Ubiquitous Computing: Why and How

By David G. Brown

VP, Dean, and Professor of Economics

Wake Forest Universityhttp://www.wfu.edu/~brown and brown@wfu.edu

ICCEL Conference on AffordableModels of Ubiquitous Computing

June 23, 2000

http://www.vcsu.nodak.edu/offices/itc/notebooks/other.htm

http://thenode.org/ltreport/list.cfm?Subj=26&Loc=LTR

8 BASIC MODELS OFUBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

(Ordered by total cost, starting with the most expensive)

• All + Powerful + Laptops + Annual Refresh UMC• Refresh Less Frequently WFU WVWC• Substitute Desktop Computers USAFA• Provide One Computer Per Two Beds Chatham• Specify Threshold Level SSU UNC• Substitute Network Computers• Provide Public Station Computers BC• Teach with Explicit Assumption of Access

WAYS TO REDUCE START UP COSTS

• Annual Lease

• Phase in by classes

• Phase in by programs

• Phase in by type of program

• Phase in by category (faculty, students, staff)

• Hand me down

• Loaner Pool

WHY COMPUTERS?WHY UBIQUITOUS?WHY STANDARD?WHY PORTABLE?

WHY COMPUTERS?…the faculty answer

• Interactive Learning

• Learn by Doing

• Collaborative Learning

• Integration of Theory and Practice

• Visualization

• Communication

• Different Strokes for Different Folks

WHY COMPUTERS?…the institutional answer

• Communication!

• Level Playing Field

• After College Use

• Faculty/Students Demand Them

• Customized/Personalized

• Digitized Scholarship

WHY UBIQUITOUS?

• Mentality shifts-- like from public phone to personal phone.

• Teaching Assumptions shift-- like from readings are on reserve to everyone owns a copy of his/her own.

• Timelines shift-- like from “our class meets MWF” to “we

see each other all the time and MWF we meet together”• Students’ sense of access shifts-- like from “I can get

that book in the library” to “I have that book in my library.”

• Relationships shift-- like from a family living in many different states to all family members living in the same tow

Computers Enhance My Teaching and/or Learning Via--

PresentationsBetter--20%More Opportunities toPractice & Analyze--35%

More Access to SourceMaterials via Internet--43%

More Communication with Faculty Colleagues, Classmates,and Between Faculty and Students--87%

WHY STANDARD?

• Communication Utility! (George Gilder)

• 99% Reliability A Must in Classroom

• Buddies Share Hardware & Knowledge

• Better, Cheaper Support Systems

• Marketing Advantages

• Faculty “Trusts” Equality of Access

WHY PORTABLE?

Distinctive Opportunities Available Only in Laptop Settings

• Faculty are always available• Students expect messages between classes• Student PowerPoint talks are common• Team assignments increase• On site data collection & essay writing• Papers often include visuals, even motion• Study at best location, not limited to dorm• Continuous contact

WHY PORTABLE?Academic Reasons

• Continuous Contact

• More Collaboration

• Greater Faculty Availability

• Greater Sense of Ownership

• More Flexibility: On site data collection & essay writing. In class use.

• Study at best location, not limited to dorm

• Stronger Recruitment/Retention

• Quick exchange when machine is broken

• Fewer Computer Labs: More Space for Other Activities

• Built in refresh mechanism

• Access to college continues when on vacation, abroad, and after graduation

WHY PORTABLE?Administrative Reasons

The Big Six#1. E-mail

#2. Web Pages (for each course)

#3. Internet URLs

#4. Lotus Screen Cams

#5. PowerPoint with Audio

#6. Microsoft Word with Comment

Actions Toward Capitalizing on Ubiquity, Standardization, and

Portability• Ask more of students! (new day)• Encourage students to use computers in their

non-course life (as well).• Design activities that start before class and

extend beyond class.• Expect students to bring computers to prof

office, to friend’s dorm room, adjunct prof.• Add Fieldwork

Continued...

• Explore team taught courses, especially between departments and schools

• Facilitate continuing contact with students after course and after college

• Require all students to submit in class answers (so none coasts)

• Structure rewards for collaborative projects• Recognize that old limits of lab availability are

gone.

Continued….• Create student portfolios• Other things equal, design projects that may

be completed on the laptops as well as in computer labs

• Put students and faculty on same software systems, especially email

• Study the competition • Use students to train faculty.

Continued…• Expect slower students to repeat in class demos, etc.

• Revitalize departmental clubs

• Consider offsite studio labs (in the garden)

• Get more students studying abroad

• Recognize the laptop as a portable presentation tool (both faculty & students)

• Use anytime, anywhere access by students--including in class (updated info)

• Don’t use laptops where they don’t make sense

Positioning for the Future

• What are your institution’s strengths & weaknesses

• How do you determine your place in an electronic world?

• What will be your primary student markets--program areas? Degree credit? Geographic span? Age?

• What are the appropriate delivery technologies next year? 5 years? Etc?

• What is a realistic staffing plan? Outsourcing? Support personnel? Executive leadership?

• What institutional partnerships make sense?

BIG ISSUES

• Communication vs Presentation vs Analysis vs Access to Internet

• Virtual Courses vs Hybrids

• Academic vs Administrative

• Consortia vs Going It Alone

• Today’s Students vs Alums Also

• Mandatory vs Optional

BIG ISSUES

• Laptop vs Desktop vs Network

• Standard vs Threshold

• Single Vendor vs Multiple Vendors

• Buy vs Lease vs Student Buy

• LearningSpace vs CourseInfo vs WebCT vs Other Mgt Systems

• Cold Turkey vs Pilot

David G. BrownWake Forest University

Winston-Salem, N.C. 27109336-758-4878

email: brown@wfu.eduhttp//:www.wfu.edu/~brown

fax: 336-758-4875