Without Ubiquity Computers Have Little Impact Upon Learning

1
Without Ubiquity Computers Have Little Impact
Upon Learning
ICCEL Conference on Eight Models of Ubiquitous
Computing February 17, 1999

• By David G. Brown
• VP, Dean, and Professor of Economics
• Wake Forest University
• http//www.wfu.edu/brown and brown_at_wfu.edu

2
Positioning for the Future

• 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?

• What are your institutions 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?

3
Computers Enhance My Teaching and/or Learning
Via--
Presentations Better--20
More Opportunities to Practice Analyze--35
More Access to Source Materials via Internet--43
More Communication with Faculty Colleagues,
Classmates, and Between Faculty and Students--87
4
BIG ISSUES

• Laptop vs Desktop vs Network
• Standard vs Threshold
• Single Vendor vs Multiple Vendors
• Buy vs Lease vs Student Buy
• CourseInfo vs Web Course in Box
• Cold Turkey vs Pilot

5
BIG ISSUES

• Communication vs Presentation vs Analysis vs
  Access to Internet
• Virtual Courses vs Hybrids
• Academic vs Administrative
• Consortia vs Going It Alone
• Todays Students vs Alums Also
• Mandatory vs Optional

6
WHY COMPUTERS?the institutional answer

• Communication!
• Level Playing Field
• After College Use
• Faculty/Students Demand Them
• Customized/Personalized
• Digitized Scholarship

7
WHY COMPUTERS?the faculty answer

• Interactive Learning
• Learn by Doing
• Collaborative Learning
• Integration of Theory and Practice
• Visualization
• Communication
• Different Strokes for Different Folks

8
WHY STANDARDIZATION?WHY PORTABILITY?

• Communication Utility! (George Gilder)
• 99 Reliability A Must in Classroom
• Buddies Share Hardware Knowledge
• Better, Cheaper Support Systems
• Alums Stay Connected
• Students are Nomads. Study Abroad.

9
7 MODELS OFUBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

• All Powerful Laptops Annual Refresh
• Substitute Desktop Computers
• Provide One Computer Per Two Beds
• Substitute Network Computers
• Provide Public Station Computers
• Specify Threshold Level
• Teach with Explicit Assumption of Access

10
6 MORE MODELS OF UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

• 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

11
Browns First Year Seminar

• Before Class
• Students Find URLs Identify Criteria
• Interactive exercises
• Lecture Notes
• E-mail dialogue
• Cybershows
• During Class
• One Minute Quiz
• Computer Tip Talk
• Class Polls

• After Class
• Edit Drafts by Team
• Guest Editors
• Hyperlinks Pictures
• Access Previous Papers
• Other
• Daily Announcements
• Team Web Page
• Personal Web Pages
• Exams include Computer
• Materials Forever

12
METAPHORS

• Automobile in the Jungle
• Teenagers Learning How to Drive
• 1000 Times More Powerful Telephone
• Learning a Second Language by Immersion
• State Religion
• House Calls

13
METAPHORS

• Cost of the Library
• Students as Nomads
• Rural Electrification
• Key to the Library
• General Contractor