So what does the CIOs son bring to college?

My son will be a freshman at SU in the fall 2009. This is an exciting time for him. He is our youngest child and so we have been through the orientation and registration processes before. His sisters are 8 and 10 years older than he, so the technology scene was not even an issue in their day. The landscape has definitely changed.

As mentioned in my last post, almost all students come to campus with a computer these days and most of these are laptops. Oddly, at least to me, we are not seeing students walking all over campus with their laptops. We do see some, but not a large number. Students say that they don't need them in most classes, they are heavy to carry around, and they are concerned about damaging them. This leads me to think that for most students the laptop is a desktop replacement computer that is portable. Great for taking home for the weekend or to the library on special occasions. Note that the library already has many computers and so students generally use these.

With all of this in mind went for a large screen laptop (17") with a CD/DVD drive for listening to music or recording/playing video. You can also get a Bluray drive if you want HD movie capability. The larger screen makes the computer great for work, surfing the web and even watching movies. You could also buy a TV tuner to enable cable TV plugin. We did not go this far. One other note, make sure you have 3-4 USB slots for printers, campers, music players, etc. The weight for this is about 7.5 pounds. You would not want to run all over campus with it, but it provides mobility and large unit features. You might want to consider some inexpensive external speakers or headphones. Laptop speakers are generally poor.

We did not spend a great deal of money. We bought an HP for $649. It has an AMD chip which brings the price down a bit. It has 4MB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. For software, we are buying it all through the campus. SU has programs with Microsoft to buy the full office suite. SU also provides the McAfee security suite for FREE. BTW, the choice of the HP had a great deal to do with price at the time. We also bought through a local store so that we could return it if something went wrong and it did. I did not buy the extended warranty because at this price I could replace the laptop for only a bit more. It came with 30 days parts/labor warranty and another 90 days on parts. Your choice.

Graduation is over and many may already bought the laptop. I am sure you made a great choice, but if not I hope this was helpful.

Looking back at freshmen tech use for 2008 class

We recently completed our annual student technology survey. The results are always interesting as we try and determine what technologies students are using and what new services we might want to consider. This year, we had over 800 responses of which 165 were from freshmen. I want to share what they thought and the decisons they made with regard to technology. Perhaps this will help the class of 2009.

Freshmen respondents lived on campus for the most part (82%). Over 99% of the freshmen owned a computer. Of these 89.7% had laptops. This is a big change from just a few years ago. We are seeing growth in number of MAC laptops (17), but PC laptops still hold the lions share (74%). Netbooks, those new super small and light wight intenet devices, are just making an an appearance with freshmen (1.2%). These "super lights" are pretty limited in storage and computing power, but they are very easy to carry around. As more applications and services are available through the internet, these new devices may grow in popularity.

If you are wondering which manufacturers students are purchasing from, the survey revealed that Dell (40%), HP (24%) and Apple (17%). Other computer makers represented less than 10% each. SU does not have a computer requirement and does not endorse one maker over another. We are seeing the trend towards toward laptops which serve as both work machines and multi-media entertainment computers. With wireless access all over the campus, this makes sense.

Cell phone ownership is ubiquitous with over 99% of freshmen surveyed owning a cell phone. Freshmen are most often using traditonal low cost cell phones (91%) over Smart phones like the iPhone or Blackerry (7.8% total). In additon to making calls they are texting (98%) and taking pictures (90%). We are watching mobile use closely. It is expected that univerities will need to be offering more and more services for the cell phone in the future.

One other interesting stat, the class of 2008 is using the internet as a core part of their classes. Over 94% of this year's freshmen use the campus web based learning management system to supplement their in class activities. Faculty and students have embraced the web as a virtual learning space.

So how about storage in the cloud?

Last month I talked about storage and the need to backup your work. It is critical that you save copies of papers, photos, and presentations. After the assignment is done, you may think that you don't need it anymore. You may be right, but you never know when you might want to refer back to this information for a future paper or project. These days, there is no reason not to save it. Digital storage is so inexpensive and accessible, you really should hang on to things.

