Christine Bauer, an instructional development specialist at the college, said Albertson freshmen will be the most “wired” in the Northwest. She spoke Wednesday to an alumni group in Boise.

Bauer said the laptops are only part of a campus makeover that brings technology to the forefront of academic life.

Laptops for all    The Caldwell college will be the first in the state — and one of the first in the western United States — to give every student a laptop computer. When school starts in the fall, all freshmen will have a Hewlett-Packard PC as a tool to make the best of their studies. The program will expand to all students over time.

Instead of teachers at chalkboards working with students who have spiral notebooks, some classes will make use of interactive “smart boards,” where computerized lessons can be projected onto a large screen at the front of the class.

Some classes will be offered in a manner similar to online universities, where students with valid identification can gain access to lessons, research papers, his or her grades, or e-mail an instructor.

Students carrying laptops also will be able to tap into information from the Internet from locations all over campus — inside and outside the classroom.

The new technology, Bauer said, is not meant to replace teacher-student interaction but is designed “to enhance the learning experience.”

Depersonalizing the relationship between students and faculty was a concern at first, but Bauer predicted just the opposite will happen.