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SHU ‘Walks Down Memory Lane’ with tech

On Nov. 14, Seton Hall’s Teaching, Learning and Technology Center (TLTC) hosted their “Walk Down Memory Lane” event, highlighting past and current projects that have influenced the use of technology in the classrooms at the University.

Renee Cicchino, director of Instructional Design and Training at the TLTC, organized the event. Cicchino, a graduate of Seton Hall, said the laptop program was not implemented when she was a student, but she has seen it grow over the past 20 years.

“I just started to work here in ‘97,” Cicchino said. “We had a Mac lab, but we didn’t have the ubiquitous computing program.”

She said that Seton Hall has been at the forefront of technology since she could remember.

When students were asked if they liked the laptop program, many said they did.

Laptops-Kiera-Alexander-1024x683
Kiera Alexander/Photography Editor
Seton Hall provides Lenovo laptops for their students.

“I enjoy it a lot actually, it was very good coming in here knowing I did not have to go out and purchase my own laptop,” Matthew Sunda, a sophomore biology major, said. “I know it’s included in the tuition, but I know that just showing up and having a laptop is very helpful for me.”

Marla Metevier, a sophomore biology major, said, “I think it’s pretty nice, because I wasn’t going to buy my own, so it’s nice the school provided one for us.”

“[Laptops] provide consistency across all the departments, and consistency across all the programs,” Cicchino said.

Metevier agreed, saying she likes how everything for school is in one place.

“We have Blackboard and all the different Microsoft programs, and we get to keep it yearround so I can have it over the summer,” Metevier said.

Cicchino said she believes the program has changed the way students learn in the classroom.

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“I think the technology allows students to be more creative and makes a better engagement between the materials and their understanding of the materials,” Chicchino said.

Sunda said he uses his laptop in nearly every class and enjoys the laptop that has the touchscreen and stylus.

Cicchino mentioned that one of her first projects as a member of the TLTC was the “Tablet PC Pilot” program. She said this was one of the most pivotal projects done by the TLTC.

“If we didn’t play with the tablet PCs, the IBM Yogas wouldn’t be as popular,” Cicchino said. “There were more Yogas distributed to the freshman class this year than regular Thinkpads.”

Disapproval of the laptop’s price point was common among students, however.

Matthew Gregory, a senior biology major, said, “I think it should be an optional thing. You should be able to use that credit that you would pay for this laptop for something else.”

Metevier added, “Maybe just have us pay a little less for the laptops. If I bought my own, it would not end up costing this much.”

As for keeping the program up to date, Sunda said he believes Seton Hall is doing a good job keeping up with the technology advancements in the world. Cicchino believes the technology at Seton Hall “better serves the students and are preparing them for the real world once they graduate.”

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