issues - Seton Hall University

Reverend Paul Holmes, S.T.D., associate provost, collects signed copies of
the Seton Hall University Student Covenant from members of the Class
of 2004 at Freshman Convocation in August 2000. The covenant provides
students with a clear statement of the core values and responsibilities
of the Seton Hall community.
through leadership opportunities,
campus activities and
volunteer efforts; and taking
a conscientious approach to
the use of technology.
Ingrained in the minds and
hearts of students throughout
orientation and the Fall
Semester, the “First-Year
Experience” at Seton Hall
formally began with the annual
Freshman Convocation on
August 31. “A time for the
University community to officially
welcome the Class of
2004, Freshman Convocation
is one example of a specific
move toward unity,” Mott says.
“Much like the COMPASS program
itself, it represents a great
new beginning for our students
and all the potential to come in
their years at Seton Hall.”
Seton Hall University
Student Covenant
I pledge to enter into
dialogue with all persons of
good will and to join them
in the search for truth.
I pledge to seek all that
is best and authentically
human.
I welcome the help of all
believers, and other persons
of good will, as they question
me and instruct me.
I pledge to comply
with the tenets of academic
honesty and intellectual
integrity.
I commit myself to a
life of responsible action
and to building a life that is
faithful to the past and open
to the future.
I pledge to respond to
the privileges and rights
associated with my Seton
Hall University community,
aware of the responsibilities
that are part of this
covenant.
I recognize and cherish
the opportunity to make
this covenant with the faculty,
administration, staff and
fellow students of Seton
Hall University.
Future teachers acquire
the tools to assist children
with special needs
All children deserve an
opportunity to learn and
grow, no matter what their
needs. For children with cerebral
palsy and for youngsters
who use wheelchairs or breathe
with the assistance of a ventilator,
new technologies can provide
this opportunity. Seton
Hall’s “Assistive Technology for
Teachers” course demonstrates
how to make use of this new
equipment.
The course is taught by
Grace Szepkouski, Ph.D., director
of the special education
program in the College of
Education and Human
Services. One of the new tools
she employs is a computer
“touch screen.” Children who
are unable to use a traditional
keyboard can use the touch
screen and various software programs
to communicate. Another
new keyboard tool is a
“switch,” a large button-like
device. With the switch, “an
array of choices appear on the
screen and a black highlight
box passes over each item on
the screen display,” Szepkouski
explains. “A voice reads the
highlighted item and, if the
user would like that choice, he
or she hits the switch.”
As part of the course, Seton
Hall students gain practical
experience by being assigned
to a school where the assistive
technology software and equipment
are being used.
The Lakeview School of
the Middlesex County Cerebral
Palsy Association in Edison,
New Jersey, has expressed
how happy it is with Seton
Hall’s course. According to
Szepkouski, “This course and
our project with Lakeview help
our student-teachers bring a
broader range of knowledge to
the field. The student teachers
have more time to get hands-on
experience in the classroom,
which is vital in laying the
foundation for becoming a
strong teacher.”
For sophomore Pamela
Schwarte, one of Szepkouski’s
first students, guiding the
Lakeview children as they took
an active part turned out to be a
priceless experience. “I learned
so much from working with
these children,” Schwarte says.
“I learned how to handle various
learning devices in the
classroom, which will help me
become a better teacher and
allow me to have all my students
be actively involved in
the learning process.”
While the course is offered
in the special education program,
Szepkouski foresees its
usefulness in other disciplines
as well. “This course can be
used by everyone from a business
major who may work with
someone who needs these
machines, to a nurse or social
worker who may have a
special-needs patient who
communicates with these
devices,” she says.
Tomorrow’s teachers need
to know how to use the latest
technology in the classroom,
Szepkouski emphasizes. “This
program keeps our students
competitive in the marketplace,”
she notes. “When a student
leaves the education program
at Seton Hall, we believe
we are sending them off with a
tool bag of knowledge they can
use. With this course we are
now throwing technology skills
into this tool bag.”
Project SHURE (Seton
Hall University Revitalizing
Education), an implementation
grant from the U.S. Department
of Education’s Preparing
Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use
Technology program, funded
the course development and
equipment and promoted partnerships
with the schools.
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