Colleges on the cutting edge of technology

By Rachel Rosmarin

updated 1:13 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2006

NEW YORK - For Valerie Douglas, an 18-year-old freshman at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., the Internet helped her get settled before she ever set foot on campus. It found her a roommate and friend.

Before the term began in fall 2005, the school gave incoming freshmen the chance to meet and greet via a MySpace-style site called FYI (First Year Interface). After sharing profiles, photos, bedtimes and partying habits on the site, Wofford let students who hit it off become roommates.

"I had heard so many scary stories about bad roommates," says Douglas. "Luckily, I found myself a great one through the site. It was extremely important to me to have a say in it." Feeling comfortable with the roommate situation is also a great way to minimize the stress that comes with moving away from home, notes Douglas.

But social networking tools are only the beginning of the efforts schools are making to harness their students' willingness to live an always connected lifestyle. Cutting-edge tech services are a big draw in an increasingly competitive market for the best and brightest students.

Around the country, students are listening to podcasted lectures and taking exams online. But thanks to a group of technologies called Internet2, they're also participating in live classes via streaming video. At MIT, courses on anything from engineering to writing to tap dancing are shared over large screens with students at universities in Singapore. Professors from both continents teach the courses.

Internet2 is a network that allows more than 220 universities — and a few research-related companies and government organizations — to use advanced online services — although not the World Wide Web — at speeds 100 times faster than normal connections. It's what the Internet will be like for the rest of us someday, if we're lucky.

Even after class lets out, there's almost nothing students can't accomplish from their dorm rooms.

At many schools, entrepreneurial students have been sanctioned to sell food and make deliveries around campus. Students place orders via the Web and pay with their meal-plan accounts. Within minutes, goodies arrive at the door.

"We get students who have a wide variety of cravings in the middle of the night," says Brandon Arbiter, a Columbia University student who helped launch CU Snacks. "They're desperate for anything, from fresh-baked cookies to pizza to condoms."

The Web is fundamental to his business, says Arbiter, who notes that students might be writing an essay on one half of the computer screen and placing an order on the other. Late at night, most students have no desire to wander around Manhattan looking for munchies. "This exists to make things easier for students," he says.

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