Regardless of whether or not you are getting ready to go back to school yourself or just need to make sure that your student is completely prepared for the rigors and challenges of school today, you’ll want to make sure that you have invested in the highest quality and most important gizmos and gadgets of 2016 to help make learning as easy as possible – especially considering just how important education is today!

Make no mistake about it – we live in the middle of the most competitive world that’s ever existed. On top of that, our world and our educational requirements for success are changing on an almost daily basis. Without the best gizmos and gadgets at your disposal to make learning as easy and as effortless as possible (while improving your study and retention results) you’re going to be at a significant is advantage to those that load up on these educational tools.

To help you make the most of your time spent studying we’ve put together this quick list of the 12 “must-have” back-to-school gadgets for 2016.

Let’s dive right in!

Neo Smartpen N2 (Titan Black) for IOS and Android Smartphones and Tablets

One of the coolest gadgets to be unveiled in recent years, this particular “smart pen” is going to make taking notes – and then reviewing those notes later down the line – absolutely effortless thanks to its digitization technology.

Everything you write on paper is going to be digitally forwarded to your Android or iOS device are those notes can then be added to any one of your favorite notetaking applications (or put into their own documents) for easy searching and review.

Find it here.

Case Logic DLBP-114 14-Inch Laptop Backpack Bag

You are going to need a quality backpack designed specifically to carry all of your gadgets and gizmos these days, and it doesn’t get much better than this one.

Engineered from the ground up specifically to accommodate high quality laptops, smartphones, tablets, and all kinds of other electronics safely and securely, this backpack comes with a bunch of different compartments that allow you to effortlessly organize your bag while protecting all of your stuff along the way.

It sure doesn’t help that it’s also one of the best looking backpacks around!

Find it here.

Kensington Combination Ultra Cable Lock for Laptops and Other Devices

If you are going to be spending a considerable amount of money on high tech gadgets and gizmos to help you learn the odds are pretty good that you’ll want to do everything in your power to protect those investments in your education – and that means that you secure them the best you can. This lock is designed not only to help you secure your laptops or your devices physically, but also to protect access to those devices as well.

Not only will you never again have to worry about losing the physical devices, but you’ll also never have to worry about someone packing or cracking into your computer or your mobile device, either.

Find it here.

Texas Instruments Nspire CX CAS Graphing Calculator

When it comes to the gold standard of graphing calculators nobody does it better than the folks at Texas Instruments.

Sure, there are all kinds of applications out there designed to mimic the capabilities of the high quality graphing calculators out of Texas Instruments, but so far none of them (including the ones from TI themselves) have been able to replace all the capabilities that these amazing machines bring to the table.

This specific graphing calculator is one of their highest end options, and only is it going to make your life as a student a lot easier, it’s also likely that this graphing telecommuter will be of tremendous help to you as you transition into the professional world.

One of the few TI calculators designed with a full touchscreen, color display, and the ability to graft and rotate 3-D functions, this is a life flagship model designed for serious students that need the capabilities of a groundbreaking graphing calculator.

STEM students are going to want to add this to their educational arsenal ASAP!

Find it here.

Portable Charger RAVPower 16750 mAh External Battery Pack

There’s nothing worse than only getting half day or so proud of your mobile device, all because you were using it rather heavily during class to take notes or to do a little bit of quick research. Except for not having your charging cord or a power outlet on hand to get yourself back in action, that is!

Thankfully though, with this external battery pack, you won’t ever have to worry about a dead battery ever again.

Instead, you’re going to be able to charge this battery pack up alongside your mobile device and then keep it on your person to provide up to six full charges of juice to your device when you’re running low out on the go.

This is an absolute must-have for serious students (though pretty much everyone could benefit from keeping one of these external battery packs on hand at all times).

Find it here.

Philips 456202 Hue White & Color Ambiance A19 Extension Bulb

Believe it or not, there has been a considerable amount of research conducted to determine whether or not the colors that we see a while studying or researching have any impact whatsoever on our retention or ability to learn – and the results are pretty exciting!

