What's
Inside?

Cover story
A new program being launched by Oberlin College and the University of Michigan may prove to be a model for future reform in higher education.

In View
A survey of first-year students shows how the newest Obies are different from their predecessors - and how they aren't.

Obies
Economics major Taov Tal makes a winter-term trip to Bangladesh to study microcredit and the Grameen Bank.

Center Piece
A Kids and art come together at the Allen Memorial Art Museum's Community Day.

Arts
Composer John Adams visits Oberlin and talks about how he does what he does.
Yeosports
Senior John Limouze wins his second consecutive NCAA Division III title.


The Big Picture
In February dancers from the New York-based Korean Traditional Performing Arts Association performed at the OKSA conference.

Profile
Professor Wendell Logan's greatest satisfaction is his student's success.

News
Extra Extra, read all about it... on your Palm Pilot. The Oberlin Review is now available on personal digital assistants.

Side Lines
Little facts you might be interested in.



All the News that Fits in Your Palm (Pilot)

The Oberlin Review Is teh First Student Newspaper Available on Hand-Held Devices
by Betty Gabrielli

Oberlin College’s student newspaper, The Oberlin Review, was founded in 1872 and is one of the oldest continuing student publications in the country.

The publication has been available online since 1996, and this semester the staff crested the next technological wave by making the newspaper available on Palm Pilots and other personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Review Webmaster R. Jon MacDonald, a sophomore computer science major from Worthington, Ohio, worked with other students to reformat and simplify the online publication so that its pages would fit comfortably on tiny PDA screens.

"A former webmaster for the Review came up with the idea and pursued it for a winter-term project," said MacDonald. "When that person left, the project was left behind. The idea was mentioned to me by Ireta Kraal, the managing editor, and I agreed to help out by revitalizing the project. I began researching what would need to be done to make it all possible and realized there was not much involved, compared to the possible benefits for the Review."

The main benefit, said Kraal, is that the new format will make it easy for everyone from prospective students to alumni to read the publication.

"Yahoo! Internet Life recently rated the College one of the top five most-wired colleges in America, due in part to immense student Internet interest and use," she said. "The new edition will benefit the growing number of Oberlin students, faculty, parents, and prospective students who carry hand-held computers. It also will help alumni and friends of Oberlin stay in touch with the College."

To read The Oberlin Review, PDA users must first have AvantGo software installed on their hand-held devices. They must also establish a free account with AvantGo; accounts are obtained by accessing the AvantGo web site.

The PDA version of the Review is posted Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. each publishing week during the College academic year. Readers can download the Oberlin publication in its entirety within minutes by clicking the PDA icon on the newspaper web site (www.oberlin.edu/~ocreview).

AvantGo also updates the Review each time the machine is synchronized with the reader’s computer.

The Review announced its new edition in a press release that was picked up by USA Today.

"Since we announced the PDA project, response has been overwhelming," said MacDonald.

"I have heard numerous comments about how great it is to be able to read the Review on a hand-held device, and I’m told by students that many are utilizing the PDA version."