Without Ubiquity Computers Have
Little Impact Upon Learning
ICCEL Conference on Eight
Models of Ubiquitous Computing
February 17, 1999
By David G. Brown
VP, Dean, and Professor of Economics
Wake Forest University
http://www.wfu.edu/~brown and brown@wfu.edu
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?
Computers Enhance My
Teaching and/or Learning Via-Presentations
Better--20%
More Opportunities to
Practice & Analyze--35%
More Access to Source
Materials via Internet--43%
More Communication with Faculty Colleagues, Classmates,
and Between Faculty and Students--87%
BIG ISSUES
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Laptop vs Desktop vs Network
Standard vs Threshold
Single Vendor vs Multiple Vendors
Buy vs Lease vs Student Buy
CourseInfo vs Web Course in Box
Cold Turkey vs Pilot
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
WHY COMPUTERS?
…the institutional answer
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Communication!
Level Playing Field
After College Use
Faculty/Students Demand Them
Customized/Personalized
Digitized Scholarship
WHY COMPUTERS?
…the faculty answer
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Interactive Learning
Learn by Doing
Collaborative Learning
Integration of Theory and Practice
Visualization
Communication
Different Strokes for Different Folks
WHY STANDARDIZATION?
WHY PORTABILITY?
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Communication Utility! (George Gilder)
99% Reliability A Must in Classroom
Buddies Share Hardware & Knowledge
Better, Cheaper Support Systems
Alums Stay Connected
Students are Nomads. Study Abroad.
7 MODELS OF
UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
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All + Powerful + Laptops + Annual Refresh
Substitute Desktop Computers
Provide One Computer Per Two Beds
Substitute Network Computers
Provide Public Station Computers
Specify Threshold Level
Teach with Explicit Assumption of Access
6 MORE MODELS OF
UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
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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
Brown’s First Year Seminar
• Before Class
– Students Find URLs &
Identify Criteria
– Interactive exercises
– Lecture Notes
– E-mail dialogue
– Cybershows
• During Class
– One Minute Quiz
– Computer Tip Talk
– Class Polls
• After Class
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Edit Drafts by Team
Guest Editors
Hyperlinks & Pictures
Access Previous Papers
• Other
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Daily Announcements
Team Web Page
Personal Web Pages
Exams include Computer
Materials Forever
METAPHORS
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Automobile in the Jungle
Teenagers Learning How to Drive
1000 Times More Powerful Telephone
Learning a Second Language by Immersion
State Religion
House Calls
METAPHORS
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Cost of the Library
Students as Nomads
Rural Electrification
Key to the Library
General Contractor