A significant part of RWC’s five year plan focuses upon current and future technology needs. Goals launched this fall include the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning and the addressing of technology and equipment needs college-wide.John Weller, RWC Director of Network Resources, explained, “Our current network connects 810 computers to 23 networked servers, 44 networked printers, Clifton campus, and the Internet. The connections are made possible by 76 network switches, hubs and routers and more than 100 miles of cable. All of this adds up to a total network capacity of 1,591 connections.”
Weller told the Activist that a college steering committee is being formed, “to help discern how RWC implements and maintains technology now and in the future.”
He described the five main issues to be reviewed by the committee: network infrastructure, software selection, wireless networking, student computing, and RWC’s affiliation with UCIT, the university-wide information technology department.
“While these issues may be discussed separately, in reality they are connected and intertwined with each other,” Weller continued. “The implementation of wireless technology is not a simple change to the network infrastructure, but represents a fundamental shift in the potential use of technology in the classroom and a dramatic change in the management of networked computing resources.”
Weller stated that many questions must be answered prior to the decision to incorporate wireless technology. The steering committee will need to determine the academic advantages, benefits to students, available resources, and how such technology best fits with the mission and goals of RWC.
“Our hope is to begin such discussions this academic year, with input solicited from students, faculty and staff throughout 2005. Once this research phase has been completed, we then set a long-term implementation schedule to coincide with the colleges five year strategic plan.