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This essay is the final product of an assignment called the "Treasure Hunt." At the end you will find a series of sites that can give you more information on wireless technology and education.

Going to School in a Wireless World

The classroom is rapidly changing as the wireless age comes into full effect. Schools at all levels are embracing wireless technology in order to better train students for the future and to compete with other educational institutions.

With wireless computers in each classroom, teachers are gaining 100 percent student involvement (1). Each student can answer the question being asked instead of one student being singled out, and is able to participate in all the activities (1). With one-on-one computing, each student is given the same opportunity to increase his or her skill levels (2). This gives the student an advantage when applying for jobs or college. In addition to this, wireless connections allow students and teachers to use their computers at any place in the school. This increase in mobility allows computers to be used in a wide range of subjects rather then the traditional math and science (3). As a result, teachers can use more resources to teach their students and make learning more interesting. Finally, the cost of expansion decreases with wireless technology. Less money is required to drill through holes and run wires, which also opens up the school to asbestos and other hazardous materials (2)(3). The ease of installment is prompting many schools to go wireless (3).

There are some problems with an all-wireless system. First, some educators are concerned about skill development. The increase in technology skills may limit a child's critical thinking and handwriting skills (1). Also, the instructor's skills may not be as advanced as the technology so the school will have to pay to train the teachers as well (1). Secondly, a student's out-of-classroom circumstances may limit the actual development of technologic skills (1). Computers or the Internet may not be available to a child outside of the classroom (1). This limits the way that he or she can put to practice the skills being learned every day. Thirdly, the costs of initial wireless installation are high. The actual cost of wireless components surpasses that of wired networks (2). Although expansion may be cheaper with wireless, the initial set-up costs far more (2). Finally, there is the issue of security (4). Wireless networks operate in the same capacity as cell phones (4). This means anyone can tap into the network, track email and Internet usage, and cause damage to the network (4).

For now, most administrators see wireless Internet as a supplement to current wired networks available to students in classrooms (4). Yet some educators, like those at Texas A&M, think that with wireless technology, “education on demand and education at a distance will be supplemented by education anywhere, education everywhere, and, more spectacularly, education instantaneously.” The future of wireless technology will depend on its development. Many computer companies, such as Dell, and educational institutions, such as the University of California at San Diego, have been given government money to develop wireless technological advances geared toward education (5). With the increase in demand for wireless networks, the technological advancements will come quickly. It won’t be long until we see wireless computers used in every school.

Sources:

1. Jacqueline E. Burrell, Freshman on Computers at River Hill High. July 2001. Internet on-line. Available from <http://www.bizmonthly.com/7_2001/3.html>.
2. Kristen Hammond and Judy Salpeter, Cutting the Chord: Wireless Computing Comes of Age. 2002. Internet on-line. Available from <http://www.cosn.org/initiatives/compendium/3.pdf>.
3. Shields, Jean. “Wireless Networks Come of Age.” Technology & Learning, March 2001 v21 i8 p9. [Database on-line]; available from Infotrac General Reference Center Gold, accessed 1 June 2003, available from http://eresources.lib.unc.edu.
4. Sun, Jeff, and Roxanne Schneider. “Is Wireless Worth It? -- We report on one district's pilot face-off of wireless laptops on carts versus the traditional plugged-in computer lab-with some surprising findings.” Technology & Learning, Feature: Wired vs. Wireless; Pg. 24. [Database on-line]; available from Lexis-Nexis Academic, accessed 1 June 2003, available from http://eresources.lib.unc.edu.
5. Texas A&M University. Wireless Technology and Education. Spring 2001. Internet on-line. Available from <http://www.math.tamu.edu/ms-online/01a/newsletter_spring01.doc>.

For more information, please check out these Web sites:

Title: Building a Wireless Classroom
Brief Description: This site walks you through the steps to creating a wireless classroom. It takes you through what you should consider, including the pros and cons to each, and the actual hardware that you need to purchase. The site includes instructions on how to install it all and it includes a wide range of links to give you more information on every product the site stated.
Source of Web site: Information Technology/ Instruction Support (Arizona State University)

Title: techLearning
Brief Description: This is the home site of the Technology & Learning journal. It has lots of resources for educating teachers on emerging technological trends including articles from the journal, trend watches and reviews. The site has links designated for teachers, tech coordinators and administrators with information specific to each position.
Source of Web site: CMP Medial LLC

Title: Teaching and Learning on the Web
Brief Description: This site is a tool for teachers who use the internet in their daily lesson plans. It allows the user to search a collection of sites that contain lesson plans and assignments designed specifically for the Web. The site relies entirely on submissions and is a good tool to bring the Internet into regular classroom subjects, such as History or Chemistry.
Source of Web site: Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction

Email me: felzien@email.unc.edu

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