Implementing a Mobile Lab in a Faculty of Education

October 2003--Feature University of Alberta Makes Technology More Accessible Through Advancing Integration Information and communications technology (ICT) pervades most aspects of contemporary civilization and will undoubtedly influence our near future to an even greater extent (Robertson 1998; Tapscott 1997) by "significantly enhancing and altering human activity, and enabling us to live, work and think in ways that most of us never thought possible" (Alberta Learning 2000). Wireless networks and mobile computers are two ICTs that are currently impacting educational institutions worldwide (Charp 2002, 2003; Varvel and Harnisch 2001). The University of Alberta in Canada has embraced this mobile computing wave with wired laptop network connections and wireless network access points available in many locations across campus. For example, in our student union building, users can sit in a relaxed area with their laptops and access the Internet. In the faculty of education building, we have an experimental wireless access point in place and implemented a wireless mobile computer lab in January. The "Mobile Lab," as we call it, is helping to circumvent the problem of overbooked standard labs, and has introduced a new level of computing flexibility and comfort to our classrooms. Compared to the standard labs, the Mobile Lab facilitates a more natural teaching environment and reduces learner apprehension concerning the use of technology. The implementation of the Mobile Lab was not an isolated project in our faculty. Rather, it was part of a larger ongoing effort to advance technology integration in our faculty, which involved multiple facets, including planning, leadership, development of a shared vision, curriculum enrichment, professional development, technical support and infrastructure enhancement. A major priority is to improve technology integration throughout our undergraduate teacher-education program, focusing on existing subject-based courses as opposed to stand-alone computer courses. The faculty administration was able to obtain funding for technology infrastructure enhancements targeted at mobile computing. There were various possibilities examined for fruitful ways of applying these funds such as obtaining a collection of laptops, PDAs or tablet PCs. Since computer lab bookings were a critical problem, a solution that would improve accessibility to a class set of computers appeared to be one that would have a strong impact. Research on mobile computing at other educational institutions and within local school districts indicated that a wireless portable lab offered the most cost-effective solution (Olsen 1998; Varvel and Harnisch 2001). The Setup The equipment we chose was the Apple iBook Wireless Mobile Lab, which consists of a movable cart that stores laptop computers, a printer, a network base station and other devices such as projectors. The lab can be used in any class since all of the rooms in our building have a network port and power available. When the lab is booked, a proctor handles the equipment transportation and set up, as well as assists instructors and students in using the computers. Hardware. The hardware components in our configuration included a Bretford mobile cart, which has slots to store and recharge up to 32 laptops, as well as a six-wheel design that is easy to move from room to room. The cart is loaded with 32 Apple iBooks that have AirPort cards for wireless networking. The laptops are fully charged overnight, and as long as we allocate at least one hour of charging midday, we can use the cart throughout an eight-hour day. The Mobile Lab features an 802.11b-compliant Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station, which provides wireless network access within a perimeter of about 150'--more than adequate for any classroom in our building. Our network security is configured in such a way that it is virtually impossible for anyone else except those with laptops associated with the cart to gain access. …