What will happen to our general purpose computer labs once the tablet program is fully in place? The centrally maintained computer labs in the Civil/Mechanic building, the EE/P building, and the Library will continue as hardwired labs for teaching and student coursework use. ITS has begun to phase out its support for the smaller labs (fewer than 10 machines). Summer 2007 saw the closing of CB lab, McLaury lab and Chemistry lab. Printers remain in place for the convenience of students. If things go wrong in class, will there be technical assistance? The Technology Fellows program is designed to help with technology in the classroom. At the request of the instructor, a Tech Fellow will be assigned to any class using tablet PCs. The Tech Fellow will attend the class and assist if problems arise. As the instructor becomes comfortable with the technology, he or she will decide what ongoing level of assistance is needed. ITS staff member Brad O'Brien is dedicated to the program and is available to assist instructors at their request. Technology Fellows are also available. Contact Brad to schedule the assistance of a Technology Fellow How do I prevent students from playing games or sending email in class? Software called “DyKnow” can restrict what students can do on their machines. The instructor will be in control of student access to the Internet. In fact, all laptops in the classroom can be easily “locked down” so students can view only what is on the instructor’s PC. This choice can be easily exercised, for instance, during a presentation. How do I prevent students from using their tablets to cheat on tests? The monitoring function of DyKnow prevents students from messaging one another or using the Internet. For paper and pencil tests, students can be asked to turn off their tablets and place them under their desks. Technology-enabled cheating is also an issue for cell phones, Blackberrys, etc. Policies for preventing this should be included in the syllabus. Will the cost have a negative effect on enrollment? The cost is set yearly by the BOR. We believe the Tablet PC program is seen as a plus by the type of student we attract. Most of our full-time students already invest in personal computers. By making this a required program, the student can include the cost in financial aid. When we look to the experiences of other colleges and universities, we see no enrollment declines attributed to laptop programs. In fact, many attribute enrollment increases to the decision to require laptops. Will I be required to use the tablet PC in my classes? No. However, use of our general purpose computer labs is increasing as more instructors reserve them on an occasional basis for their classes. As stated above, the number of general purpose PC labs is decreasing. When each student has a tablet PC, every classroom can be used as a computer lab. Each instructor is asked to exert his or her professional judgment and imagination in exploring how to take advantage of the tablets in the classroom to engage students in their learning and to improve learning. We will all be engaged in this exploration and do not assume the technology is an advantage for all pedagogies. How much additional time will I need to rework my lesson plans if I choose to use the tablet PC in my classes? Time investment varies greatly by individual. You may elect to use the tablets occasionally to avoid moving your class to a general purpose computer lab. You may find ways to capitalize on the interactive potential of the tablets to increase student engagement in learning. The first would probably require minimal additional preparation while the second would require careful thinking about the learning outcomes you want to achieve. Priority for year-end funding will be given to proposals for summer support to revise courses to incorporate the tablets into classroom pedagogy. Will I be able to use sound as part of my classroom presentation? Hard-wired network connection and hard-wired video connection are available in all presentation classrooms, which provides sound and video capability in the classroom. Currently, we cannot wirelessly project sound or video to the projectors. How will the student tablet PCs be maintained? The Tablet Repair Office is located in the lower level of the Devereaux Library. If issues are too complex for an immediate fix, a loaner machine may be issued to the student. Turn-around time should be approximately 10 minutes, subject to demand . ITS is a certified Gateway repair shop so ITS has many key components on hand to help with any hardware issues. In the case of hard drive failure, the old hard drive will be replaced immediately with a new, pre-imaged hard drive. Backing up the hard drive of the tablet is the responsibility of the user. What kind of training will be provided for students? For faculty? Training is available on demand from ITS staff. Historically, workshops have been offered during summer breaks facilitated by ITS staff. Workshops on how to use the tablets in the classroom will be given by faculty members with experience gained during the pilot project. Students will be trained when the tablets are issued to them. If this is adopted, does this mean that eventually my job can be outsourced to Vermillion, Brookings, or Bangladesh? A greater danger to all our jobs would be to turn a blind eye to the positive innovations in pedagogy made possible by new technologies. We also put our jobs at risk by ignoring changes in student expectations. Regardless of what we do here at the School of Mines, the world around us is changing and will eventually change us, too. Only those of us who are a few years from retirement can safely refrain from acting one way or the other. The best way to ensure our value, relevance, and employment in Higher Ed is to understand the technology well enough to make the best possible decisions based on our informed professional judgment. How will the presentation classroom configurations change? Will there still be PC’s in the Presentation Lectern? Presentation Classrooms have LCD monitors, desktop PCs, cables for connecting Tablets, projectors and video displaying equipment. ITS predicts that desktop PCs in the presentation classroom will be a part of the presentation equipment for quite some time. What will the cost be to the students and how will the money be used? Students pay for the program over a three-year period through a student fees. The technology will be replaced at the end of 3 years. Tablets being rotated out of the program can be purchased through the Bookstore for market value.The program fee will be used to obtain tablets from Gateway, to maintain the software and hardware for the tablets, to maintain and upgrade the wireless access points and to support the full-time position to provide program support. To whom can I send additional questions I may have? Questions about the technology itself and technical issues should be sent by email to Brad O'Brien |
