Technology Makes Life Easy for Students at NSU

Veronica Isidron

Issue date: 6/1/10 Section: Features

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Media Credit: www.laundryview.com

Sample view of the CLC dorm's laundry room.

Hollywood often presents technology as a force of evil. There are the killer robots in "iRobot," Whiplash in "Ironman 2" and the first terminator sent to kill John Connor in the "Terminator" series, but at NSU technology is a force of good - unlike those robots. It helps students with their research, their communication and even their laundry.

The Office of Facilities Management at NSU has used technology to make it easier for the community to get around campus. The Shark Shuttles now have GPS, which allows the NSU community to track the shuttles via NSU's main Web site. Through the Web site, one can see where the shuttles are and how long they will take to reach a given location. The shuttles may also be tracked via text message by texting a bus stop number to 41411. When this is done, a message is sent with the approximate time of the bus' arrival.

Tronia Smith, freshman early childhood education major, said the tracking system was very convenient.

"I get dropped off at the front of my destination and I do not have to worry about finding a parking space or losing the one I have," said Smith.

Residential students can also take advantage of Laundry View™, a way to check if washing and drying machines are in use or available at their dorms. Laundry View™ is an Internet-based application that students can access at any moment. It is also capable of sending a text message to the student's phone when the laundry is done.

Taylor D'Elia, freshman education major, said, "I love it. I use it when I do laundry. I hate when I go down with all my clothes and all the machines are filled."

The Alvin Sherman Library is also using technology to eliminate the stack of post-its filled with research results. Instead of writing down the call numbers, author names, and book titles, students can receive all that information via text message from the library.

Students log on to NovaCat, the online library catalog, to search for materials. Once a desired source has been located, the student can click on "send details to your phone." A text message with the results is then sent to the phone. This service works with most carriers, which are available in a drop-down menu on the site. Regular text messaging fees apply and only one result can be sent at a time. Click here to find out more information about this service, or to use it.

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