UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

Presented by: Hari Krishna .K, Uma Mahesh .J.
St.JOHNS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, JNTU, YERRAKOTA,
YEMMINGNUR, KURNOOL (DIST), A.P.
Email ID: mahesh_507@yahoo.co.in
hari_kotigari_27@yahoo.co.in

Abstract:
The use of computers is ubiquitous in
today’s business communities, and
becoming so in education.
However, this increased use has led to more
problems for financially strapped
educational institutions through the ever
increasing demand for space and the
continuous obsolescence of equipment.
It is obviously time to think of student
ownership as a means to meet demands for
computer use, as costs of individual
machines are falling below charges passed
on by educational institutions.
This paper presents a proposal for student
ownership of laptop computers
networking through wireless communication
as the environment of choice.
Introduction:
is
The laptop computer has been available for
more than ten years. It started out as a heavy
unit with an inferior liquid crystal screen.
Today laptop computers may have 10.5 inch
diagonal screens with full color and
computational speeds challenging the 150
MHz of their desktop cousins.
Further, such computers can weigh less than
six pounds and have a keyboard of near
standard size.
These computers may have a fax, a built-in
modem and CD player and be equipped with
wireless infrared communications.
and
While the top-end laptops rival their top-end
desktop cousins in costs, like the lower-end
desktops it is possible to purchase a black
and white 66 MHz, 8 to 16 MB RAM laptop
for around $1000.00 with many if not all of
the features mentioned above.

1
 UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

While a large amount of money as an laptop as the computer of choice.

additional college expense, compared to the
What is the Need?
costs of textbooks at $80.00 to $100.00 each
and even in-state tuition at a public owned Engineering skills demanded today require

school, the cost over the four to five years of the ability to synthesize basic principles into

a B.S. degree in engineering is relatively design and to be able to analyze design

small. solutions to points, ultimately leading to a

high quality product which can compete
The textbooks for the degree can easily
economically in the marketplace.
amount to $3000.00 and the tuition to more
than 20,000.00! The development of this type of knowledge
in our students requires us to provide them
Further, even a relatively slow 66 MHz
with more hands-on experiential learning.
computer can be an adequate tool for the
Further, today’s engineers need better
word-processing and spreadsheet uses we
communication and teamwork skills.
will all need throughout our lives in an
Today’s communication is done not only by
increasingly technological computer-based
writing and public speaking but also through
world.
multimedia presentations.
Thus, we can successfully argue for
All of these communication skills need to be
computer ownership for our engineering
developed.
students and perhaps for all of the future
college bound students. Engineering skills can be developed
interactively on the computer. Indeed it has
The next major question that we may ask is
been proposed to develop courses in basic
what is the need, followed closely by what is
mechanics, statistics, and dynamics and
the value.
deliver them via the internet.
After that is the more serious question of
The same is true of basic circuit analysis and
whether we are prepared in higher education
thermodynamics, to name a few. These
to take full advantage of the benefits of
courses follow to a large degree the
computers and information technology.
proposed self-paced learning programs of
In this paper, we will attempt to address all
the late 1960’s but have the ability to be
three questions briefly, and speak for the
corrective.

