Do not use more computers than necessary

Back-to-school shopping lists are usually straightforward. Children from kindergarten through 12th grade are told that they need a certain type of pen, a certain brand of paper, what color highlighter, and so on, usually in great detail.

For technology, however, these details are less specific. We asked for help Christian Johnson (Computer Network Administrator ’14, Finance ’16). Johnson runs Tech-to-Go, a computer service that does everything from consultations to repairs to building machines from scratch.

Here are his back-to-school recommendations for those looking to give kids exactly the technology they need.

Stick to laptops

Johnson prefers Windows laptops to Chromebooks, seeing them as more versatile but still capable of supporting tools like Google Classroom, which is widely used in schools.

Four or five hundred dollars would be needed, he adds, for a machine manufactured by Asus or Lenovo. “Those are the top brands that I generally recommend to clients,” says Johnson.

He likes their longevity and durability, especially the Lenovo. “If it falls out, you don’t have to worry about the thing falling apart.”

Don’t bother with features

For that price, Johnson reckons you’ll be getting a machine with features like a decent camera and a processor that supports video conferencing.

“Even if you’re spending a ton of money, laptops generally don’t come in very well [built-in] webcams anyway,” he says.

A tablet will do

While Johnson still favors laptops, he’s good at using what’s on hand. If parents already have an iPad at home, “[kids] could totally get away with word processing, video calling and web browsing on the iPad. No problem.”

Skip the warranty

When shopping at a grocery store, don’t let the cashier upsell you, Johnson says. For a cheap machine, buying an extended warranty package probably won’t be worth it.

“Personally, I don’t even choose them with expensive products.” Sure, he can fix things himself, but he’s still confident that any repairs would cost less than that upfront warranty.

Don’t forget the fun

Please note that children will need some time. In moderation, lower machines can handle it.

“They should have no problem playing their Minecraft. [That’s] quite a little demanding game in terms of hardware [needed] to play.”