So how 'bout them universities?

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I'll just reply here . . .: Not being the social networking nut that most ZDNet authors are, I'll just reply here, thanks. Don't have twitter, not interested.

But I am a student, so I've got a few things to say . . .

"Enhancing communication and collaboration among students, teachers, and staff using social media and cloud tools"

The biggest problem I've had is, frankly, getting lost in a large university. Hard to keep track of who's in my class because all of my classes are so big. There's the first big problem to consider.

"1:1 and personal computing technologies relevant to students"

Keep it cheap. Cheap and simple. Many, many students are on budgets that reflects the fact that we spend most of our time studying and very little time at a job, so we have next to nil income.

"FOSS in schools"

Big in computer science departments.

BUT:

Art and multimedia departments are all Apple.

Everything else is Windows or Apple, evenly divided.

"Educational tools like RTI software or interactive response hardware"

RTI? What's that?

"Data management in education"

. . . is mostly test results and grades. My college uses tools developed by the computer science department.

"'21st Century Skills' and math/science/tech literacy and competitiveness"

Colleges are far behind in this. Math and Science haven't changed a bit except new books every now and then. Tech is pretty much only for computer science majors. Literacy is assumed, but little is done (other than poor grades) if somebody isn't literate. Competitiveness doesn't exist, except in the engineering department and the football team.

"I?m more concerned with the aspects of university ed tech that aren?t 'enterprisey' in nature."

Good, because there's not much "enterprisey" about the university I'm in anyways.

"What impact does the new virtual monopoly held by Blackboard have on learning management systems, for example?"

Dunno, my college uses a system developed in house.

"What interesting things are schools doing with social media?"

Not much. We have an emergency system that texts cell phones, and that's about it. One of the things about college is that a lot of the fad type stuff dies out there.

"How do professors make the ?wall of laptops? work for them?"

Wall of laptops? Hah! I wish. It's cool that the rich universities are doing it - but my university isn't one of them.

Laptops at my university are more like you occasionally see them. Nobody's handing them out for free here, so there's no wall of them.

. . . and as one of the students that owns one, one of the biggest issues is charging. Not enough electrical outlets, especially in the classrooms. I have to do everything I can to maximize battery life and charge between classes.

"What math/science/tech skills do schools expect and not receive from high school graduates?"

Calculus. We need high schools to push calculus harder. We use it all the time right from the beginning, but it's about a 50/50 chance that a high school graduate will know any calculus.

"Can universities require a particular computing platform?"

Dunno, I'm not going for a law degree, sorry.; Posted by: CobraA1 Posted on: 06/03/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use