The Portable Wireless Classroom system has worked out very well, said Katie Margolis, director of academic information resources and training. Before all 14 classrooms came online, the wireless classroom concept was tested in communications classes at the hotel school. Students shared documents and communicated through a projection system where information from any of the laptops in the room could be seen by all. The system is also being used in the library to teach how to do research via the Web. In addition, some of the faculty teach in conjunction with faculty at other schools, and the Internet access allows Cornell students to collaborate on projects with students in other institutions, Margolis said.
Faculty say they really like the portable classroom better.
The learning curve There were some growing pains initially. In the beginning, students required the first quarter of a class session to get used to the laptops, Margolis said. Many students are not familiar with the differences between laptop and desktop computer controls, and most needed to adjust to the laptops' mouse button in the center of the keyboard. This step adds to the setup time at the beginning of each class. The school has noticed that wireless technology is slower than wired, although it's as fast as standard modem access.