The tech savvy summer: five tips to make the most of connected technology

If there’s one thing on which we’d all like to be able to rely but simply can’t, it’s the great British weather.

While the thought of long, sunny summer days may fill us with optimism, most of us are too battle-hardened to take that thought with anything more than a small pinch of salt.

And so, if the thought of passing those unpredictable days leaves you in a panic, especially if you’ve got children to entertain, here are five tips for using connected technology to make the summer fun regardless of the weather.

1) A virtual tour

Whether it’s an iffy forecast, too far to travel, you don’t have a full day to spare, or you just feel more comfortable doing it from home, a growing number of tourist attractions are now making themselves available to online visitors.

From virtual museum tours, like this Museum of London Victorian Walk to spying the animals at London Zoo, there’s something online for everyone to enjoy.

We’ve covered Chester Zoo’s Virtual Zoo before, but it’s worth another mention, and there’s plenty more on offer at the end of a Google search, so why not take a look and plan out some virtual days in advance (just remember that you’ll need to provide lunch!).

2) Get a hot spot

If you’re camping or caravanning this summer, you’re probably looking forward to enjoying the great outdoors. But for those evenings and rainy days you might not be looking forward so much to the annual Monopoly marathon.

If you’d rather open up the laptop and enjoy a bit of Netflix or FaceTime with the family, a WiFi hotspot could be just the trick. All it takes is a hotspot device and a spare 4G or 5G SIM and you’ll soon be enjoying wireless connections for all your devices.

3) The ultimate selfie stick

No, we’re not talking about sticking your phone on the end of one of those plastic, extendable poles. This is something altogether better.

If you’re unfamiliar with gimbals, they’re those clever motorised mechanical handles for your phones or cameras that allow you to take super smooth photos and videos, perfect for sharing with friends and loved ones when you’re back from your trip.

While they’re not connected technology in their own right, they can help you make the most of your phone camera for video logs, sweeping panoramas, action shots or any other fun moments you want to capture.

4) Make learning fun

Whether you’re looking after children and want to make their summer holidays a little more productive, or you’re just looking to hone your own skills or knowledge, there are plenty of online resources to make learning fun.

For history buffs, science nerds, language lovers, or students of any subject in between there are literally hundreds of free courses from the Open University to help make learning a lifelong pursuit.

For the kids, there’s history, coding and much, much more just a click away.

5) Make the most of your home broadband

If you’ve got rock solid broadband from Zen, the summer provides an ideal time to make the most of your connection.

Whether you’re streaming movies for the family on Disney Plus or listening to summer soundtracks on Spotify, it’s time to make the most of your home broadband.

There’s nothing quite like getting outdoors over the summer months, but when that’s not possible it’s nice to have something to keep everyone entertained when you’re stuck indoors.