MUNCIE, Ind. - While colleges plug into the latest technological trends to benefit students, Ball State University will help students go "unplugged" without losing their connection to the information superhighway.

When students begin classes in 2003, a campus-wide wireless system will enable them to use a laptop or hand-held computer to surf the Web, e-mail faculty or join an online discussion about an assignment while sitting outside on a nice day or on a couch in a study lounge.

"We believe the mobility of a wireless laptop or handheld is more convenient for students and encourages them to collaborate and exchange ideas," said H. O'Neal Smitherman, vice president for information technology.

The wireless system also will help prepare students for jobs in a technology-driven economy.

"Employers want tech-savvy employees," Smitherman said. "This will give our graduates an additional leg up."

Ball State's wireless program is part of a growing trend on campuses across the country. The university is initially spending about $300,000 to install more than 300 "access points," transmitters attached to interior and exterior building walls.

Users connect to the Internet by inserting a wireless network interface card, which normally costs between $150 and $175, into their computers.

The card "talks to an access point, which is like an Ethernet hub, but it uses radio waves instead of copper wires,"
said Fred Nay, associate director of computing services. "It operates kind of like a cell phone network."

Access points have a range up to 1,500 feet and the completed network will reach everywhere from the university's Administration Building to the football stadium. The wireless system will be about 200 times faster than a typical modem, but not as fast as an Ethernet connection through a jack in the wall.

Ball State residence halls will install access points in most lounges and other common areas in the next year. Discussions are being held now about whether the university should install wireless connections in every student room in residence halls. These rooms already have Ethernet connections.

"We began installing wireless connections in some buildings in 1998," Nay said. "We have added to the system where we needed it, when we needed it. And where it's been installed we see students with their laptops."

Chemistry professor Eric Johnson believes wireless technology has played a significant role in the teaching and learning process.

"The new technology that we have here in the chemistry department allows us to have the students gather data in real time," he said. "The link to the network lets students create graphs from the data so they can see what is actually happening at the time of the experiment."

Smitherman said while students are not required to have a laptop, many already have one.

"Students are beginning to see having a laptop computer for class as important as having pencils, notebooks and books," he
said. "Students are using computers more today than ever before. For them, it is a natural extension of learning."
 

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Smitherman at osmitherman@bsu.eduor (765) 285-1045. Nay may be reached at fnay@bsu.eduor (765) 285-5971.)