1. June 20051 Diamond in the Rough – a Mobile Computing Program Myra Williams Mark Miller http://www.rpi.edu/dept/arc/thinktank/thinktank2005.ppt

2. June 20052 Facets for Discussion Overview of Mobile Computing Program Campus involvement and partnerships Laptop as a recruitment tool Integration of mobile technology into the curriculum

3. June 20053 Rensselaer Overview Educates the leaders of tomorrow for technologically based careers Private institution founded in 1824 7000 students - 5000 undergraduate, 2000 graduate 520 faculty, 1430 staff Schools – Architecture, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management and Technology, Science

4. June 20054 Mobile Computing Overview Laptop required for undergraduate students Single standard high end T-xx model including software at an excellent price Students can purchase, lease to own, or bring own Laptop used inside and outside of class Over 6,000 laptops on campus http://www.rpi.edu/laptops/

5. June 20055 Mobile Computing Program Evolution 1999Freshmen only, Emphasized lease to encourage refresh, 600E 2000Freshmen/Sophomores, Administrative database implemented, Security cable added to package, Increase insurance deductible from $500 to $1,000, Student involvement in backpack design begins, T20 2001Freshmen/Sophomores/Juniors, De-emphasized lease, Self insured, Refurbished laptop program, T22 Homo sapien

6. June 20056 Evolution Continues 2002All undergraduates, No sales tax collected, ThinkPad Protection added, Rapid Restore with hidden partition, Laptop information in Student Information System, T30 2003Rest period, T40 2004Trade Up program, Request for Proposal, Lite image available, Updated all images to latest software versions, T42 2005Lease to own, Presidents Award, T43 Over 95% of incoming freshmen acquire the Rensselaer model Homo sapien golfus

7. June 20057 Campus Support for the Program Division of the Chief Information Officer team coordinates with groups across the campus to implement the Mobile Computing Program Students and Parents President Provost/Dean of Undergraduate Education Academic Departments/Faculty Residence Life Enrollment Management (aka Admissions) First Year Experience Financial Aid

8. June 20058 Campus Support – Cant Get Enough Volunteers – Employees from across the campus plus students Campus Planning and Design Environmental and Site Services Physical Plant DotCIO – Banner Student Information System Networking Media Operations Campus Computer Store Rensselaer Computer Repair Help Desk

9. June 20059 Corporate Partners IBM-Lenovo – ThinkPad MapInfo – MapInfo National Instruments - LabVIEW Kelty - backpacks Maplesoft - Maple Mathworks - Matlab Microsoft – Windows, Office, Visual Studio 1924

10. June 200510 Issued RFP for Mobile Computing Program partner (more than hardware) Vendor presentations with on-line feedback Hands-on day for faculty (disappointing attendance) Hands-on day for students (moderate attendance) User feedback (strong for IBM and Apple) Decision matrix and discussions RFP awarded to IBM 2004 Request for Proposal

11. June 200511 IBM-Lenovo Partnership Troy Campus Visits Mark Cohen, Distinguished Engineer Tony Corkell, Director ThinkPad and ThinkCentre Development Raleigh Visits – Products and roadmaps, technology futures Logistics - Model selection, image management technologies, delivery scheduling Account team stability Joint research projects, speaker series, campus activities IBM is major employer of Rensselaer graduates

12. June 200512 Recruitment Device Think its cool Plan to purchase Passing fad iPod/MP3 63%32%20% Camera phone 55%23%28% Laptop 70%45%5% WiFi 53%14%13% Palm/PDA 42%9%30% Source:NERCOMP 2005 talk The Young and the Wireless, Young Peoples Immersion In Technology by Dan Drath, VP Teenage Research Unlimited, 8 March 2005

13. June 200513 College Bound Teens (16-18) Source:NERCOMP 2005 talk The Young and the Wireless, Young Peoples Immersion In Technology by Dan Drath, VP Teenage Research Unlimited, 8 March 2005 DeviceExtremely / Very Likely to have Cell Phone, parents area code61% Laptop59% Digital Camera39% MP3 Player25% Landline Phone34% Cell Phone, colleges area code24%

14. June 200514 Recruitment Experiences Students expect to use a laptop Program with standard models reduces parents anxiety 2004 – Laptop incentive to reduce summer melt Confused parents/students, failed to reduce melt 2005 – Laptop incentive to increase enrollment Indicators promising but more analysis needed

15. June 200515 Academic Integration Laptops are useful for nearly all classes Anytime/anywhere computing and network access Used in the classroom for some courses (depends on the instructor and material) Students like the portability of the laptop No information on learning impact

16. June 200516 Laptop Integrated Courses Calculus Physics Introduction to Engineering Analysis Engineering Graphics and Computer Aided Design Freshmen Studies Advanced Manufacturing Lab (AML) Next Generation Studio Biology Laboratory Introduction To Embedded Control (LITEC)

17. June 200517 Fall 2005 Course Software Maple – Mathematics, Engineering SolidWorks – Engineering Matlab – Engineering MS Visual Studio – Computer Science Microstation – Architecture LabVIEW – Engineering, Computer Science Cygwin – Computer Science, Engineering

18. June 200518 Engineering Graphics and Computer Aided Design WebCT – calendar, assignments, quizzes, grades, video lectures for first three weeks DVD – contains lecture videos and example files Students work on drawings inside and outside of class using SolidWorks Pre-configuring SolidWorks saves one day of class

19. June 200519 Advanced Manufacturing Lab Teach, by experience, how to plan and execute cost-effective manufacturing operations Laptops used for designing parts (SolidWorks), for manufacturing (MasterCam), communicating with team members, writing reports, preparing presentations, creating posters No room for desktops in machining area Floppy drive required to load machines

20. June 200520 Next Generation Studio Biology Evolution, Genetics, Cell & Molecular Biology, Ecology Uses WebCT and the Internet extensively Laptops are required for each session On-line, pre-class session prepares student for in-class session and on-line, post-class session explores concepts and materials presented in the pre- and in-class sessions Genetics Construction Toolkit

21. June 200521 Genetics Construction Toolkit

22. June 200522 Why Such A Large Image? Faculty can plan computer assignments and exercises knowing students have the software installed and properly configured Do not waste class time installing/configuring software in class A problem fix applies to a large segment of any class Easier for student to remove SW than to install/configure Does not solve problems caused by students installing adware, spyware, and trojans

23. June 200523 Whats Missing? Adobe and Macromedia software due to licensing costs and issues Serial port and floppy drive for external instruments Automatic technology refresh Consistent Faculty Mobile Computing Program Macs for the Arts folks Include in cost of attendance Ship to home Add-on devices to complement laptop

24. June 200524 Spring 2003 Student Survey Laptops essential to course work - 83% of students agreed Laptops significantly enhanced learning – 81% of students agreed I have loved the laptop… The laptop is the devil.

25. June 200525 Summary Program is a success and largely taken for granted Computing power and portability are a win for the students Technology issues can be solved Tough issues are not technology related – policy, budget, or third party