Tuesday, October 10, 2000

SUNY's Morrisville Campus Sees Wireless Computing as a Way to Create a Niche By JEFFREY R. YOUNG Morrisville, NY What's the best way to carry your laptop when you're walking and surfing the Net at the same time? That's one of the topics covered during freshman orientation here at the State University of New York's College of Agriculture and Technology at Morrisville, The second of four articles in a series Monday: The Wireless Revolution Wednesday: Universities Find Wireless Systems Bring Them Convenience and Savings Thursday: Carnegie Mellon Works to Make Computers Invisible and Pervasive where a wireless network blankets the campus and new students in many departments are required to lease a laptop computer and a wireless network adapter. "Cradle it safely in your arms," said Lisa Hebert, demonstrating laptop-carrying by holding both arms under an opened I.B.M. ThinkPad. Ms. Hebert, a technology consultant, led one of the orientation sessions on the day the hardware was distributed to about 1,000 students here. At least one student lost interest in the orientation, which dragged on for about two hours and covered such subjects as how best to fold a power cord. The student, Huy Q. Nguyen, hopped on the wireless network instead and started downloading software and pirated music. "It's a cool system," said Mr. Nguyen, a 17-year-old who plans to major in computer science. He said the wireless network was one reason he chose to attend Morrisville, a two-year college in a tiny village in central New York. Morrisville is one of a small but growing number of colleges to go wireless, endorsing a vision that some call "nomadic computing" -- meaning that students can connect to the global network from virtually anywhere on campus. For Morrisville, wireless technology also provided a cheaper way to offer Internet access in its nine dorms. Many colleges boast of having one "port per pillow," meaning that dormitory rooms have a high-speed outlet for every student. But running wires to every room is expensive. Officials at Morrisville decided to skip the comprehensive wiring and mount wireless transmitters throughout their buildings instead. And the wireless experiment, which began last fall, has helped the college upgrade its image. Once considered a "farm-boy college" by those in New York who had heard of it, Morrisville is gaining a reputation as a "place that's on the cutting edge of technology," said Jessica A. DeCerce, a spokeswoman for the college. Yahoo Internet Life magazine named Morrisville the "most wired" two-year college in the country this year, citing the wireless network as a factor in its decision. And several of the incoming students here said their high school guidance counselors had recommended the college as strong in technology. Michael Okoniewski The technology revolution at the college has been led by its president, Raymond W. Cross (above). As soon as he took the helm, in 1998, he created a technology plan that began by requiring students in many of the college's departments to have their own laptops. Mr. Cross had instituted a similar laptop requirement during his previous job, as president of Northwest Technical College. But his next move -- the wireless network -- was a new challenge. The wireless infrastructure isn't as fast as a traditional campus network, but it is several times faster than a 56-kilobit modem. At its best, the wireless network is about one-fifth the speed of the college's existing wired network. With the system that Morrisville installed, the speed of the connection varies depending on how many people are communicating with the transmitter -- known as an "access point" -- through which the connection is being made. If one area of campus becomes overloaded on a regular basis, network administrators can simply add new access points there to help carry the load. Many students here say they enjoy the convenience of visiting cyberspace without being tethered to a network port. Soon after they got their new laptops, a few students could be seen surfing the Net outside, enjoying a sunny day. But by far the most popular place to use the wireless network here seems to be in dormitory rooms -- whether sitting on a bed, on the floor, or at an old-fashioned desk. Morrisville's compact campus is well suited for a wireless network. Most of the classroom buildings are clustered around the academic quad. The cafeteria, the student center, and the dorms are a short walk away. Each access point reaches about 500 feet. On a recent visit to campus, a visitor carried a laptop through the quad while downloading a file from the Internet. According to a software tool that monitors the strength of the wireless Internet connection, the signal was strongest when standing directly in front of a lobby where access points hang. The signal decreased gradually between buildings, but generally regained strength when the next access point took over. At one point, the connection disappeared completely, but taking a few steps forward restored the link. Campus officials tried to concentrate the access points in areas where students hang out, such as lounges, coffee shops, and other common areas. They call these areas "hang space," and they hope that students will make a habit of using the Internet in these spots, especially while working on group projects. Students have also found several other places to log on. "When I wash my clothes, I just bring my laptop down with me," said Selina Duchesne, a second-year student. Travis Orlando, a