In an attempt to ease the demand for classroom time in the student computer labs, Information Technology is piloting a mobile wireless classroom and "We are the guinea pigs," says photojournalism Professor Kenn Bisio.

The wireless classroom currently resides in one of the digital media lab classrooms in ART 277. It consists of 24 Dell laptop computers paid for by student fees at a total cost of about $24,000, says Interim IT Assistant Vice President Yvonne Flood. IT supplied the secure mobile cart that holds the laptops and installed a wireless hub, which will remain in the classroom even after the computers move on at the end of the spring semester.

While the digital media lab serves the journalism, broadcast, technical communications and art programs in the interdisciplinary digital media minor, only journalism students have access to the wireless classroom this semester.

"The journalism students who are getting to use this high-end equipment feel very valued," says Bisio, adding that it's a great way to teach his photojournalism courses. Media Writing and Intermediate Reporting are also taught there. "It has turned one room into both a classroom and a computer lab," Bisio adds.

According to Flood, the idea for a mobile wireless classroom came out of discussions held by the Academic Computing Lab Advisory Group. The group, formed last fall and chaired by Flood, has brought together faculty, students and IT staff to discuss ways of providing better service to students while meeting departmental needs for computer lab space.

The wireless lab will move each semester to a new department that has arranged with IT to house it, giving faculty the opportunity to evaluate whether they want to invest in creating a permanent wireless classroom for their department's use.

With no more campus space available at this time to put in more computer labs, the demand for wireless classrooms will probably only increase, Flood says.