By Scott Landheer
City Times

Of the 300 institutions that applied for the Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant, San Diego City College was one of 40 colleges and universities to receive the $68,500 prize.

Along with a $15,500 cash stipend that was awarded, the grant also included 20 tablet laptops, a projector, digital camera and printer.

The laptops are equipped with wireless internet access and also feature a stylus which allows students to write on the screen like a tablet.

Theresa Bolanos, assistant professor of Chemistry, applied on the HP Web site for the grant, which also went to UCSD and other big schools.

“We were kind of lucky,” said Bolanos. “Not a lot of community colleges got it.”

Because the computers are completely portable, students will be able to take them on class field trips, Bolanos pointed out.

Although they have mostly been used in Chemistry and Physics lab sessions up to this point, Bolanos would like to start using them in class as well, because there are “so many cool things on the Internet.”

She would also like to use the new equipment to bring simulations into class and to lecture without the use of chalk or “nasty wipe boards.”

Students in CHEM 200 most recently used the computers to work on their resumes to apply for summer internship positions in science, biotech or academic settings. Bolanos said students have appreciated the computers and have been excited because they had never used ones like them before.