THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270306
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Freshmen at a Virginia college are increasingly turning to campus kiosks stocked with computers to help them learn more about university life.
Hampton University is installing six computerized booths on campus that use touch-screen technology to offer data about the school's history, faculty, course offerings, and community facilities and events.
``The whole purpose of this is for students to have easy access to university information,'' said senior Randall Bostich, a computer science major working on the project.
The small pavilions are funded through a portion of a $3 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation to strengthen the school's business, academic technology and other programs, foundation spokesman Jonathan Miller said.
The Battle Creek, Michigan-based foundation also gave $3 million grants last year to nine other historically black colleges and universities for various academic programs.
The kiosks are expected to make money for Hampton University when advertisers tap into the estimated 500,000 users who will operate the machines annually.
In some places, people are using computerized kiosks to buy items ranging from personalized greeting cards to tickets for sporting events.
At Hampton University, computers will offer information about restaurants, theaters and other commercial enterprises that pay to advertise, said James Bullock Jr., who works at the school's Academic Technology Mall, which developed the kiosks.
At the students' fingertips now is computerized information that supplements University 101, a freshman course that introduces new students to the campus.
Users of the system first see a directory on the screen that gives them the option of receiving information about the school's museum, school calendar and course offerings. Touching the screen moves users to one of those areas.
The machines were programmed with information from January through June, said Eric Bryant, a computer science major who worked on the kiosks. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS/
Hampton University senior Eric Bryant, a computer science major,
uses one of six information kiosks on the campus.
by CNB