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WV Wesleyan Technology Initiative
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In 1994, the Computer and Technology Committee drafted a long range
plan for the use of technology on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan
College. The plan addressed academic and administrative computing and the
need for a campus wide network.
In 1994 the first phase of implementation of this plan began with the
installation of fiber optic cable linking all campus buildings. With the
completion of the cabling for the fiber backbone in early 1995, a
Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF) was formed to evaluate the
remaining elements of the Computer and Technology Committee's plan. The SPTF,
along with the assistance of outside consultants, worked on refining various
parts of the plan. With the input from the campus community though interviews
and public forums the
final plan was completed in September 1996.
One of the major additions of the SPTF to the original Computer and Technology
plan was the addition of a laptop initiative which would put a laptop computer
in the hands of every first-time full-time freshman entering in the Fall of 1997.
With this initiative as a goal, the administration began the process of selecting
a laptop system and supplier.
The College was looking for a partner in this effort, not just a vendor. After
evaluation of various proposals, representatives of the College community recommend
that Wesleyan become an IBM ThinkPad University. Through their ThinkPad University
program, IBM has developed expertise in more than just supplying an institution
with a laptop computer. They provide resources for many different aspects of
incorporating a laptop into an academic program.
Therefore, with the initial distribution of laptop computers, a new era begins
at Wesleyan. Not an era of laptop computing, but an era of using laptop computers
and technology as tools to help Wesleyan students develop their intellectual,
ethical, spiritual and leadership potential.
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