University News
COEHS and CAIT "Cut the Cable"
September 10, 2002
Macomb, IL -- Western Illinois UniversityÂ’s College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) and Center for the Application of Information Technologies (CAIT) will host a "Cut the Cable" celebration at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept.19, in Horrabin Hall 1 on the WIU campus. President Al Goldfarb and COEHS Dean Bonnie Smith-Skripps will "Cut the Cable" to celebrate Horrabin HallÂ’s Digital Air Wireless Network (DAWN).
Completed in late August, DAWN is the culmination of eight months of work between COEHS, CAIT, University Computer Support Services (UCSS) and the Physical Plant.
"The Digital Air Wireless Network is another step in the evolution of teaching and learning with technology that COEHS has promoted since we created our first electronic classroom in 1993," said Smith-Skripps. "COEHS has worked to create a computing and communications environment that knows no boundaries. It is the intent of the college to provide the platform and resources for our faculty and students to explore innovations in teaching and learning."
DAWN provides a platform for the growth of wireless educational technologies and techniques by allowing students and faculty to access the Internet and communicate with each other anywhere inside Horrabin Hall and the immediate outside vicinity – no wires required. CAIT maintains three wireless laptop carts of 21 units each, which are available for COEHS faculty to check out for student use. Faculty can then provide each of their students with a laptop for the class period and have the ability to control the desktops from a central location and project the image onto a screen.
"DAWN is not just wires and boxes. A sophisticated infrastructure is required to support the wireless network, as well as the content and resources necessary to support the type of instruction it promotes," CAIT Director Michael Dickson added. "This could not have been achieved without the support and assistance of UCSS and the Physical Plant. This partnership worked together to insure adequate infrastructure and develop standards that will apply to the entire campus, as more and more buildings make the move to wireless technology."
The wireless network in Horrabin Hall is an outcome of previous experiments with laptop use for faculty and students. In 2000, COEHS sponsored a laptop program with a group of elementary education majors. The students were provided laptop computers and taught how to use them as instructional tools, then allowed to take the computers and use them for instruction and communication when they left campus their final semester to complete student teaching.
Now in its second year, the COEHS Faculty Innovators is a group of 24 faculty members from 12 COEHS academic departments dedicated to raising the standard for technology integration in teaching and learning. These explorations, along with COEHSÂ’ and CAITÂ’s national reputations as leaders in the use of educational technologies, supported the move to wireless technologies.
The campus and Macomb community are invited to attend the celebration. Demonstrations of the wireless technology will be offered, as well as hands-on opportunities to experience the capabilities of the new Digital Air Wireless Network.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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