DelaWorld video highlights campus technology

4:41 p.m., July 15, 2005--As UD’s newest students come to campus with iPods, cell phones, PDAs and laptops, DelaWorld messages are changing to keep up with technology.

The first sign that a new UD video about campus technology shown to parents this summer at DelaWorld is up to date is the shot of Nancy duPont Reynold’s bronze “Boy and Girl” outside the Morris Library. In the video version, the boy is reading from a laptop instead of a book.

“The video gives parents and students an understanding of the importance of information technology to the learning process at the University of Delaware and a glimpse of how it is used and valued by students and faculty,” Susan Foster, vice president for information technologies, said.

The film was scripted by Richard Gordon, an information resources consultant who presents it to parents at each DelaWorld session, and produced by Bob DiIorio, of IT-University Media Services.

The DelaWorld video, posted online at [www.udel.edu/it-us/delaworld/2005/Moovee/index.html] highlights campus technology and emphasizes responsible computing.

“We wanted to update some of the technology, but we also thought it was important to update the message about responsible computing,” Gordon said.

The video discusses sharing bandwidth, preventing viruses, keeping computers safe, using printing resources, copyright law and UD’s Code of the Web and rules for connecting to the Internet on campus.
Gordon said the parents view the film at DelaWorld while their students are involved in other sessions, and he encourages them to use the online link to show it to their offspring at home and discuss how to access technology responsibly once they move to campus.

The video discusses illegal downloading of music and movies and offers web sites where free and reasonably priced music and movies are available.

“We enlist parent support in getting the word to kids about responsible computing,” Gordon said.
“It’s not just all about ‘Thou shalt not,’” Gordon said. “It’s also about providing students with legal ways that they can do the things we know they are going to do.”

Article by Kathy Canavan

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