Thursday, May 3, 2001

U. of South Dakota Will Give Freshmen Wireless Handheld Computers This Fall By SARAH CARR A laptop requirement? That's so last millennium. The University of South Dakota announced plans Wednesday to provide handheld computers to all of its incoming freshmen this fall, as well as to first-year law and medical students. While colleges all over the country are turning toward different variations of wireless technologies, South Dakota appears to be the first institution aiming to provide every undergraduate with a wireless handheld device. "Our goal is to implement this over time so that within four years all students will have the handhelds made available to them," says Roger L. Kozack, the vice president of university relations. "Students will be able to do e-mail, take class notes, transport papers and books, and reference documents. It is almost a way of replacing most of the backpack." Mr. Kozack adds that the goal is to provide "a measure of convenience," as well as to improve the educational environment. Approximately 1,300 students will be given the devices this fall. The full cost of providing the handhelds, made by Palm, has not yet been determined, according to Mr. Kozack. He says the devices, as equipped, typically have a retail value of $500 to $600, but will be offered to the university at a discounted rate. Most of the cost will be paid by the University of South Dakota Foundation, the institution's fund-raising arm. The university will pay for a small portion, and students will each be required to pay $30 for the devices during their first four semesters. Ray Cross, the president of the State University of New York's College of Agriculture and Technology at Morrisville, says he thinks the idea of providing handheld computers to undergraduates is "neat." But he adds: "I don't know that it has much educational benefit at this point. In a number of cases like this you don't see the educational benefit right away, but once you create the system it becomes more obvious." "It's a unique approach, but I think it would be more effective to give them a computer," he says. "I would be interested in seeing how it works out, and would consider it as an experiment." At SUNY-Morrisville -- which is a completely wireless campus -- administrators have thought about providing handheld devices to students in selected programs, but have no plans to give them to all students at this point, says Mr. Cross. He says the university might use the devices in agriculture programs like dairy management, where students need to record information quickly and efficiently outside of the classroom. Mr. Kozack says cost was a big factor in the decision to purchase Palm machines rather than laptop computers for the South Dakota students. "If you compare the cost of a handheld to a laptop, obviously there is quite a difference," he says. "We felt that the advantages we could bring to the education process for the amount of dollars expended simply warranted our moving in this direction." Mr. Kozack adds that the university may supply collapsible keyboards to students who want to take notes on the Palm machines in class. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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