2
 UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT
That is, errors can be detected in problems
being worked and hints be provided to
redirect students to a path leading to an
acceptable solution.
To take advantage of these learning aids
requires a computer. To experience the
design process as practiced today requires
not only an adequate knowledge of the
engineering sciences, but a working
knowledge of the design tools currently in
practice.
These are ever increasing by design software
and symbolic languages.
Certain packages, available for use on a PC
(DOS or Macintosh), have reached such
standard usage that they are specifically
mentioned as required skills in employment
advertisements.
Thus, they are introduced briefly in the
classroom, and the students are left to learn
them on their own.
They might be learned more effectively with
computers in the classroom, where an
application is introduced and put into
practice in the sort of practicum that was in
place in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the
practicum laboratory of descriptive
geometry and drafting courses.
What should the classroom for an
interactive practicum look like?
A good example was recently described by
G.D. Stetten and S.C. Guthrie in the October
1995 T.H.E. Journal.
There they describe the “Wireless Infrared
Networking Duke Paperless Classroom.”
Thirty-six students per year over a two year
span learned introductory computer
programming (C-language) and numerical
methods using student purchased Macintosh
Powerbooks equipped with a Photonics
device called a cooperative transceiver.
The powerbooks were the now obsolete
(speed-wise) models 165c and 520. The IR
devices were used to form a local talk
network.
The teacher’s computer was attached to a
computer graphics projector.
Using Farallon’s Timbuktu Pro software,
any student’s screen could be projected onto
the instructor’s screen or the students could
access the instructor’s screen.
In effect, the whole class could work on
projects via the computer in a physically
unaltered classroom.
Stetten and Guthrie point to the fact that the
use of student owned notebook computers
3
 UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT
offer the students important advantages over
university maintained clusters.
These include increased accessibility, and
greater pride and responsibility
ownership.
The portable laptop allows students direct
acquisition of knowledge in classrooms,
libraries and laboratories throughout the
entire campus.
Carrying a laptop on the quest for
knowledge allows students unlimited access
to their own individual environment as well
as in special classrooms for notebook
computers, if such courses are included in
the curriculum.
What is the Value?
The value of a mobile computing scheme for
the students was treated briefly under the
need mentioned above.
The value is through enhanced learning and
the better use of space, and overall cost of
education to the public.
The value of accessibility to gaining
knowledge is obvious. On the campus, the
portable computer is a better means of
accumulating facts and impressions.
However, through the often built-in modem,
it is a link to other electronic information via
campus wide networks or the internet and
World Wide Web.
Data bases can be reached from anywhere.
of The often used Thomas Register will soon
be available to users seeking vendors for
products, and catalogs will soon follow.
In the classroom, the use of standard lecture
format will continue in part, but will use the
computer screen instead of the blackboard,
thereby allowing students to concentrate on
the material being presented rather than on
writing notes.
Problem sessions, or difficulties in learning
can be communicated with a degree of
privacy not found elsewhere, as a student
can indicate a difficulty electronically which
would be noted by the instructor ‘who could
place the student screen on the projector.
Sharing of projects can also be achieved,
and student originated
demonstrations/presentations can be more
accessible.
The paperless mobile computing classroom
does not have to be a laboratory for a single
group.
It can be used for a wiring studio to teach
music composition, visual arts, and
architecture, where software exists.
4
 UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

Similarly it can be used in the sciences and
mathematics. In history, geology, and
human physiology, which are rapidly
undergoing a revolution in computer-based
education, the universal wireless classroom
can also be utilized.
Is Higher Education Ready for a Mobile
Learning Environment?
The question of whether higher education is
ready for an increased use of technology in
the classroom and more particularly,
whether engineering education is ready is a
difficult one.
It is obvious that the need for distance
education and more economical offerings of
education are being demanded by both the
taxpayer and the learner.
In 1967 at Colorado State University video-
based delivery of courses was developed to
meet the needs of professionals in business
and engineering.
Such courses still continue, and the National
Technical University was an outgrowth of
the CSU program.
Such educational opportunities have both
advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages include the use of noted
lecturers far from their homes, and the
flexibility of viewing the videos on one’s
own schedule.
A disadvantage is the lack of personal
interaction in real time.
The availability of PICTURETEL and other
compressed video presentations overcomes
the interactive shortfalls but limits the
flexibility of time.
The solution of at-call interactive learning is
still not available; however, it could be to a
great extent through the World Wide Web.
The development of truly interactive
software which foresees most problems is an
expensive proposition, as typically a great
amount of time is required to prepare for a
single one hour presentation.
At this time, a program is in the planning
stage involving Liberal Arts, Natural
Sciences, Business and Engineering. A
common course of study is planned for the
freshman year involving 100 students each
and the following courses: Expository
Writing, Multi-media Ethics in a Business
Society, History of Technology, Calculus,
Statistics, Introduction to Computers,
Introduction to Business and Product
Realization. The latter course has all of the
segments of an engineering product
realization course, but concentrates on the

5
 UTILIZATION OF A MOBILE COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT

processes. It is aimed at understanding

marketing, conceptualization, preliminary
design, production method selection, final
design, production, distribution, customer
acceptance evaluation, product evolution
and final product disposal.

It is to be taught using groups (teams) of

students of mixed academic backgrounds so
that each can see the role of those with
different backgrounds.

Conclusion:

It is time for universities to take full

advantage of the electronic/computer
revolution. Laptops prove the greatest
versatility to the knowledge seeker.