The Digital Excellence Commitment (DExC) has expanded beyond MacBooks and iPads to technological skill-building through the new Digital Agility Program.
Student and faculty feedback on the DExC from last academic year inspired the establishment of the Digital Agility Program.
This summer, the College began a year-long learning management system transition from Blackboard to Canvas.
The transition comes after a years-long process of evaluating and comparing various interfaces for college use. Product piloting of both Canvas and Blackboard began during the 2018-2019 school year, with the College ultimately deciding to pursue a three-year contract with Blackboard.
William Farley Fieldhouse was repurposed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as students received their new College-provided MacBooks, iPads and Apple Pencils and set them up with the help of Bowdoin Information Technology (IT) department staff.
This day was years in the making.
Users of the underground college directory known as the “Better Bowdoin Directory” were greeted by an upsetting message Wednesday when they tried to visit the site. Instead of the usual search bars, they found a screenshot of an email written by Erik Pearson, who works as a team lead of integrations and customization at the College’s Office of Information Technology (IT), to the site’s creator James Little ’19 asking that he remove the site.
On Tuesday, the College launched its Digital Excellence Commitment (DExC), a plan to enhance its engagement with digital equity, building on the announcement by the Bowdoin Information Technology Department at a Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting earlier this month.
Members of the Bowdoin Information Technology (IT) Department addressed the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on February 9 to detail plans for expanding the technology distribution program. Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michael Cato spoke to the group about including MacBook computers in addition to iPads for all existing and incoming students.
In an email to the campus community on January 18, Jason Pelletier announced that the IT Tech Hub had moved to the enclosed seating area on the second floor of Smith Union. Pelletier is the senior director of client services and technology.
In a press release last week, nonprofit informational technology (IT) association EDUCAUSE named Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michael Cato its 2021 Diversity, Education, and Inclusion (DEI) Award recipient. EDUCAUSE praised Cato for his exceptional leadership skills and outstanding contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Bowdoin and beyond.