Ubiquitous Computing“…teaching on the assumption that you don’t have

to dumb down the curriculum because not all students have access to the Internet…”

By David G. Brown

VP, Dean, and Professor of Economics

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

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8 BASIC MODELS OFUBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

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

• All + Laptops + Annual Refresh (U Minnesota-Crk)• Refresh Less Frequently (Wake Forest U)• Substitute Desktop Computers (US Air Force Aca)• Provide One Computer Per Two Beds (Chatham)• Specify Threshold Level (U North Carolina)• Substitute Network Computers• Provide Public Station Computers (Boston College)• Teach with Explicit Assumption of Access

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Phase In Strategies

• 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

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• IBM Laptops for all• Printers for all• New Every 2 Years• Own @ Graduation• 31.000 Connections• Standard Software• 99% E-Mail• Start 1995, 4 Year Phase In• +15% Tuition for 37 Items• +40 Faculty and 30 Staff

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001

THE WAKE FOREST PLANIBM A21m, Pentium III, 800 Mhz, 20GB, 14.1”ActMatrix, 192mbRAM, Re-writable CD

56k modem, 8MB Video Ram, 10/100 Ethernet, Floppy, Lithium-ion Battery12mbps USB & Serial & Parallel & Infrared Ports, 6.7 lbs.

•Windows 98•Netscape Communicator 4.77•MS Office2000 Pro•Dreamweaver 4•Shockwave & Flash•Apple QuickTime 4.1.2•Waterloo Maple V 6.0•SPSS 10.1•Real Player & Producer•Adaptec Easy CD•Norton Antivirus•Remedy AR Client 4.05/01

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• 3700 undergraduates• 92% residential• 500 each: Med, Law, MBA, PhD• Winston-Salem, NC• 1300 average SAT• 28th in US News & World Report • Top 35 Privates in Barron’s Guide• Rhodes Scholars

Wake Forest University

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The Big Three

#1. E-mail

#2. Course Web Pages (Blackboard)

#3. Internet URLs

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Ways of Thinking AboutPresidential Campaigns and DebatesA First Year Seminar IntroducingStudents to the Liberal Arts

15 FreshmenMeet twice per weekAll with open laptops

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001

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Consequences for Wake Forest

• +SAT Scores & Class Ranks

• +Retention & Grad Rates

• +Satisfaction & Learning

• +Faculty Recruitment

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001

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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%

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Computers allow people----

• to belong to more communities• to be more actively engaged in each

community• with more people• over more miles• for more months and years• TO BE MORE COLLABORATIVE

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With Ubiquity---The Culture Changes

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

• Teaching Assumptions shift-- like from books in the public library to everyone

owns a copy of his/her own.

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

all the time and MWF we meet together”

• Time horizons shift– like from “I’ll be able to use this computer while in

college” to “I’m learning to use a lifetime tool”

• Students’ sense of access shifts-- like from “maybe 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 town

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Confirmation from Professors atAmerica’s Most Wired Universities

• Interactive Learning

• Collaborative Learning

• Communication

• Visualization

• Different Strokes for Different Folks

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With standardization---

• 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

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With Portability---

• Continuous Contact & Faculty Availability

• More Student Collaboration

• More Curriculum Flexibility

• Easier Travel Abroad

• Quicker Exchange When Machine is Broken

• Fewer Computer Labs & More Classrooms

• Greater Sense of Ownership

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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

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BIG ISSUES

• Laptop vs Desktop vs PDA• Standard vs Threshold• Single Vendor vs Multiple Vendors• Buy vs Lease vs Student Buy• Blackboard vs WebCT vs Learning

Space vs Other Mgt Systems• Cold Turkey vs Pilot

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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?

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WHY COMPUTERS?…the institutional answer

• Communication!

• Level Playing Field

• After College Use

• Faculty/Students Demand Them

• Customized/Personalized

• Digitized Scholarship

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Brown’s First Year Seminar• Before Class

– Students Find URLs & Identify Criteria

– Interactive exercises– Just-in-Time Quizzes– E-mail dialogue– Cybershows & Lecture Notes

• During Class– One Minute Quiz– Computer Tip Talk– E-mails to Classmates– Class Polls– Team Projects– Chat During Lecture

• After Class– Edit Drafts by Team– Guest Editors– Access Previous Papers– Follow Up Discussion

• Other– Daily Announcements– Team Web Page– Personal Web Pages– Personal Portfolio– Exams include Computer

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 2001

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Thoughts About the Future

• Customized Learning• Collaboration in All Disciplines• Hybrid Methodologies• Every Person A Server• Electronic Publications• Confederations• Branding• Always in Touch

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Five Course Design Strategies That Work

#1. Continuous Communication

#2. Preview and Review

#3. Controversy and Debate

#4. Different Strokes, Different Folks

#5. Outsider Involvement

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Faculty Development Concepts Worth Considering

• Eager Faculty• Friendly Sharing (standardize!)• Standard Course Shell• Centrality of Educational Theory• Diversity Among Disciplines• Big 3 First (KISS)• Start with Hybrid Courses• Faculty to Faculty

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Faculty Development Strategies-- Most Effective

•Friends and Neighbors!

•Full Time Academic Computer Specialists Trained and Located in Disciplines (ACS)

•Well Trained Students Assigned to One Faculty Member for Full Semester (STARS)

•Seminars Sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning (not only technology)

•Tutorials re Equipment by Librarians

•All Campus Help Desk

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David G. BrownWake Forest University

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

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

fax: 336-758-4875

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