Another computer related technology will soon be in use across campus: the 3M Ideaboard. On Friday, April 9, 1999, ten Ideaboards, a generous gift from the 3M Corporation, arrived on campus.

These Ideaboards are much more than the simple "white boards" they appear to be. They are actually input devices that allow users to "capture" whatever is written on the board and then to transfer that captured information onto a notebook computer. The captured information can then be distributed to others via print, fax, or the Internet. These boards will allow instructors to easily capture class notes, examples, or formulas and post them to their class web pages.

In previews of the Ideaboards campus faculty seemed excited about the possibilities this new technology has to offer. Dr. David Demuth, UMC Assistant Professor of Physics and Math, said, "I can definitely see using this technology to post sample problems and formulas for my physics and math classes."

Thanks go to the 3M Corporation for their generous gift. Much of the credit should also go to Jill Rudnitski, Director of Corporate Foundation Relations at the University of Minnesota. Rudnitski works for the University of Minnesota Foundation in relations between the U of M and large businesses and corporations.