Technology and students

I am in the process of  "window shopping" for colleges for my younger son who is a junior in high school.  Over the past month we have attended workshops and done some college visits.  There have been 3 technology things I have learned about that I think are noteworthy.

1. One college we visited gives a new laptop computer to all its incoming freshman. This service is included in the cost of tuition. The laptop has MS Office Suite, various CAD design software packages and the Adobe Suite which includes Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and other packages.  These laptop also include many free open source software titles too.  The students keep these laptops for 2 years, then turn them in for new laptops at the beginning of their junior year which they then keep for the duration of their next 2 years and are able to keep it after they leave.  Many of the attending students told us how great this is.  Everyone is on the same page as far as using the same technology tools.  Teachers and students can help each other out when troubles arise and there is an on campus Tech Support area where you can take your computer if anything goes wrong!  How cool is that!
2. At another school we attended, we were told about a current student (a part-time senior) who started a laundry service for students.  He has drop off boxes in each dorm and students leave their dirty laundry in the drop boxes in laundry bags and then the next day, clean clothes are delivered back to the dorm.  A text or email lets the student know when  their clean laundry is ready to pick up.  This student has expanded his business to multiple colleges in the Boston area and is now making over $2 million per year.  At the same school, if students choose to do their own laundry, all washers and dryers are programmed to text the student when their load is done to let them know they can come transfer their laundry to the dryer or pick it up. No more wet laundry sitting in the washer for hours!
3. The next thing I learned about is more disturbing.  It is a new trend in colleges and schools.  Students are using a webcam sharing site called chatroullette. This site allows you to be randomly connected to another person anywhere in the world using a webcam.  Apparently inappropriate interactions often happen here and this is the new trend that is replacing the previous popular "Sexting" trend that was being done on cell phones.  Take a look at the explanation on Wikipedia and if you dare, you can go to the site itself.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatroulette    Once again I am reminded how truly unregulated the internet is.   In case you have not heard of "Chatroullette"  you should be aware of its growing use.
   http://www.pittnews.com/article/2010/02/18/layton-chatroulette-much-scarier-its-russian-cousin
   
    http://www.alternet.org/media/146018/chatroulette:_naked_chicks,_boys_seeking_boobs_and_connections_across_the_globe