Last year we tackled this problem by working with the Deans and administration of the University. Ultimately, it was decided that wireless access will remain on and available at all times as the management overhead would be horrendous to activate/deactivate AP's, there was no guarantee of bleed over from another AP, and there was no way for us to stop any type of cellular signal. In other words, if our students wanted to access wireless services, they would find a way regardless of the restrictions we tried to enable. The Deans made it clear to their faculty that wireless services would be installed in all classrooms and lecture halls (we have some programs that are required to have laptops) and would be available to students at any time.
Adoption of wireless technology in the classrooms has been well received and having the support of the Deans and University administration really helped. James Jacobson Information Technology Services __________________________________________________________ Midwestern University From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Gogan, James P Sent: Friday, September 23, 2011 7:22 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] selectively disabling wireless in classrooms Well, it's that time of year again .... the time when we get calls from a handful of faculty who want the ability to disable the wireless access point that covers their classroom during specific class periods (they also want cellular coverage disabled during those times -- yeah, right ......). When I point out that the AP that covers their classroom may also provide coverage for the one next door, or that with a controller-based architecture, shutting off one access point would likely just increase the signal coverage area of adjacent APs, the response I usually get back is "well, I KNOW that other universities are doing it, so .... FIX IT". So, let me ask my biennial question: what ARE other universities doing in this regard? I was specifically given U of Michigan as an example. Anyone know what they're doing? Any successful implementation details from anyone dealing with this issue are welcome. And yes, I am biting my tongue to not say "teach more engagingly". Thanks in advance! -- Jim Gogan / Univ of North Carolina ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
<<image001.png>>
