CNR Faculty Q&A

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Emory Craig
Director of Academic Computing
The College of New Rochelle

"By providing students in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Nursing with a standardized set of hardware and software tools, we are essentially creating an academic environment where technology is ubiquitous and easy to use. We are also providing enhanced technology resources in the Graduate School and the School of New Resources for adult students."

Emory, tell us about the laptop program CNR recently launched. Why focus on the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Nursing? Will it expand to other schools in the future?

The new laptop program will make the teaching of writing, research, and collaborative learning more seamless for all CNR students. A major focus is to work with the students who spend a significant amount of time on campus and give them access to a full range of technology resources. By providing students in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Nursing with a standardized set of hardware and software tools, we are essentially creating an academic environment where technology is ubiquitous and easy to use. We are also providing enhanced technology resources in the Graduate School and the School of New Resources for adult students. While they spend less time on campus and many already have access to technology at home, we are making laptops available for on-campus use. Thus, the libraries at each campus now have laptops that students can borrow and we will see them in the lounges, the libraries, and the classrooms in the adult programs.

Why Dell Latitude computers?

One of the challenges we faced in the past was the need to support a wide variety of hardware from different manufacturers. We settled on Dell as our preferred supplier three years ago for all faculty and staff purchases, so it simply made sense to continue with the same standard for the Student Laptop program. The Latitude model has worked very well for us and the technicians in Information Systems are now Dell certified.

What about other developments in technology for CNR?
What are the goals and how are you planning to achieve them?

Technology at The College of New Rochelle is firmly rooted in the mission of the institution, which states that “its primary purpose is the intellectual development of persons through the maintenance of the highest standards of academic excellence and educational growth.” The goals of the plan are to integrate technology into the teaching-learning paradigm and utilize it as a vehicle for communication. We see technology as an essential tool to enhance communication and collaboration in support of the mission of the College. The plan supports a wide range of initiatives, including the following:

The implementation of ANGEL (from Cyber Learning Labs), our Web-based course management system. We began deployment of the CMS in June 2003, and in little over a year have had a tremendous response from the College community. ANGEL is currently used by over 1,500 students and faculty at the College
Renovated computer labs and technology classrooms at all campuses. This is an ongoing project that should benefit from the laptop deployment. The laptop program offers us new flexibility in terms of classroom utilization as it will allow any room to be transformed into a wireless computer classroom.
Expanded wireless access to the Internet. In conjunction with the laptop program, we have provided coverage to almost all academic and public areas on the New Rochelle campus. We are currently rolling out wireless access to the libraries at the campuses in the New York metropolitan area.
Upgrade and Web enable our Administrative computing system and integrate all major databases. Access to programs will be made available through a web browser and extended to students, faculty and staff. This is a multi year project that began with the release of Financial Aid in 2003-2004. The Admission module was released in May 2004 and the Registration module is currently in production.
Central to the fulfillment of the technology plan has been the recent multimillion dollar renovation of the Mother Irene Gill library, which has been transformed into an open modern facility with hundreds of new data ports and workstations, and provides access to advanced research tools to students in all four Schools. Technology is an essential tool for college graduates – students need not just familiarity with technology, but proficiency in using it for research, communication, and collaboration. We believe that all of these initiatives articulate an institutional commitment to educating our students for the 21st century.

What trends do you see in the computer technology students are using today? (More PDAs? Wireless? More instant messaging? etc.)

Many students today are growing up in a world where technology is a basic means of communication. A decade ago, it was a more static tool to help students complete their research. While online access to the incredibly rich resources in the Gill library and the World Wide Web remain important to our students’ academic endeavors, we see students today focusing on the use of technology as a tool for communication and collaboration. This fact, along with the increasing miniaturization of the devices, is making technology personal and portable, and more embedded in everyday life. It is this area that is truly exciting in terms of its potential for transforming the teaching-learning paradigm. Students come to us with an expanding array of communication devices and the expectation that they will be able to use them. I think it is critically important that we create learning environments that can harness their desire to communicate and work together. If we can take their desire to learn and merge it with their passion to communicate and collaborate, it becomes the foundation of academic achievement and plants the seeds for lifelong learning in an increasingly complex, and technological, society.

Can you tell us a little about your own work and research? We understand that you have recently published papers and organized panel discussions at a number of international conferences.

One of my projects has been to better understand why students and faculty are so eager to use a course management system and how it impacts on the teaching-learning paradigm. Of course, this might be an obvious interest since I spend so much time on ANGEL! So I’ve been investigating the technical and human factors that are critical for the successful integration of technology into the learning environment. I’m also curious to see how these tools will evolve over the next 5 – 10 years. We live in a time of profound technological innovation, and it is clear that this is offering new opportunities for students and faculty to work together. The College is committed to providing the technology resources that our students need, and I feel an obligation to keep abreast of current and future trends, so this dovetails nicely with my own research interests.

But what truly interests me is how people use technology to collaborate together and what we can do to enhance those activities at the College. I’m fascinated by the way online multiplayer games foster the creation of sustainable collaborative communities. How can we draw upon some of that energy in the teaching – learning environment? I’m currently participating in a larger discussion - both on the national and international scene – that focuses on the parallels between technology-based games and learning theory. What online games and collaborative Web-based activities teach us is that software must be simple and local. If the software seems personal and fit-to-purpose, if it suits people’s needs, they will use it. The other lesson here – and it is an incredibly important one -- is that the computer on a users’ desk is not nearly as important as the network they are connected to. In my writings, I’ve tried to contribute to this discussion by focusing on the activities and tools that encourage people to work cooperatively and collaborate on shared projects.

The new technologies we are encountering today are simply new ways of enhancing human communication and collaboration, but they are profoundly transforming the way we work, play and learn. I think we are already harnessing that creative and collaborative spirit at the College. We cherish the face-to-face contact and our focus on the individual needs of each student. When you take that as a foundation and then integrate a laptop program, a successful course management system, and a network that links together and builds upon an already vibrant learning community, these become the tools help us transform students’ lives. Sometimes I think people see me as someone wrapped up in technology – but it is people and how they use technology to communicate that is the real focus of my interest. This is what excites me – building a greater sense of community, offering students, faculty and staff at the College new ways to collaborate in a fulfilling our mission.