Ryerson ITSDC - Should Ryerson Be a Laptop University?

Information Technology

  1. is a requirement of a modern polytechnic curriculum;
  2. is required to enable and enhance teaching and learning in a polytechnic university;
  3. is a necessity for scholarly research and creative activities in a world where information technology is a pervasive reality.
In the professional world computing is ubiquitous. The textual mediation of social relations is now digitally mediated. Reports, engineering drawings, memos, quotes, and every other form of business and professional transaction are now done electronically. In every industry the nature of professional work, research, and development are being continually redefined by networked computing. From the patient management and record systems used by the medical industry to the accelerated visualization, design, and simulation of complex systems enable by networked CAD/CAM/finite element analysis systems in aerospace engineering, computing has changed the work practices of professionals in every industry that hires Ryerson graduates. The clear divisions between traditional careers has been eroded by the reengineering of industry that computing has made inevitable. It is not enough for many professionals to have a deep knowledge in one discipline. The modern professional is expected to work with digital tools as an expert within their discipline and as a generalist capable of working on aspects of projects that would have been unthinkable twenty years ago. One classic example is in graphic communications where one person may perform all prepress activities in place of the traditional roles of designer, colour separator, layout artist, film stripper, plate maker etc. The nature of work, research, and development have changed. At the same time, despite significant investments, the nature of Ryerson's computing resources have not. Ryerson
  1. has no advanced computing capability;
  2. has adequate, restricted access, entry level specialized labs and servers;
  3. has inadequate general purpose drop-in computing labs.
The lack of modern ubiquitous computing resources at the University is a fundamental impediment to Ryerson's progress as a modern polytechnic. The traditional model of buying computers to serve the curricular requirements of a limited number of programs will not work when computing is the pervasive reality in every industry. Ryerson cannot afford to buy the computing equipment, software, development, and support for modern pervasive computing for over 12,000(?) students on campus. Another model must be found. The "laptop" university is only one them.

The Problem of the Polytechnic Curriculum

Information Technology is required to support the modern polytechnic curriculum. Initially computing resources were required only by computer science courses. Numerous terminals and a mainframe running fortran and cobol were a necessity. The number of courses requiring access to computing resources has grown steadily since the late 1970s as the cost of computing has fallen and the quality of computing has improved. Today the need for digital design and visualization tools runs across the campus. Architecture, Interior Design, Theatre, Engineering and other schools require design tools that are either not available on campus or exist only at an introductory level. Any school involved in the communications industries now requires a broad range of computing resources from script writing and project planning to digital audio, non-linear video editing, and motion picture special effects. In the polytechnic curriculum the variety of computing requirements, especially the range of specialized software applications, means that there is no one simple computing solution available to everyone. Where inexpensive networked multimedia personal computers with specialized software and network services might be adequate for one program, high-end Unix workstations with high speed networking tied in to powerful compute servers might be required for another. In the polytechnic environment - unlike the more traditional university - a one-size-fits all approach such as requiring laptop purchases by all students may not be appropriate. The University needs a way to evaluate the computing requirements of the programs and determine:
  1. what central computing services must be available and how they will be developed and supported;
  2. what high-level computing resources are required for specialized applications and how they will be developed and supported:
  3. what computing systems students should be expected to purchase and how they will be developed and supported;
  4. how student computers will interface with Ryerson's infrastructure and the academic project of each program.

The Problem of Polytechnic Teaching and Learning

With information technology pervading the curriculum and therefore the work practices of Ryerson's students and faculty, additional resources are required to enhance and enable teaching and learning. This includes pervasive use of networked computing for: With every one of these items comes the issues of the cost of the hardware, software, development, and support systems to make it useful and keep it running.

The Problem of Scholarly Research and Creative Activities

Many faculty do not have computers on their desks. The computers faculty have are largely out of date. There are no high-end computing resources on campus. While it is possible to imagine asking every full-time student to buy some kind of a computer it is difficult to imagine asking the faculty to do so. A strategy is required for faculty access to computing that is affordable, that is fair, and that is maintainable and well supported. Faculty require support at three levels:
  1. Base level infrastructure such as E-Mail, Web publishing, printing, word processing and the preparation of basic media: graphics, images, etc.
  2. Specialized but widely shared support for special application environments such as CAD, multimedia production, scientific programming, multimedia programming, etc.
  3. Highly specialized research and teaching assistance to enable special projects.
Ryerson provides limited base-level and very little specialized IT support to faculty. Support is available for E-Mail, Web publishing, and some aspects of engineering applications and multimedia development.

Strategies to Enable Pervasive Computing?

With over 12,000? students the University cannot afford to pay the entire cost of pervasive computing. Various strategies have been discussed to address this - most of which focus on the low to mid end computing resource level we currently try to make available to our students. These strategies must be evaluated in light of their legal, technical, pedagogical, and cost implications. Students do their academic work at home and on campus. The work they do ranges from basic word processing for writing essays and reports to more specialized work such as image processing, computer aided drafting and design, financial modeling, applied statistics, and software engineering. Depending on the academic requirements of each program, students will require a range of computing tools. In a polytechnic university it is difficult to draw a line between general purpose computing requirements such as E-Mail and word processing on one hand and specialized applications such as CAD on the other. For example, for many students in Applied Arts, basic communications may include E-Mailing documents with embedded images, sounds, and applets. An appropriate general purpose machine for these students will undoubtedly include sufficient processing, RAM, and hard disk storage as well as certain applications such as Photoshop, and HTML editor, desktop publishing software, and a graphics program such as Corel or Illustrator. Similarly a student in food and nutrition might expect to generate results from SPSS for incorporation into a report on the same machine they do their word processing. Lower end machines with appropriate specialized software will allow the maximum utilization of the higher end machines that the University can make available. It is therefore necessary to develop systems where the lower end personal machines function as an adjunct to the higher end machines in a way that facilitates moving work between them. Three models are often discussed for dealing with the costs of pervasive access to base-level computing.
 

