Academic Computing and the Hood Experience

Among Hood College’s highest priorities is helping its students prepare to function productively in a knowledge-based society. With this goal in mind, the College has advanced the role of technology from being one of purely administrative support to one of core importance, both academically and administratively. Every student gets high-speed Internet service, state-of-the-art email functionality, and 1 TeraByte of file storage without a technology fee. The school enjoys an Internet connection capable of delivering over 1 Gigabit per second of data and entertainment and a wireless network supported by access points throughout the campus.

Hood’s information technology is accessible on campus from all classrooms and residence halls and off campus via the Internet. Students can use their own computers in their rooms to access the Internet, send email, print documents, consult course materials that professors have placed on Hood’s Blackboard Learning Management System, and take advantage of the scholarly resources available on the Internet as well as through Hood College Beneficial-Hodson Library databases. Hood has also embraced the concept of technology-enhanced Living Learning Centers and has placed a small computer lab in each residence hall that includes Windows and Apple technology plus a networked printer. Hood College features 32 computer labs located throughout the campus comprised of over 500 computers with sophisticated software applications. Nine of the labs are open to all Hood students, while the remaining computer labs focus on specific academic disciplines. Every lab has a laser printer.. Discipline-specific labs include biology, molecular modeling, general chemistry, mathematics, an organic chemistry instrumentation lab, a geographic information system (GIS) lab, nursing simulators, coastal studies, a Linux computer science lab, communication arts lab, sociology lab, and a video editing lab. All of these special labs have sophisticated domain-specific software that enhance the learning process and extend students’ analytical resources.

In 2012 Hood College implemented a Virtual Computer Lab (VCL) to complement existing College labs. The Hood VCL allows all students to access the most widely used software applications from anywhere, on a 24/7 basis. Most learning spaces have a computer, LCD projector, Blu-ray/DVD player, and Internet access. Complementing this technology is an Information Technology Department team that maintains and upgrades campus databases, high-definition (HD) cable entertainment, and phone networks along with servers, desktops, laptops, iDevices, printers and a wide range of software applications.