Our labs are run by departmental staff, and several of them have moved to the zero client / VDI model (with the vmware deployment centrally managed) in the last 12 – 18 months. I only know of one department that tried to get rid of their labs and just provide network & power connections. They ran like that for several years and were one of the first VDI lab deployments we put in. So far everyone seems pretty happy with it. The departmental guys are just happy they don’t have to ghost their labs at the end of every semester.
*From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto: [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Mike King *Sent:* Friday, August 23, 2013 10:10 AM *To:* [email protected] *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] [Off-Topic] Computer Labs On the same vein, Has anyone tried zero clients and VDI infrastructure instead of computers in a renovation? On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 11:03 AM, Eric T. Barnett <[email protected]> wrote: This is great! Please keep up with the information! To sum up, it looks like the idea of no computer labs at all is a bit ahead of its time still. Thanks for the information. Eric Barnett Senior Network Engineer/Wireless Administrator Information and Technology Services Arkansas State University (870) 680-4243 http://wireless.astate.edu *From:* The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto: [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Coehoorn, Joel *Sent:* Friday, August 23, 2013 9:21 AM *To:* [email protected] *Subject:* Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] [Off-Topic] Computer Labs Labs aren't going away entirely, but the last time we renovated a lab space we didn't put in any computers. We added tables with power modules in the surface for kids to plug in their own laptops, and printers connected via a PaperCut page where students can upload documents to print. The students absolutely love this. I'm hoping to add a terminal services install to set up a "virtual lab" that will allow students using these spaces to have access to college-specific applications. I see us adding more spaces like this in the future. Joel Coehoorn Director of Information Technology York College, Nebraska 402.363.5603 [email protected] *The mission of York College is to transform lives through Christ-centered education and to equip students for lifelong service to God, family, and society* On Fri, Aug 23, 2013 at 8:04 AM, Hall, Rand <[email protected]> wrote: In a day when all students have a computer, we're still providing plenty of labs. Students want them because, "we know the college computers will work when we need to write a paper." It's almost like they treat their PCs like disposable burners or something :-) Rand Rand P. Hall Director, Network Services askIT! Merrimack College 978-837-3532 [email protected] If I had an hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute finding solutions. – Einstein On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 4:56 PM, Eric T. Barnett <[email protected]> wrote: We have a new Liberal Arts building that is currently in construction. The floor plans aren't quite nailed down yet but there was something on the current plans that made me wonder. There's no less than six computer labs in the building. Seeing that we make all of our Freshmen buy iPads and that laptops are super cheap nowadays, I was wondering just how useful computer labs are now/will be in the next two years or so. Getting rid of most or all of those labs would cut down on costs considerably. I've heard of some colleges dumping computer labs as they seem to be needed less and less as users have more and more tech available cheaply. What's your take? Regards, Eric Barnett Senior Network Engineer/Wireless Administrator Information and Technology Services Arkansas State University (870) 680-4243 http://wireless.astate.edu ********** 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/. ********** 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/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