It turns out that the way our environment is lit does in fact have a powerful impact on our cognitive abilities. The lights we see and the colors of those lights allow us to focus completely or distract us more than most anything else, and that’s why it’s so advantageous to have complete and total control over your lights at all times.

These bulbs from Phillips have the ability to shine brightly with 16 million different colors, giving you (right from your smart phone or mobile device) complete control to pick your shade and its intensity without any headache or hassle.

These bulbs can even be programmed to gently wake you up whenever you need to get up in the morning (essentially acting as your own personal sunrise)!

Find it here.

Infinilla Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Everybody knows that studying becomes a lot easier when you’re able to rock out to your favorite tunes, but trying to pump your favorite song out of your smart phone usually isn’t going to produce the kind of learning environment you’re after.

Sure, you might go with your bud headphones when you want to rock out, but the truth of the matter is those headphones are ridiculously uncomfortable after a while – and they may be pretty destructive to your hearing if you have them plugged in too often.

These waterproof and portable Bluetooth speakers solve all your problems. Offering 36 hours of playback on a lightning fast charge, you’ll be able to bring these portable speakers anywhere you’d like and have them pump out ridiculously high quality sound whenever you’d like.

Find it here.

Epson WorkForce WF-100 Wireless Mobile Printer

Most people just don’t have room for a full-blown printer in their dorm or on their desk, and that’s why this amazing wireless mobile printer from Epson is so advantageous.

You can charge it via USB (or plug it into the wall) and print from all of your mobile devices or your desktop, all without any headache or hassle whatsoever. Connecting to this mobile printer couldn’t be easier, and it’s a no-brainer purchase for serious students.

Find it here.

Safemore Smart 8-Outlet with 4-USB Output Power Strip

Because you are going to need quite a bit of juice to run all of your gizmos and gadgets these days – especially as a student with all kinds of technology running at the same time – you’ll want to invest in a high quality “power strip” like this one.

Not only will you be able to plug eight different power cords into the unit safely, but you’ll also be able to charge for different USB devices at the same time as well.

No more jockeying different cords around and trying to remember what’s plugged in at any one particular time anymore!

Find it here.

Silicon Power 1TB  Shockproof / Water-Resistant Portable External Hard Drive

The overwhelming majority in of students are going to have super portable laptops, ultrabooks, hybrid devices, and netbooks as their computer when they are off to school, mostly because of how valuable portability is when you have to lug that device all over the place.

But all of that portability means that sacrifices have to be made in different areas, and the odds are pretty good that you aren’t going to have all of the storage you need when you go with one of these compact devices.

Portable external hard drives fill that need perfectly, but you’ll want one that can take a licking and keep on ticking without ever compromising your data should something bad happen. This is exactly that kind of external hard drive, the kind of durable external hard drive you need to have on hand as a student (especially if you are accident prone)!

Find it here.

Apricorn Aegis Secure 32 GB Encrypted Flash Drive

Sensitive information and data needs to be protected in our digital world, and digital data protection just doesn’t get any more secure than this.

Designed to take advantage of 256 bit encryption (some of the strongest encryption in the world, and the same kind of encryption government agencies used to protect top secrets today), this 32 GB flash drive also has a numbered keypad for increased security to boot.

You’ll want to keep all of your important papers and research on this 32 GB encrypted flash drive, but anything else you want to keep private should go on this drive as well!

Find it here.

Pebble Time Steel Smartwatch for Apple/Android Devices

Smart watches are gaining a lot of traction these days, and this specific smart watch was one of the first few to hit the market (releasing even before Apple dropped their own). Designed to offer you a myriad of capabilities that newer smart watches still haven’t even thought to release, you’ll find yourself relying on this smart watch more and more frequently throughout your day once you strap it to your wrist.

Students are going to love this smart watch thanks to its ability to help you more effectively juggle your day (by interfacing with your calendar), but also because it lets you check your texts – and reply – without having to pull your smart phone out during class!

Find it here.

At the end of the day, you really can’t go wrong with any of the 12 gizmos or gadgets perfect for students in 2016 that we have highlighted for you above.