[Vision2020] UI Takes First Step Toward 'Laptop' Campus

[Tom Hansen]

Greetings Visionaires -

According to some earlier posts that I have read here, some of you are
misinformed concerning laptop computers that the UI College of Business and
Economics (CBE) is providing in conjunction with its Integrated Business
Curriculum (IBC).

As stated in this morning's Spokesman Review:

"The ThinkPads include DVD/CD drives and come loaded with business-oriented
software."

I am certain that the CBE faculty determined specifically what software was
installed on these laptop computers.  Having graduated from CBE I can
guarantee you that their decisions were not based on "their cut of the sales
revenue", but which software applications would be most beneficial to the
user after graduation.

The Spokesman Review Article goes on to say:

"The package provides insurance for the computers and maintenance on campus.
In return, students pay a course fee of $500 each semester and are allowed
to purchase the computer for $1 at the end of the two-year contract."

Paying $2,001 over a two-year period for a wireless laptop computer that is
fully loaded with state of the market business software sounds nice to me.
The computer alone is worth more than that.  Coupling that with the in-class
instruction over that same two-year period ames this a win-win situation.

If you feel that this concept is new, will not catch on, and will only
become an unnecessary expense to the student, the Spokesman Review also
states:

"Jack Morris, associate dean of business and economics, said those planners
(school planners) visited other schools with mandatory laptop programs such
as Northern Michigan University and Albertson College in Caldwell to guage
the results.  They found improved learning and technological skills."

Makes me proud to be a Vandal.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
UI '96