Teaching in real-time wireless classrooms

Journal of Engineering Education, Oct 1999 by Griffioen, James, Seales, W Brent, Lumpp, James E Jr

Teaching in Real-time Wireless Classrooms*

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the educational opportunities and challenges of teaching in a real-time wireless classroom (WC) environment. The WC environment allows instructors to replace the conventional blackboard and chalk classroom with a collaborative, networked, portable classroom environment. WCs provide a wide variety of new instructional possibilities, including collaborative presentations and whiteboard interaction, live audio and video, animated examples, independent and instructor-directed web surfing, and other powerful multimedia methods. However, making effective use of these real-time interactive capabilities is not straightforward, and there are many challenges involved with teaching in such an environment. This paper describes our practical experiences teaching with WCs the past year. We discuss the costs and effort needed to prepare course materials for a WC and report on recent experiments that integrate the WC environment with a distance learning effort.

I. INTRODUCTION

Wireless classrooms (WCs) are mobile classroom environments made possible by laptop computers, each equipped with a CDROM, large color screen, art pad, and most importantly, a wireless network link The wireless network card1 connects to a small antenna that broadcasts radio-frequency packets to a hidden wireless access point placed somewhere within range of the classroom (i.e., about 100 to 200 feet indoors). The access point is connected to the wired network and forwards laptop packets to the campus network and on to the Internet. We deployed and used the WC environment daily during the 1997-98 academic school year as the primary teaching environment for several computer science and electrical engineering classes at the University of Kentucky.

There are several reasons why we feel that WCs model the classrooms of the future. First, the emergence of compact, portable, powerful laptop computers and wireless networks makes WCs possible and affordable? The compactness and portability of laptops and emerging subnotebooks/palmtops makes them a suitable replacement for pen and paper, while the computing power and network connectivity open up whole new instructional opportunities. We envision every student having a wireless laptop that they carry to all their classes. (Many universities already require all students to own or lease laptop computers.3) Alternatively, wireless classrooms can be used as a replacement for conventional instructional computer laboratories. Loading laptops onto a mobile laptop cart and moving the cart to the desired location effectively allows any classroom to be used as a computer lab.

The second motivating factor for WCs is the expense of retrofitting older classrooms with wired network connections. WCs can give network access in every classroom with little or no renovation cost. WCs require only the installation of access points placed strategically throughout the building. The access points are easily installed without interruption of the regular classroom schedule. In addition, there is the aesthetic value of providing network connectivity without any modification (or visible wiring) to the existing physical structure/classroom.

A third motivation for WCs is the new teaching capabilities made possible by the networked environment. The details of how WCs impact all aspects of daily classroom teaching are the primary focus of this paper. Note that if we ignore the mobility, reduced cost, and aesthetic values of WCs, there are few differences between WCs and conventional (wired) instructional labs. Wired computer labs have existed in universities and secondary schools for years. This raises the question "What is the difference between teaching in a WC and a conventional instructional lab?" The answer is in their roles and objectives. The traditional approach and objective of conventional computing labs is to provide an asynchronous, hands-on period that supplements a primary lecture but is not directly linked with the actual first-time presentation of the material. Our efforts have been directed toward the real-time, interactive aspect of WC environments and the integration of interactivity and immediate hands-on experience into the daily lecture.

The remainder of the paper discusses and evaluates two critical issues that will determine the fate of WCs. First, we describe new instructional opportunities that are facilitated by the WC environment and the ways they can be used to revolutionize the educational process. Second, we describe the challenges that face WCs before they can begin to reach their full potential, and the pitfalls to avoid when teaching in a WC setting. Finally, we conclude with a summary of our findings.

II. THE WC ENVIRONMENT

The specific choice of hardware and software has a critical impact on the effectiveness of a WC and must be carefully designed and selected (see reference 4 for a more detailed discussion of hardware/software architectures for WCs).