Being in college means bearing the weight of a lot of responsibility. As a college student, it is important that you make the best use of all your resources, and that means taking advantage of all those neat gadgets technology has made available to you. Here are five personal tech gadgets you should be using:

Smartphone. These must-have gadgets are no longer just for making calls. When loading with the right apps, they can do everything from reminding you when your next project is due to helping you source and research your final term paper.

eBook Reader. There are a variety of these gadgets on the market, and the one you choose will depend on how much money you want to spend and what types of features you want most. An ebook reader is the perfect alternative to lugging all of those thick college textbooks around. It is also worth noting that it is often much cheaper to rent an ebook version of a college textbook than it is to purchase or rent the paper version. For the ones you can’t get in digital form, try Slugbooks for lower prices.

Webcam. You might be surprised to learn of the multitude of uses you will get out of your webcam–much more, that is, than hanging out with your friends in chat rooms. There might be times when you need to “meet” with a tutor, form a study group, or ask for an opinion on a project you are working on, even when you can’t travel to meet up face to face. In these cases, your web cam is the perfect tool for helping you accomplish collaborative tasks from the comfort of your dorm room.

Voice recorder. This may mean anything from a handheld recorder to the more modern (and high-tech) Apple iTalk. The point is that you are able to record your professor’s lectures and then play them back, and perhaps even upload them to your computer for future reference and sharing.

Tablet. It’s not always practical (or easy) to bring you laptop with you. A small, highly portable tablet is the perfect solution for everything from taking class notes to networking with your classmates on social media. The great thing is that, these days, you can get a tablet that will do everything you need for just a few hundred bucks.

If you are a college student, then you simply cannot afford to not make use of all of the conveniences provided for by technology. Check out these great personal tech gadgets to make the most out of your time in college, and to save your sanity in the process.