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25, 2001 Arkansas State University receives ‘Most Wired’ ranking from Yahoo! Arkansas State University was ranked as one of the "Hot 100 Wired Colleges" in the October edition of "Yahoo! Internet Life," the technology trade publication that is published monthly. This is the fifth year for the "Most Wired Colleges Survey," which includes research on 1,300 U.S. universities and colleges to examine how institutions of higher learning have incorporated network technologies into campus life. According to the publication, the survey reviews a school's "sheer computing power, integration of the Net into curricula and classrooms; availability of technical support for students; and numerous other criteria" to determine its "wiredness quotient." The editors also said that "technology is spawning powerful interactive tools for professors in the classroom, providing scholars access to vast digital libraries, and functioning as a social forum for students." Schools were scored using six broad categories including infrastructure; student resources; web portal; e-learning; tech support; and wireless access. Arkansas State University was ranked above many other universities in the nation, including several Ivy League schools such as Yale, Princeton and Harvard. "There are a great number of ways in which students truly benefit from technology brought into the classroom," Dr. Rick McDaniel, interim vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, said. "Technology allows the teacher an enriched opportunity to capture and hold the attention in powerful ways that the written page and spoken word can’t begin to approach." To maintain and advance technology can be very expensive on a university campus, however, students at ASU have opted to pay for the advancements because of the important role technology plays in their education, according to Jennus Burton, vice president for Finance and Administration. "The students have now agreed that understanding and using technology is one of the most important skills they need for the new economy," Burton continued. "They have agreed to pay a technology fee to keep the infrastructure backbone at the leading edge and to keep the hands-on computing labs in a state-of-the-art condition for all students in all disciplines." Mark Hoeting, director of Information and Technology Services, said that the survey results are representative of the "long-term initiative to build a technologically transparent learning environment" at ASU. "Our inclusion in this survey is a great recruitment tool because this publication is widely read by young adults. I believe this will really benefit the university," Hoeting added. Information and Technology Services at Arkansas State University will move its operations into a new services facility on the east side of campus. Relocation should be complete be mid-October. ITS also has begun a complete upgrade of the campus network. # # # |
 University Communications Office Jonesboro, Arkansas Staff: Tom Moore Straley Snipes Vic Nelson 870-972-3056 fax 870-972-3069 Send mail: ASUnews@astate.edu Links: List of News/Announcements Upcoming Public Events About ASU ASU Home Page |
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