Last month I talked about thumb or flash drives. These have gotten very inexpensive and are super portable. For large projects, like videos, a separate large hard drive may be worth the investment. If you are a film or music major, this may be a good idea.

These are good options, but how about cloud storage? You are just starting to here about cloud storage and cloud services. These are internet based services which enable you to access the storage or software, in some cases, from anywhere. Of course you need to be able to get to the internet, but once your stuff is stored there you don't need to worry about losing your thumb drive or have your hard drive die on you.

Here are some amazing, and free, services.

www.acrobat.com allows you to save up to 5GB of content for free. You create an account and save away. This service also includes a free collaborative word processing application and even allows you to video conference.

Yahoo has offered a small amount of free storage with their free email services for years. At briefcase.yahoo.com you can have 30MB of storage for free. This does not sound like much, but is convenient if you already use the yahoo email service.

Microsoft offers 25GB of free storage as a part of their Windows Live offering. This is huge. You just sign up at skydrive.live.com . You can store documents, music, videos at other things. The one downside is that each file uploaded cannot exceed 50MB. This is still very large unless you want to upload a movie.

If you need a super huge amount of storage, say 100-500GB, you can by it inexpensively from Google. You pay an annual fee.

The beauty of these options is that they maintain your content and they back it up. You need to get to the internet to retrieve it or storage more.

Most campuses limit your network storage to 100-300MB or less, so all of these options are pretty solid. Think about it.

Christmas and campus technology

Thanksgiving is over and we only a few weeks to go until final exams and Christmas break. This is the time of year that goes by faster than any other. It will be over in a blink of an eye.

Time to look back and think about the semester which is drawing to a close. Of course you could have studied more and procrastinated less. Think for just a moment about what technology or tech tools might have helped a bit. Memory (not your memory) is often something that students wish they had a bit more of. This can be memory for your laptop or walk around memory (flash drives). We are seeing that students have a great deal more to save every semester. In the old days we saved paper copies of research papers, but now its video, audio, power point presentations and lots of other things. A flash drive can be a very cheap way to meet this need. You can now by 32 gigabytes of storage for less that $80 (www.buy.com for $79). This could equate to 32,000 photos or even more pages of text. This is probably more than you need. You can buy 8GB of storage for about $18 (www.amazon.com). These can be a great stocking stuffer.

Don't forget about a back up copy. Often students save their work on their computer or flash drive, but don't think about a back up. Remember that these little drive and just little and fragiledevices made of plastic and metal. They can be erased or lost or destroyed in many different ways. You are probably better off buying 2-3 small flash drives that one large capacity drive. More copies is better.

If you are a big time saver of video or audio files you might also want to buy a 1 terabyte external drive (www.newegg.com for $184). These drives are also cheap and can store years worth of work. You can also configure them to back up your entire laptop on a regular interval (once or twice a week).

Memory is a great asset for any student, or anyone else. Next time we'll talk about personal printers. They may cost a few dollars, and I know I hate to buy toner cartridges, but it's nice to have a decent printer on a cold night when you don't want to walk to the computer lab just to get your paper printed for free.

Technology in education and beyond

Most freshmen are now settled in. Classes are well underway. Students are on the network and their virtual networks are established or re-established. These are really special times. With relative ease you can stay connected to old friends and family, and the same time explore new networks and social groups. This has never been so easy. You can be hours away from home and yet just as connected as you were in your home town. This has to be a great comfort to students and parents.

These are interesting times on college campuses. Students are arriving with a great deal of personal technology. They are seeing classroom technology in their classes which is equal to or grater than they saw in high school. University have adopted course management systems to supplement their courses and are quite comfortable using www.youtube.com or other collaborative web sites to tap into social media to make a point. Most faculty have really started to dig into academic resources on the web and are even creating their own digital content. Classes are being recording on iTunes (www.itunes.com) University or captured on tools like Tegrity (www.tegrity.com). There is less concern among faculty about recording class content and a more direct concern on student success outcomes. The academic landscape is changing. It is becoming more open and less tied to a classroom or class time. Virtual learning is new and less threatening than it was a few years ago. I think that this is just the start. Students will see an increase in the availability of digital resources. They will see digital collaboration become commonplace. Sharing the learning experience globally will and is becoming the norm. These tools and skills are already in the business arena and quikly being adopted.

