Use of wireless computers in the undergraduate and graduate classroom

Abstract

Laptop and handheld computers are increasingly available for use in educational environments for a variety of applications, from taking classroom notes to providing access to electronic presentations and "paperless" coursework. In this work-in-progress, we are building an experimental system to explore how mobile devices with wireless Internet connectivity may be effectively used in a classroom setting. The experimental testbed consists of a wireless local area network in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh connected to the university's wired network. A variety of user (student) devices are being tested with the goal of minimizing the cost of a useful classroom system.