Laptop initiative to begin
One department will begin program in summer
Stephen Di Benedetto/Associate News Editor
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: News
|
But the department might have to alter its plans for the summer if the university does not finalize the contract, which is still being negotiated.
Michael Hoadley, director of the Center for Academic Technology and Support, said there could be a delay in the process if the contract is not finalized.
Hoadley is a member of the Academic Technology Advisory Committee, which is in charge of putting the laptop initiative together.
March 1 was the original deadline for the contract's completion, Hoadley said.
"For the fall, I just don't see that," Hoadley said of a possible setback for the CDS department. "Some of the grad students coming this summer could be affected."
The initiative started in Fall 2006, when the ATAC was formed to see if a laptop pilot project could happen at Eastern. Implementing the project is optional for departments, as it is not a university-wide requirement.
Hoadley said the CDS department was originally only going to benefit from the contract, but the decision was made to make the deal available to any student.
The PC laptops or tablets would include software and an extended warranty once purchased at a discounted price, he said.
Students would also be able to service their laptops at the Greg Triad instead of taking it to a store or mailing it for repairs, Hoadley said.
"I hope what is going to happen is students are going to see that they're going to get a real substantial discount and lots of extra benefits, and they might want to then consider buying a laptop that is going to be available through Eastern," he said.
Hoadley could not say how much the discount will be because of ongoing negotiations but was assured the discount was substantial.
Gail Richard, CDS department chair, said the laptop initiative will only affect the departments' juniors, seniors and graduate students.
"We are going to strongly, strongly recommend, but we are not going to require (it)," she said. "What I think they'll find very quickly is there is a little bit of a disadvantage, as they will have to sit with a neighbor."
The department decided to start the pilot project to enhance hands-on learning. The project would also make learning easier for students in clinic-based courses, Richard said.
The CDS department assigns students to work in its clinic, which serves surrounding communities, and students can only access the clients' electronic records at the department.
Richard said the department has a computer lab with five computers and 40 students wanting to access them for their clinic-based courses. By having students use laptops, they can come in the department and access the wireless Internet, making it easier for students to access client records, she added.
Richard said freshmen and sophomores in the department would not be recommended for the program because they are pre-majors and would not be involved in the clinic-based courses.
Juniors, seniors and graduate students in CDS would also not be required to buy a laptop if they already own one, Richard said.
"They can buy the image that would be a download of the software that we're going to use within our classes," she said.
Incorporating the laptops in faculty members' lessons plans is optional, Richard said.
CDS also used a cart of 18 laptops from CATS this semester to see if faculty and students enjoyed the idea of using laptops as a part of the curriculum.
"The students have been able to experience it and, having done some of that in classes, they are really enthusiastic about it," Richard said.
The CDS department's plan is to orientate graduate students with the laptop project during the six-week summer session and orientate juniors and seniors in Fall 08.
Richard said if the contract is not finalized by the summer, or if the finalization of the contract is delayed longer, CDS will be able to work around the summer by still providing graduate students regular classes.
She said, however, the fall could be hectic for faculty members, as they would be trying to orientate both graduate and undergraduate students to the project.
"Certainly, by fall, we want everything in place," Richard said. "We feel like we've done the right things to get ready, and now we just have to get some of the administrative paperwork caught up with it."
Hoadley said, so far, the contract would be a series of five two-year contracts that Eastern has the right to renew with the vendor every two years.
Another possible provision of the contract would be if prices go down on the vendor's laptops from year one to year two, the vendor has to lower its prices for Eastern students choosing to purchase laptops through the initiative, he added.
All of the CDS department's clinic-based courses will use laptops as part of the curriculum, and the majority of the department's academic courses will use laptops as part of the curriculum as well, Richard said.
"I think we're really excited," Richard said of the project. "This is something the faculty has been working on for two years, and we're ready for it to come fruition."
Hoadley said other departments have expressed interest in implementing the initiative, but CDS is the only department that made a commitment to it.
He said he expects departments will commit to the initiative after it sees how the CDS department's experience is with the initiative. The earliest people would see other departments using the initiative would be fall 2009, Hoadley said.
"The other part that everybody has to keep in mind (is that) you are getting more than just a computer," Hoadley said. "You're getting some extra things that normally you would have to pay on your own, anyways."
Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story