first-year computer-science student, said he might sit out by the small duck pond on the edge of campus occasionally to do course work. Freshmen are using the Internet more this year to chat and to get acquainted, said Tim Kenyon, a resident assistant in one of the dorms. And that makes his job easier. "It saves me a lot of ice-breaker parties and that junk," he said. Administrators said the network has been surprisingly easy to set up. "We waited for a problem, and there wasn't one," said Jean L. Boland, the assistant vice president for technology services. In fact, one of the most difficult challenges was finding a company to build plexiglass covers to fit over the access points, which are usually mounted on walls near the ceiling. Ms. Boland wanted to protect the transmitters from stray footballs and other objects that students might throw. And electricians goofed when installing one transmitter in a dorm, so that the power to the access point was cut when the light in the men's bathroom was turned off. Don Smith, a network technician at the college, said the college has had few reports of wireless-network outages. "It's been extremely reliable," he said. But some students said that the wireless network doesn't always work. The individual machine sometimes is the problem, usually because the student accidentally altered a network setting by installing other software. The college runs a help desk during business hours and Saturday mornings to fix such glitches, among other hardware and software problems. A student whose computer has been "hosed" -- hopelessly misconfigured -- can get it "re-imaged," or reformatted, meaning that all of the original settings are restored, free of charge. If a computer needs to be held at the help desk overnight, the student is offered a loaner machine, said Ms. Boland. "You're never out of business," she added. Mr. Cross, the college's president, guesses that one reason the wireless network installation went so smoothly was because the institution had already established a system to distribute equipment to students and to handle technical problems. "I wouldn't recommend going universal on wireless unless the college had a plan for laptops," Mr. Cross added. During phase one of Mr. Cross's technology plan, the college began requiring students in selected majors to lease laptop computers, as part of I.B.M.'s ThinkPad University program. Students who make all four payments of $585 each semester assume ownership of their computers after two years. For phase two, the wireless phase, the college formed a partnership with Raytheon to help add the wireless component to its technology offerings. Mr. Cross said that not every academic program at a college should require laptops and wireless cards. In some cases, the gadgets might just be a distraction from the educational mission, he said. Here at Morrisville, academic departments on campus must apply to be part of the technology program, and college officials have rejected some applications. "What we're looking for is substance used for more than just note-taking," he said. "If it's just a gimmick, I'm really not interested." The college has expanded the number of departments in the program each year. This year 29 of the 54 departments are participating, meaning that about half of the college's 3,100 students have laptops and wireless cards. Students in other majors have the option of participating in the program as well, and about 360 students have chosen to do so. Professors in participating departments also get laptop computers, and they will be issued wireless cards later in the semester. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the professors, according to Mr. Cross, is competing with the Internet for the students' attention during class. "It gives them an entertainment center between students and the faculty member," he said. "It's going to require a little more classroom management and a little more sensitivity to what's really occurring in the classroom." The college has even used wireless networking for some administrative applications. This year, registration was wireless -- sort of. Officials set up transmitters in the gymnasium and used laptop computers to enter data for students. "You wouldn't believe the wiring we had to do in prior years," said John J. Angerosa, assistant vice president for administration, as he pointed to the few power cords that ran among the card tables in the gym. "The only thing we have to do now is power." Morrisville officials hope to extend the campus network to off-campus facilities, including an equine complex and an ice rink. And then there's phase three of Mr. Cross's technology plan. Starting next fall, he wants to issue cellular phones, and perhaps even palm-size computers, to all freshman -- in addition to the laptops and wireless cards. "I really want our graduates to be leaders in the application of this technology," he said, holding up his cell phone. He said a college campus is the ideal environment for allowing students to experience cutting-edge technologies before they become mainstream. But first, administrators here are turning their attention to beefing up the campus computing infrastructure, which is becoming overloaded as more and more students go online. "It definitely increases your Internet traffic," Mr. Cross said of the wireless network. "People just seem to use that tool more often when it's more readily accessible." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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