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Students unplug with wireless
Equipped with his laptop, a printer and blank CD-Rs, junior nursing major Tim Van Dyne spends an average of six to eight hours daily studying in the Fresno State University Student Union lounge. Van Dyne does not have to go to the library or a computer lab to do research or homework. Van Dyne is part of an increasing number of students who are using wireless Internet access from their laptop to check e-mail, visit online classes—and sometimes play online games—thanks to the campus’s more than 100 wireless networking access points. Right now the university boasts two network access systems: the “Bulldog” network and the library’s “WLAN” network. But by the time students walk onto campus next semester, the Bulldog network will cover all wireless access areas, said Kelly O’Boylan, campus help desk analyst. The older wireless network in the library will be upgraded to provide better connectivity and service, he said. Students will no longer need to register to use wireless network in the library. The university may also add additional smart classrooms and access points to the campus in the future, O’Boylan said. Van Dyne started using the wireless network in the Spring 2003. He looked up the map of the wireless access location on the ITS web site and settled in the student union. Van Dyne also uses wireless network in the smart classrooms. Any computer with a wireless network adapter—usually a small card that sticks out of the side of laptop—can go online once the adapter enters a campus wireless zone. The wireless networks allow laptop computers and PDAs with access to campus data and the Internet. “ The purpose is to help the students and staff,” O’Boylan said. The more than 100 access points throughout the campus have no theoretical user limit, said Chris Cook, network engineer in the [Information Technology Service]. One access point can support about 50 connections, he said, which would be a rare workload. Van Dyne said he has not experienced much trouble with connecting to the network in the USU. “ At the beginning of the semester the connection was breaking all the time,” he said. “I e-mailed the system administrator and a week later the problem stopped.” But wireless networks can cause problems. The main problems are with getting the wide variety of wireless cards configured to the campus system; because of different configurations, some cards just don’t work, O’Boylan said. Help desk workers helped Faith Thomas, a chemistry junior, set up her laptop for wireless connection. She said she started using wireless network when she started studying at Fresno State this fall. “ It’s awesome,” she said. Usually Thomas comes to the student union to use wireless network. She said it is the most convenient location for her to access blackboard classes, check e-mail and do research. Thomas spends about couple of hours daily using Bulldog wireless network. Thomas mentioned it would be nice to have wireless access in other location around campus. Access points in the smart classrooms are designed mainly for the rooms, therefore the connection range does not reach far outside the classrooms, O’Boylan said. Evan Jessup, a freshman with an undeclared major, said she uses her wireless laptop in the smart classrooms for taking notes or looking up the information on the topics discussed in class. She also spends about two hours at a time researching and checking her e-mail using the campus network in the USU. “ It is convenient and cheap,” Jessup said. In densely populated areas such as library or the USU, the connection could be poorer. “ The more bodies the lesser signal,” Cook said. |
