GOODBYE, OLD SCHOOL TODAY'S STUDENTS HAVE TECH CENTERS IN DORMS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE - Grant Kohrmann's dorm at California State University, Northridge, houses a dual-monitor computer that plays CDs, DVDs, television and satellite radio. He also owns a cell phone, digital camera, iPod, Xbox and PDA.

But with the exception of the Xbox, most of these electronic goodies aren't toys. They're the tools Kohrmann, 21, of San Diego needs to reach his dream of becoming a film editor.

``I don't want to have to (wake up the resident assistants) at 2 a.m. on a Friday to use the editing lab if I want to edit a video,'' Kohrmann explained.

Twenty years ago, college students arrived on campus with little more than a stereo, a hair dryer and possibly an electric typewriter. Today's college students arrive with enough technology to stock an electronics store, and some have never seen a typewriter.

But while many students find these technological items essential, professors and others say they can distract students from their studies, depriving them of the quiet time needed for scholarly achievement, and even promote cheating.

``We all know what a time-suck those (devices) can be,'' said Michael Neubauer, CSUN coordinator of the developmental mathematics program. ``It does seem amazing that during the class-change minutes, every other student is on the cell phone. What can be that important?

``I think what goes away is the ability to be by yourself and with your own thoughts, which to do scholarly work is essential. You need time to sit down and have the patience to listen to your own brain working.''

Technology also has unleashed new problems, from students who use camera cell phones to cheat on tests to those who see their grades plummet because of Internet addiction, said Kevin Kruger, associate executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, a nonprofit Washington, D.C., group that works with student affairs administrators.

But students' technology is pervasive, mirroring the working world, and it's not going away anytime soon.

Jack Gibbons, associate director of the office of residential life at the University of California, Los Angeles, said about 75 percent of the university's 9,000 on-campus residents have laptops, and 25 percent have desktop computers, many of which are ``designer'' systems the students put together themselves. Only a third have stereos because most play music on their computers.

So many CSUN students have cell phones that the university no longer provides land lines in the residence halls unless students request one, said Mike O'Neal, CSUN community coordinator for learning and assessment.

Part of this is a natural consequence of a generation of students who have had computer access since they were 3 years old, Kruger said.

``I think what you're seeing is the natural progression of behavior the students developed in high school,'' Kruger said. ``Most students have multiple e-mail accounts, instant messaging occurs multiple times a day. They come to college prepared to communicate electronically.''

And while professors may not be able to eliminate recreational uses of technology, they can embrace the positive benefits of having well-wired students by incorporating it into the classroom and for outside assignments, Kruger said.

CSUN's Neubauer is one professor who uses his students' technological savvy to his advantage. Class notes for his math classes, homework assignments and even supplemental reading materials are posted on the Internet and he can send a message to every one of his students with a single e-mail address.

Students also are becoming increasingly savvy that their technological toys provide a tempting target for thieves. Both Kohrmann and his roommate have elaborate locks on their computers, and Kohrmann bought a messenger bag instead of a backpack after his iPod was stolen out of a backpack on another campus - while he was walking to class.

``The earphones are very distinctive,'' Kohrmann said. ``People see those, and they know there's a $300 music player on the other end of those earphones.''

But thefts at CSUN dropped by nearly 50 percent from 2004 to 2003 and overall crime in the residence halls is down 34 percent after campus police started a community policing program, said Christina Villalobos, CSUN Police Department spokeswoman, but the department still tells students to be cautious, as many of the thefts are ``crimes of opportunity.''

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 2) Grant Kohrmann, a student at CSUN, shows off his high-tech dormitory room setup. Above, an Apple iPod, held here Kohrmann, is a must- have for many music-loving college kids now.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer