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Wie Internet Capital-Beteiligung Blackboard den Alltag erobert. The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Technology Chat Column April 28, 2004 3:21am Knight-Ridder / Tribune Business News Apr. 28--Karen Postma, 34, has been the project leader of the Meredith Technology Initiative at Meredith College since she arrived on campus in 2000. Postma, a gadget geek who delves into digital photography in her spare time, has a bachelor`s degree in management information systems from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She previously was a consultant at TechLaw Automation Partners in Chicago and was a manager for user support services at Gordon Food Service in Grand Rapids, Mich. She recently talked to reporter David Ranii about how the Raleigh women`s college is using technology as a tool to better educate students. QUESTION: What is the Meredith Technology Initiative? ANSWER: It`s part of a program that the college has designed to incorporate technology into everybody`s lives. The goal is that all students who graduate from Meredith will understand technology and be able to utilize technology. Q: And as part of this initiative, you`re now a wireless campus. When did that happen? A: Three and a half years ago. Q: Why was that considered important? A: It`s not just the technology; it`s being able to use it wherever you are. Students today can go to the student center, the dining hall, any of their classrooms, to their residence halls, anywhere, and [connect to the Internet without plugging in their computers]. Q: Is there any place on campus where you still have to plug in? A: Johnson Hall, which is the administration building, is still not wireless. Q: How are faculty members taking advantage of this setup? A: A lot of faculty have started to bring PowerPoint presentations into the classroom, data that they had in Blackboard [educational software]. They want students to take notes as they actually talk about different things. Q: I`m not following you. … I went to school in the Dark Ages and I took notes. A: If the faculty member actually brings up the presentation that they have saved in Blackboard, the students are able to bring that up and take notes next to …. Q: Sort of like making notations in the margin of a book. A: Exactly. And some of the faculty are using that. Q: And you`ve taken steps to make sure that all the students have computers to take advantage of this. As I understand it, you get an IBM ThinkPad when you come in as a freshman and you get a new one two years later? A: Yep. Q: Do you think your students will be spoiled at all when they go out into the real world? A: I think in some senses, yes. They`re used to tying into the Internet anytime, anywhere. … I don`t think that`s necessarily a bad thing. The biggest thing for us is that it is really giving all the students a general platform [that] they can use. If you go into class and they say you have to do an Excel spreadsheet, all of the students have the same set of equipment. From that standpoint, it has given us a huge advantage. It`s an advantage in terms of support, teaching. É For support, it`s huge. If I`m a freshman and my laptop dies, the power supply doesn`t work, whatever, I take it to tech services. And we give them a new one and send out É [theirs for repair]. They have absolutely zero down time. Q: What`s next for the technology initiative? A: We`re continuing to look at things. I don`t know exactly what our next step is going to be. We are looking at ways to expand it. Q: What kinds of things are you thinking of implementing? A: Increasing the students` knowledge of technology and trying to figure out a way that the students become more comfortable with the technology. Q: Is every class a little bit more technology savvy? A: They are, but it varies. We do incoming surveys [on computer basics] just to see where everybody`s at. They are getting smarter from a technology standpoint, but they`re not acing the test yet. To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright © 2004 The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Internet Capital Group ICGE für fundamental Interessierte |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | snag (28.04.04 13:46:50) |
| Beitrag: | 3,534 von 11,250 (ID:12902901) |
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