Law School Requires Laptop Use; Specifies Dell For Student Purchases. Vol. 3, School Technology Market Report, 08-05-1999.
A mobile technology program at Nova Southeastern University's Shepard
Broad Law Center (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) is enabling the schools' 320
students in each class to learn to apply technology to their courtroom
activities while they are doing classwork on portable computers.
Each student and professor at Shepard Broad Law Center is required
to purchase a notebook computer. The entire law school building is
wired, with each room equipped with a wireless transceiver. With the
wireless network, students can take exams, register for courses and
turn in assignments, all online. Students can also access the University's network from anywhere on campus for email and to access the Internet.
The program was launched in the fall of 1997, so this year, every
person in the building has a laptop. The class graduating in the spring of 2000 is the first to go through the entire program
One of the things that has made the program so successful is that
the faculty all have laptops as well as students. "The faculty have
driven the students, and students have driven the faculty," said Billie Jo Kaufman, director of the law library and assistant professor of law.
The law school recommends that students purchase Dell Computer's (Round Rock, TX), Latitude notebook computers, the school's standard for the past two years. Students are free to select other brands of notebook computers, or they can use portables that they already own. Most students do opt for the Dell equipment, according to officials. Each student gets a wireless PC card to allow them to have access to the network, and laptops all include a second lithium-ion battery for longer running time.
Kaufman said that the school evaluates different laptop equipment
from various manufacturers each year. The school selected Dell's Latitude line because the firm's high education reps worked with the law school closely, the laptop was "torture tested," and the firm will integrate and load software in the factory, through its DellPLUS program. The firm also offers onsite service, support and repair within 24 hours of a reported problem.
"Our students are placed in internships all around the world, so we
had to go with a company that has worldwide service," Kaufman said.
The Latitude computers recommended for the entering class this fall
have Intel Pentium II processors with 300MHz, 128MB RAM and 4.3GB
hard drive. Software includes Amica's Attorney and HotDocs.
Scott O'Hare, Dell's vice president and general manager for higher
education sees notebook use increasing dramatically in colleges and
universities. "As campuses begin to wire facilities ranging from dorm
rooms to student centers for Internet access, the importance of notebook computers for students at all levels is only increasing," O'Hare said.
According to O'Hare, graduate schools were among the first higher
education institutions to move toward a standardized campus computing
initiative. "Now, business schools are adopting such programs at a
rapid rate because of the emphasis on group work and the need for
today's business workers to master a wide range of business technology tools," O'Hare told STMR.
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