Technology is slowly taking over college campuses across the nation, especially at West Virginia Wesleyan College. This small, yet wonderful home away from home is becoming equipped with all of the new savvy technological trends that have begun to take over. On campus, most classes are computer based and require Angel Learning (like the wide spread “Blackboard”), which allows interaction between professors and students. Since the use of technology has become such a prominent influence on college campuses, a rise in the use of social media has increased as well. At Wesleyan, several Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and even apps can be downloaded from a smart phone, iPad, and more. These keep students and faculty informed of what is happening on campus.
Facebook pages have been popular among freshman classes over the past few years. These groups are created to enable new, incoming students to get to know roommates, classmates, and other individuals who may be living in their dorms or playing on the same sports team. There are also Facebook pages for groups on campus. For example, the Junior Class SGA chose to create a page to “keep the Class of 2015 informed.” The page is “working together to make a difference and build a sense of community within our campus.” Though Facebook serves mostly as a social aspect, it has also been effective in serving campus needs.
Twitter accounts have also been created to keep people informed on campus. Several organizations and groups on campus have Twitter accounts to both serve as informative and marketing devices. Greek life organizations, sports teams, and even the school newspaper have twitter accounts which tweet daily. These posts let faculty and students know times and dates for sporting events, fundraisers, campus life events, and more. Wesleyan has also launched a new app, which is a version of Wesleyan’s homepage, to allow everyone to easily access college information.
Senior criminal justice major Kristen Kisner knows about technology’s increase in popularity.
“As a freshman, I recall using a cable to get internet in my dorm room,” Kisner says. “In such a short period of time, I have had the opportunity to watch this college grow technologically, and the advances are wonderful accents to this campus. With my busy schedule, these new social media accounts have really helped me to continue being involved and informed on campus.”
These social networks will continue to grow and change over time. Wesleyan hopes to continue advancing as technology continues to do so as well.Â