In May of 2001, President Heineman announced a bold new initiative that would make Framingham State College the first Massachusetts college to implement wireless laptop computing for all students. The initiative, called FIT (Framingham Infuses Technology), builds upon the College's commitment to integrating new instructional technologies into the curriculum.

A key component of FIT was to double the size of our highly successful Wireless Laptop Project and to upgrade our wireless infrastructure to the new state-of-the-art "WiFi" industry standard. This scaling and upgrade positioned us to launch a laptop purchase requirement for all entering freshmen beginning in fall of 2002. Under this plan, all day school undergraduates will possess wireless laptop computers by the fall of 2005.  As we move forward with this important undertaking, it is worthwhile to explain why we believe all students should possess a laptop computer.

The Wireless Laptop Project began in the fall of 1998, in partnership with the Data General Corporation. One of the principal reasons for exploring wireless computing was economic necessity. At the time, the typical cost of converting a conventional classroom to a 25-30 seat computer classroom was approximately $200,000. A significant portion of this cost arose from the need to bring the renovated space into compliance with current building codes, which often require alteration of heating, lighting, and ventilation systems in addition to installing the wiring and cabling necessary for a traditional computer classroom. In addition to the excessive cost of such conversions, they took general-purpose classrooms out of play - a luxury we cannot afford. Thus, a viable alternative had to be found. Another compelling reason for exploring wireless computing was to examine the pedagogical impact of providing faculty and students with ubiquitous access to computers, the campus network and the World Wide Web, an objective that has gained considerable merit in higher education.

The economics of wireless computing are compelling. The cost of extending the wireless reach of the College's network to a 25 seat classroom, including the costs of the computers, is about $40,000. This 5:1 cost reduction is possible largely because no renovation of the classroom is necessary. Moreover, it remains a general purpose classroom available to all courses.

However, the most profound impact of wireless computing has been the effect it is having on the curriculum.  Because our wireless infrastructure covers classroom buildings, Whittemore Library, the Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA), and the College Center, students have access to the campus network and the Internet at any time from almost anywhere on campus. (Commuting students can have the same access from home using an ISP.) This ubiquitous access to computing resources dramatically changes the way courses are structured and the ways these students interact with the instructor and each other.

Some outcomes are already evident:

• Instructors develop course web sites on which are posted the course syllabus, links to other web sites having relevant auxiliary materials, reminders of upcoming course events, study guides and sample quizzes. In some cases instructors have posted lecture notes and slides used in class to the web site.
• Students needing help outside of class hours can post their questions to the web site, thus assuring that all students benefit from the question and the instructor's answer.
• Students collaborating on course projects do not always need to assemble at a common time and place. Some of the collaboration can occur electronically through exchange of files.
• In writing classes, some peer critiquing of writing samples, which traditionally occurs in limited class time, can occur outside of class on the web site, resulting in greater participation in the process.
• Textbooks are increasingly bundled with CD-ROMS containing valuable auxiliary material. Instructors in laptop courses can fully utilize these materials since they are readily accessible to all students in the class. This would not be the case in a traditional class where students owning a computer have a considerable advantage over those who do not.
• Students can be taught the IT (Information Technology) skills appropriate to their discipline - data analysis, mathematical modeling, spreadsheets, presentation software - and required to use them routinely.
• Instructors can use the technology to approach difficult subjects in new ways: chemistry students can rotate images of complex molecules to view them from several perspectives; astronomy students can view the night sky as seen from any point on earth, observe the motions of the planets, the phases of the moon and bring up full color images of deep sky objects.

We have found that faculty who revise courses for the Laptop project do not want to return to offering those courses in the traditional manner. Thus, most of these faculty continued to utilize wireless technology in their classes. 

Similarly, students have been enthusiastic about having such an array of resources literally at their fingertips. The IT skills and fluency they acquire are not confined to laptop courses, but are carried over into other classes as the wireless laptops are used for research and development of other assignments. 

Much has been written about the educational disparity caused by the "digital divide" - the gulf separating students with ready access to computer resources from those without such access. In this project we have seen firsthand the transforming effect that ubiquitous access to computing resources has when placed in the hands of creative faculty and enthusiastic students. Moreover, the harmful effects of the digital divide extend beyond the classroom into the workplace. Increasingly business leaders tell us they need employees in all areas with well developed IT skills, not just in the technical positions. To best serve our students and the Commonwealth, we must span the digital divide to assure all students equal access to computing resources. Our experience has shown the most direct and economical way to accomplish this is through wireless laptop technology.

We will be addressing the many challenges inherent in this undertaking. Chief among them will be to make laptop ownership affordable for our students. To that end we are seeking a business partner to work with us to structure a lease/purchase plan that will spread the cost of ownership over eight semesters. We also plan to investigate possibilities for financing the costs through increased financial awards and low cost loans for eligible students. We are committed to finding the resources to make this work because we believe, as did Horace Mann and Cyrus Pierce before us, that public education should be quality education.