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Article
On the Move
2/17/2005
Take a Loan
Technologists took a similar approach at Alvin Community College (TX) in 2003, only did so on a much smaller scale. There, instead of buying a laptop for each of the college’s 4,000 students, officials at the campus library bought five Dell Latitude C610 laptops, and immediately set up a loaner program. Today, the program is designed for “emergency” checkout, enabling students to sign up for a computer whenever they need a mobile computing solution that their personal computers can’t provide. Each of the laptops is equipped with Microsoft Office software pack, providing all of the applications a student could possibly need.Unlike other loaner programs that limit notebook use to within a campus library, Alvin students can borrow the computers for up to one week, and are allowed to take the laptops anywhere, on campus or off. To cover insurance, students must pay a $10 fee at checkout – a minimal surcharge, considering it is the only cost students must incur to use the equipment. Laura Castillo, assistant library director, says the program has worked wonders, giving students a mobility option that many of them could not afford previously. She adds that frequently her staff will use one of the laptops, and that the program has been so successful among students that the school is planning to order another five Dell laptops for the program later this year.
“We’ve uncovered something really wonderful with this program,” says Castillo. “For a community college, helping students like this g'es a long way.”
In Their Hands
Laptop-only solutions are one way of tackling the issue of mobility; as officials at Bentley College (MA) can attest, handheld devices are another option that works just as well. The Bentley solution began in the fall of 2004, when Senior Lecturer Mark Frydenberg set out to find a way to spice up his “Introduction to Technology” course in the school’s Computer Information Systems Department. After investigating a number of options, Frydenberg decided he wanted to build his class around handheld solutions, and Frydenberg settled on the Dell Axim for $250 apiece. He was so excited about the purchase that he convinced Bentley officials to chip in $50 per student, bringing the overall cost for students down to a manageable $200.
To help students cover the cost of the devices, Frydenberg eliminated all textbooks for the course and made the Axim the only required class “supply.” He then integrated the Axim devices into the class in a variety of ways. First, Frydenberg connected his handheld to a projector to teach interactive lessons. Then he required students to create Web logs (blogs) formatted for their devices, and taught them how to work in Microsoft Pocket Excel and how to program Visual Basic.Net for Mobile Applications. Toward the end of the semester, Frydenberg asked students to hit the streets of Boston and survey people on various questions, then record responses directly onto their handhelds—a project that went over smashingly with students who were accustomed to assignments that weren’t nearly as interactive.
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