Issue date: 12/1/04 Section: News

In order to stay ahead of the curve as colleges compete to become the most "wired," Suffolk's Educational Technology Committee is geared towards acquiring the latest information technology and integrating it into to the university's curriculum.

Physics Professor Walter Johnson, the chair of the committee, is already using the latest technologies for his courses.

"Now, I can teach a course here to a collection of students in Dakar," Johnson said.

Much of this technology is already in place. Nov. 30 marked the final day in a series of lectures delivered by prominent speakers beamed into the Suffolk Law School via satellite, as part of the graduate Corporate Education program.

During the final lecture, Richard Branson, Virgin CEO and Chairman and star of the reality series "The Rebel Billionaire," talked to a gathering of about 25 viewers, mostly graduate students.

By calling a number on their cell phones, the students had the opportunity to ask Branson questions about his business as well as the business culture in general.

Suffolk was only one of several organizations participating in the event, as there were calls from (among other places) Bentley College, the headquarters of the Kellogg Cereal Corporation in Battle Creek, Michigan and a call from NASA.

At Suffolk, the arrangement was relatively simple.

The attendants sat at about seven tables as images of Branson appeared on a large screen in the conference room.

"The oldest of these technologies is video conferencing, where you have to be in the room with the camera," said Johnson.

Johnson was quick to point out that the technology has gone much farther.

Through the use of the cameras and microphones in the Donahue Media Center, Johnson can provide a video and audio feed to students abroad, such as those he's taught in Dakar.

As opposed to video conferencing, such as the Richard Branson lecture, this process allows for greater two-way communication.

Continued...

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