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Features
Mobility
11/29/2005
24/7—global and mobile
At Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY), students are immersed in a 24/7 global learning environment. In an effort to boost the mobile learning environment, the college teamed with technology provider CDW-G to offer their students IBM ThinkPad laptop computers. Students are able to run instructional software, access course materials, obtain advising resources, access campus event information, use e-mail, and do research on the Internet from anywhere on campus.
Smart podia—the latest in mobile presentation technology
New York University is innovating through the school's "smart podia," a variety of pedestals that enable professors to access and utilize lecture materials from any folder on the campus network. The devices, which are set up only in certain classrooms, are essentially stationary networked computers equipped with all of the latest in presentation technology (e.g., projectors and other presentation tools). From them, professors and lecturers can log on to Web-based storage folders and access notes, PowerPoint slides, or other support materials. They can then control the flow of a presentation with the click of a button. Because the podia are connected to the campus network, they eliminate the need for users to lug laptops or notebooks to class. "[The podia] certainly make everyone's lives easier," says Marilyn McMillan, associate provost and chief Information Technology officer. "When it comes to mobility, having a certain number of worthwhile technologies g'es a long way." Read the article
Business students and a 'real world' BlackBerry program
College students are becoming less reliant on their desktop computers to check e-mail and use instant messaging, and now students at the University of Maryland have the opportunity for a unique mobile learning/communication experience at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. All full-time MBA students are outfitted with a BlackBerry 7510 wireless handheld device from Sprint. "Our students will be entering a business world where 24/7 communication is fast becoming the norm, and in some cases, is expected," says Cherie Scricca, associate dean for Master's Program and Career Services at the School of Business. As a result, according to Sprint Nextel spokespeople, students may develop new communication habits and styles. Most importantly, MBA students will gain firsthand exposure to information technology and how it can be used to drive business innovation, productivity, and growth.
The most 'unwired' campuses
Ball State University
Recommended Reading
- Fixed-Mobile Convergence: Dartmouth Beefs Up Cell Coverage, Cuts Costs
Problems with cell phone coverage aren't uncommon on college campuses. There are two main reasons: The beefy structure of historic buildings can block cellular reception within walls, and, on more remote campuses outside cities, signal coverage can be light.
- Thompson Rivers U Deploys Unified Digital Campus for ERP
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in British Columbia has selected SunGard Higher Education's Banner Unified Digital Campus (UDC) to integrate its ERP systems.
- DV Kitchen Web Video Publishing System Released
DVcreators.net has released DV Kitchen, a new video encoding and publishing application for Mac OS X designed specifically for creating materials to be posted on the Web.
- NEC Debuts 4 Education Projectors
NEC this week debuted four new projectors targeted toward education applications, along with a new MultiSync LCD display. The new NP-series projectors are entry-level models started at $899 but are designed to provide high light output, support for closed captioning, and built-in networking capabilities.
- Security Researchers Uncover Spring Framework Vulnerability
Software frameworks are enjoying enormous popularity these days among a range of developers. It's popularity well earned; frameworks provide powerful tools for building more flexible and less error-prone applications. They generally enhance developer productivity with out-of-the-box functionality. And they can free developers to focus on features instead of common coding tasks.
- 3PAR Server Arrays Integrate Fat-to-Thin Processing
Utility storage provider 3PAR has announced the release of the 3PAR InServ T400 and T800 Storage Servers. The new hardware is built on the company's third-generation InSpire architecture, featuring the 3PAR Gen3 ASIC with integrated fat-to-thin processing.
