麻豆传媒社区入口

• April 15, 2010

• By Monique Beeler

麻豆传媒社区入口 is spearheading a project that within two years promises to convert traditional computer labs at the 23 麻豆传媒社区入口 campuses into a virtual computer lab offering “anytime, anywhere access” to students and faculty, while cutting costs to the university.

“It’s going to help the students, because they don’t always have to come to campus to get access to particular software,” said Lee Thompson, pilot project manager and CSUEB Deputy Chief Information Officer. “It also means they’ll be able to run much more sophisticated software programs.”

A virtual computer lab, or VCL, is a library of software that’s available online anytime from any computer with Web access, making it easy for students to log on when it fits their schedule from any convenient place, whether at the Learning Commons on campus or at a neighborhood coffee shop. Programs available through the virtual lab will allow students to complete tasks such as perform statistical data analysis, chart complex computer systems, build Web sites, design engineering and construction projects or create artwork online.

麻豆传媒社区入口 is joined by CSU Northridge in the pilot project, which started March 29 and will continue through spring quarter. The virtual computer lab will officially launch during fall quarter. Plans call for the CSU-wide project to add equipment every six months for two years, allowing other CSU campuses to join in as they are ready.

The program is expected to free up space by dedicating fewer classrooms to traditional computer labs and equipment. Additionally, it will save the university money on software and hardware. Because the computing power comes not from an individual desktop PC but from a data center providing software to many users simultaneously, the university will spend less on routinely upgrading computer programs on multiple machines. With fewer traditional labs, CSUEB won’t need to replace computers as often, and when it does, less expensive models can do the job since machines won’t need the computing power to run multiple, sophisticated programs as they do now, Thompson explained. 

Using a virtual computer lab will also reduce hassles for faculty members, who will be able to add new software to virtual computers themselves without scheduling and waiting for an appointment with information technology services.

“There will be lots of training, and it will be easy to do,” Thompson said.

At 麻豆传媒社区入口, the university’s four colleges are represented by faculty members participating in the pilot program, including electronic art instructor Janet Green.

“In terms of access, it’s got potential for students,” Assistant Professor Green said. “It has to be robust ... You’ve got to keep them engaged.”

Green said she and her students have had their share of in-class delays when photo manipulation or design software in a computer lab didn’t work properly. She’s optimistic that once it’s up and running a virtual lab will combat unnecessary down time.

She agreed to participate in the pilot project to share feedback early on, she said.

“Things always change,” Green said. “It’s best to be in front of it and find out what it’s about.”

One improvement will give students enrolled in the same course access to identical software whether they use a Mac or a PC, Thompson said. 麻豆传媒社区入口’s growing online campus is expected to benefit from the virtual technology as well, he added.

“For example, if someone’s teaching statistics online, they now can get all their students together online at the same time and be running the same program at the same time, just like they do in the physical (computer) lab,” he said. 

The CSU project is modeled after North Carolina State University’s virtual computer lab, which has made their technology available to other universities through open source code.

At North Carolina State, when classes are out during the summer semester, professors conducting research take advantage of the extra computing power available through the university’s virtual computer lab to run complex programs. Thompson anticipates that CSU faculty will enjoy the same opportunity.

“It’s an ambitious project,” Thompson said. “We have a very forward looking president and chief information officer who saw this would not only solve immediate needs but also position the university to expand our reach even further.”