A Productive Quarter Break for Technology Enhancement

Many people often assume that because school is out, no one is here on campus. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, quarter break (at least in technology) is one of our busiest times because it is then that we have the opportunity to work upgrades and enhancement projects.

This quarter break has been no exception in that respect, but it has been one of the most notable for many reasons.

First, you may notice new gadgets mounted on the ceilings. This is because we have just completed the first phase of wireless network upgrades in the College of Education. Students and faculty should return to significantly improved wireless network performance in the areas of the building that are covered.

Areas in the buildings that are still experiencing coverage problems will be upgraded during a second, expansion phase to come later, following other requisite network upgrades. Our goal is to expand wireless coverage such that 100% of all our buildings are covered by the end of Spring Quarter.

Second, we have received a lot of good news on grant funding that will provide classroom enhancements. Thanks to a new grant from Dr. Don Schillinger and Ms. Lindsey Keith-Vincent, the SciTEC classroom will be seeing enhancements over the coming year. More information will be released on this when the plans are finalized.

In the meantime, the Student Technology Fee Board approved a grant request for over $50,000 to convert the Woodard Hall 130 computer lab into a student-oriented collaboration space. Over Winter quarter, there will be a lot of activity centered around this classroom. New furniture will be purchased, new equipment will be installed, and the room will even receive an aesthetic makeover to go with its new use. The end result will be a room that students can use for group class projects and other collaborative endeavors.

Clearing out 130 for these enhancements has meant having quite a bit of resources for upgrades in other places. We have eliminated old-style desks in two classrooms (WH108 and WH216) and replaced them with tables. Additional tables from WH130 are being moved to WH124 to convert the old compressed video classroom into a more modern class space. Computers from WH130 are replacing those in WH127; computers from the WH127 lab will either be re-purposed for other uses or retired.