Spring Break
Laptop initiative reactions mixed
Sunita Vijayan / Daily Staff Writer
Partnering with Apple Computers, the initiative includes several departments in the College of Education, the school of art and design and the school of journalism and mass communication.
A semester after first being initiated, the project has acquired various reactions from students, faculty and staff across campus.
Mary Fran Breiling, the wireless laptop project specialist, said the initiative has obtained a positive reaction since it was set in motion.
"The project has worked extremely well," Breiling said. "The faculty has been well pleased as the quality of students, work has improved."
Breiling said there are a total of 40 classrooms equipped with the wireless technology in the selected departments.
"Next semester, we will be focusing on incorporating the wireless into the curriculum," she said. "From there, we will go on to see if the other departments need it."
Dennis Dunleavy, an assistant professor in the school of journalism and mass communication, said he views the project as a means to improve the education of his students.
Dunleavy said although he has not yet incorporated the project into his classes, he is giving his students the opportunity this semester to get them accustomed with the program.
"The wireless is a great tool to have at your fingertips for the information that's right there," Dunleavy said. "Especially for the photojournalism students, they are able to do a lot of their work on the Internet."
Dunleavy said although he had his doubts at the beginning, he now thought the project provided an encouraging atmosphere for students.
"Students need to know the technology in order to be able to work in this world," he said. "Sooner or later, they will need it-why not now?"
Although there's no denying that students do make use of the wireless access for their own personal usage, Dunleavy said it does not bother him in the least.
"If they're not paying attention to me in class, it's going to just come back to them later on," he said. "It's their loss."
Some students said they do not think the project is measuring up to its high expectations.
Jen Simon, a senior design studies major, said she did not think the project was worth the expense she has had to go through.
"It's not very effective because I don't really take notes on my laptop. Sometimes they do have us look up stuff on the Internet, but as far as learning, it's not that effective," Simon said.
She added that one of the improvements she would like to see next semester would be for more classrooms to be equipped with working outlets, especially in the Art Building.
Laila Rodriguez, a senior advertising major, said she liked the program for the easy accessibility it provides.
"I just like it because when I have to do research for my other classes, I can use it anywhere in the building and it's free," she said.
Gale Antokal, an assistant professor in the school of art and design, said she used the wireless accessibility mostly for her office work.
"The use of it in my classes is very limited, but for administrative work I find it very, very helpful," she said.
Antokal said she has been demonstrating to her students the various applications on how they can use this project and, as it continues, it will be incorporated into the first year design in foundation classes.
For some teachers, the program has already been included in the classes they teach and has produced constructive outcomes.
Alice Carter, a professor in the school of art and design, said students are able to use the Internet to research complex paintings of an entire ecological system of the environment in Intermediate Illustration.
"These changes have helped students to work much more efficiently," Carter said.
In the traditional animation classes, an increasing number of students are able to use laptops to edit and add sound to their exercises and short films, she said.
"Access to research materials is almost instantaneous," Carter said. "Digital editing software has revolutionized the editing process, enabling students to quickly produce effects that in the past required very expensive equipment and hours of work."
One complaint Carter does have has to do with the technical side of the wireless convenience.
"Students are frustrated when they are unable to connect to the Internet or when the connection is slow," she said.
Breiling said because the wireless project is solely for the benefit of SJSU, students are expected to honor certain licensing agreements for some software.
"The Adobe software is sublicensed to the university, and the expectation would be to use the software when they're here, not for people who are working," Breiling said.
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