Students need to start looking for chances to expand their frame of reference. Challenge yourself to take advantage of all that is out there to research a topic; to challenge your perspective on the world; and to push yourself to your creative limits. Faculty, library staff and others on campus are there to help you dig through the good and the not so good.

In the next several years you will see the creation or digital content become a major emphasis in learning and also a major need for employers. The "hard skills" related to being able to create, create, and deliver a digital message will be make you attractive to potential employers. This is a unique time when the young can advance quickly by being able to apply digital skills that are not a part of the skills set of the older generation. Graduates have the chance to advance quickly and take advantage of a new set of communication skills. Advantage, the millennial graduates.

Getting settled in with technology on campus

Most colleges have opened at this point. Classes have started and although its a busy time with lots of change going, students need focus on a few tech related things.

Physical security first. If you have not purchased a laptop lock down cable, do so. These cables are easy to install and can be purchased online, in local retail stores, or in the campus bookstore. Laptops are often stolen when they are sitting in a dorm room and the owner goes to class or to take a shower. Set a password on the laptop so no one can get to your files if it is stolen. When you go home for the weekend, take the laptop. With your cell phone, consider setting a password or whatever locking feature your phone provides. Although this can be a bit inconvenient, a stolen or lost cell phone can lead to some pretty large phone bills. When not in use, lock things like your iPod or gaming system in a drawer. Dorm rooms are often left with the door open "just for a minute" and this can lead to a theft.

Virus protection and spam filters. At our campus we provide virus protection software for free, just visit the Helpdesk site for more information . You should scan your computer for spam and malware at least once a week. These programs can really slow down your computers performance. Free tools like Adaware and SpyBot Search and Destroy, can be found on the web.

Look for wireless - most laptops are wireless ready and most campus provide free "hot spot" access. Look for a map of the "hot spots" at the campus Helpdesk or Telecommunications sites. In a short time almost every space on campus will be wireless, so get the protocol for getting connected and jump on. Note that wireless networks are generally slower that wired connections and can be effected by the number users in a location. This will effect things like streaming video and audio.

Get registered for the campus alert system. Most campuses have emergency response systems which will notify you via email or text message in the event of a campus emergency. Look in the lower right hand corner of the campus home page to sign up, www.salisbury.edu .

Last, find the phone number for the Helpdesk and their email address on the web. Keep these on a "sticky note" or note board in your room. This can provide quick support. Also, when you see email bulletins for down times or other network alerts take notice.

What software should students have on their computers?

This can be a more complicated question that it might first appear to be. I would suggest that students not buy any special software when they buy a computer (other than whatever is included in the price). Most colleges now have special purchasing program with manufacturers, including Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and McAfee. This means that students can usually get heavily discounted pricing on products from these companies. The offers are handled in different ways. In some cases they are handled through the university IT department, sometimes through the campus bookstore, and occasionally through the manufacturer itself.

In Maryland the Maryland Enterprise Education Consortium (MEEC) has negotiated special pricing with the companies noted above. In the case of Microsoft and Adobe discounts can approach 70% to 80% off. With security software, such as McAfee, our campus provides it for free. To get an idea of the offerings on the campus visit the campus Helpdesk site (helpdesk.salisbury.edu). For a quick check on the Microsoft offerings take a look at this listing,
salisbury.e-academy.com .

We are seeing that as students move into their majors they sometimes want to buy "the tools of the trade". Art students may want to own a copy of Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Video Communications majors may want to own the Avid video editing suite. This varies by major and is something that can be considered later as the student gets more involved in major courses.

In summary, always check with your IT helpdesk before buying software. You can save a bundle.