day long. It’s 2.1 high output charge can give 10+ hours of extra battery life to a large tablet, 14+ hours to small tablets and 48+ hours to smartphones.
For more information on these gadgets or to purchase one of your own visit the Verizon Wireless website.
Before I send these gadgets back, I wish to thank Verizon Wireless for allowing me to test these items out and need to disclose that although I will be compensated for this post, all opinions are my own.