Students are given a veritable Internet presence with the ability to create and store their own Web pages in their personal user space. No complex file transfers or knowledge of UNIX is required. Students can check the current usage in 33 DCIT and departmental computer labs using the Lab Status application. It shows the number of desktop computers in use and available in these labs, and the information is updated every 30 seconds. A full range of student services was placed in SIS last fall.
All users can now set an e-mail forwarding address from the Web.
The virtual laptop program is highly efficient. Whereas student-owned machines are used only when the owner turns them on, the lab machines stay busy a large proportion of each day. Students do not need to search around for a suitable machine, either appropriately configured with hardware, or, more likely, with the appropriate software. All machines appear identical in function, but with the desktop being tailored to the individual who has just logged on. The fact that the virtual laptop approach satisfies the large majority of student users means that the transition to a true laptop ownership model can be undertaken in a more planned and orderly fashion.