Friday, April 16, 2010

Spring 2010 Tech Survey - Freshmen

This post is so fresh, it's not even off the presses. We started our annual technology survey last night. The web based survey asks students to tell us what they use and want in terms of campus technology. This helps with planning and managing services. The survey was opened at 5PM last night over 450 students have responded by 11AM this morning. About 100 are current freshmen. Here is what we have learned about this years freshmen so far:

-Virtually all have computers. Over 91% of these are laptops.
-The most often purchased laptops are Dell (35%), HP (24%), and Mac (18.4%)
-Over 99% of the freshmen have cell phones and 22% of these are Smart phones
-So far 100% of freshmen have access to high speed Internet in their residence
-We asked about TVs: 64% have flat screen digital TVs and most others have tube TVs
-Over 97% own a digital music player. Three quarters of these are iPods.

I always tell students and parents not to buy a computer with much software. We have great(!!) prices on Microsoft and Adobe products. Stayed tuned for more results.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Teen Film and Acting Camp on campus

Salisbury University is offering a new program for teens who are interested in film making or acting for film. The program is sort of a very focused Film/Acting Camp. It will be offered July 11-24 on the SU campus. It is a residential program and will be a very hands on program for both aspiring producers and actors.

You can learn more at: www.salisbury.edu/summerfilm . The program will be taught by SU faculty. We will be bringing in independent film makers and other professionals. What a great chance to live on a college campus for two weeks, meet friends with similar interests, and learn about your passion. Lots of high tech cool studios on campus. See more at:
www.salisbury.edu/mediaservices/facilities .

Saturday, April 3, 2010

April Fools. I don't think so.

Yesterday was Good Friday. A holy day for the Christian Church and a holiday for many high school students. I know that there were MANY tours going on yesterday. Group after group made their way across the campus. I would imagine that many of these were fall 2011 candidates. We held the Campus Day for fall 2010 admits just a week or so ago. These are students who have been offered admission. They or may not have committed to coming to our campus.

We go all out on this spring campus day for new admits. Faculty offered "mini-classes", staff answered questions, and students and parents toured all over the campus getting one last look. We offered "action tours" in the media area. Our campus has some amazing digital studios for students in almost any academic area. We tend to focus classes in the studios on the music, communications and art departments. We have a huge HD video studio, a smaller standard definition video studio, a large recording studio, and lots of audio and video edit suites. All of these special spaces can been see from observation window, even when classes are in session. We had class going on in one studio and the SU TV Club working on a project in the other.

We love to see parents and students peek into the studios and smile. Yes, they are that cool. We really try and promote digital content creation across the curriculum. Many disciplines now use video in their classes. Social Work, English, Business/Marketing, Nursing, Physical Education, Education, ... you get the idea. I am sure that the rapid growth of the Internet and social media has a great deal to do with this. I just like the smiles and the excitement.

Students are coming into an exciting time in higher education. They bring their "technological fearlessness" to the campus. We encourage them to experiment and express themselves. When you look at a college for next year, or the year after, take a special look at what the school can offer in the area of digital content creation. regardless of your major, this is an exciting environment to spend time in and to pick up some Web 2.0 skills.

Let me offer a closing shameless plug for a special summer program that we are offering for young film makers and spiring actors. This two week residntial program will offered July 11-24. Take a look at www.salisbury.edu/summerfilm and enjoy the spring. I will write more about this next time.