Students design the 'smart dorm' of the future

Need a virtual landing pad outside your dorm window?

The sky is the limit when predicting the college dorm room of the future. Gradware.com, a San Diego-based supplier of discounted software and hardware, has announced a student essay contest about how technology could be integrated into the "digital dorm room" of the future, reports eSchool News.

Students who submit essays will get a chance to win a college scholarship for sharing their ideas, and the top responses will be compiled into book format and distributed to colleges nationwide.

"We want to bring back the notion that U.S. colleges and high schools are important breeding grounds of technological innovation and cultural creativity," said Spencer Sakata, Gradware's chief executive officer. "This is a chance for creative, forward-thinking students to brainstorm the coolest gadgets they can think of. No rules, no limits--we're really looking for some crazy ideas here. Technology can be very cool when it enhances campus life."

Creative thinking is paramount in this contest to promote new ideas that are pertinent to students lives.

"They're going to be intrigued by the ideas that students have," he predicted. "Students are using technology differently, and it's ... changing their priorities."

"I think this contest should be very interesting to see what the students are thinking of," said Marks. "Universities have attempted to network and create wireless environments and everything that goes along with that,"said Judy Marks, associate director for the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.