Enabling Basic Computing Access

  1. Technology Fees to Rebuild/Build Pervasive Campus Computing Resources - It is very tempting to propose a technology fee on the order of 10% of tuition for every full-time student. The constant stream of funds this would produce would solve several problems at once. First, funding would be constant. Equipment could be replaced regularly and better managed. Second, the cost per student would be much lower than the alternatives discussed below. In the case of the laptop university five times less expensive. Third, this scenario would make significant numbers of newer and more up to date machines available on campus. Students also need to work at home on computers. The cost of a systems fee on top of a desktop system for the home is still below or equal to the cost of purchasing a laptop. There are problems with this approach:
  2. Require purchase of home desktop machines
  3. Notebooks
The following are some comparison prices based on the July/97 Computer Paper adds. Each table is from one companies add. Dell is a "first line" manufacturer that includes a 3 year guarantee and service in their price. In some respects the Dell prices reflect more realistic prices in that someone has to pay for service/repair.

Dell:

Laptop

PC

PC

PC
Cost $4899 $4699 $4899 $2699
Processor 166MMX 233PIIMMX 266PIIMMX 166MMX
Cache 256 KB 512 KB 512 KB 512 KB
Memory 16 MB 32 MB 64 MB 32 MB
Hard Disk 1.4 GB 6.4 GB 6.4 GB 3.2 GB
Screen Size 12.1 " Active 17" 17" 15"
Video Card ? 8 MB Matrox 4 MB Matrox 2 MB Virge
CD-ROM 12 X 16 X 16 X 16 X
Sound 16 bit 32 bit + spkrs 32 bit + spkrs 16 bit + spkrs
Extra Battery Yes NA NA NA
Software MS Office Home Ess. MS Office Home Ess. MS Office Home Ess. MS Office Home Ess.
Other - 56 Kb Modem + 100 MB Zip Drive 56 Kb Modem + 100 MB Zip Drive 56 Kb Modem 
 
 

Ryelle is a clone "manufacturer" that includes a 2 year carry in service agreement.

Ryelle:

Laptop

PC

PC
Cost $3038 $1598 $3078
Processor 133 Pentium 133 Pentium 166MMX
Cache 256 KB 512 KB 512 KB
Memory 16 MB 16 MB 32 MB
Hard Disk 1.4 GB 2 GB 4 GB
Screen Size 11.3" Active 15" 17"
Video Card 1 MB  2 MB Virge 4 MB ATI
CD-ROM 6 X 12 X 24 X
Sound 16 bit 16 bit + spkrs 16 bit + spkrs
Extra Battery - Grolliers E. Grolliers E.
Software - - -
Other - 33.6 Kb Modem 33.6 Kb Modem

MDG is a clone "manufacturer" there are no extras in their prices.

MDG:

Laptop

PC
Cost $3295 $2590
Processor P166 P166
Cache 256 KB 256 KB
Memory 16 MB 16 MB
Hard Disk 1.3 GB 1.7 GB
Screen Size 11.3 Active 15"
Video Card 2 MB 2MB Virge
CD-ROM 10X 12 X
Sound ? 16 bit
Extra Battery - NA
Software - -
Other - -
 
 

 Should Ryerson be a Laptop University?

Access

Students who purchase notebook computers under a University program will have excellent access to information technology. Where other solutions are implemented access will not be truly ubiquitous.
 

Graduate Employability

For basic skills notebooks provide an excellent platform for learning and working. However, for certain applications notebooks may not provide sufficient technological base to achieve certain skills. In Computer Aided Design, image processing, multimedia development, and other visualisation and design areas affordable notebooks are a disadvantage to students working on basic to mid-level problems.
In some programs employers will value the laptop experience such as in Business and perhaps Journalism. In other programs the experience will be considered outside of normal work practices and will be irrelevant.
 

University Image

If communicated properly becoming a laptop university can have a positive impact on Ryerson's image. Selling a hybrid solution to ubiquitous computing is much more difficult.
 

Cost to students

Based on information on existing programs the cost of a laptop program for students in effect raises their tuition by roughly 50%. In some programs this may be acceptable. In others this may lead to significant enrollment reductions and reduce the quality of students available to them.
 

In theory if every student were required to purchase a notebook computer access to IT at Ryerson would be be pervasive on and off the campus. In practice there are two fundamental problems with this. First, many students may not be able to afford a notebook solution. Second, the high cost of notebooks may render them an inappropriate technology for many disciplines. The cost of notebooks capable of running certain classes of critical applications is unreasonable whereas the cost of a desktop system may not be. At some point notebook computers may be available that address both of these concerns. At this point they are not. Other solutions as discussed above must be explored. Where appropriate Ryerson must allow individual programs or departments to move forward with entrance requirements such as the purchase of a laptop (or other system) where those departments deem it appropriate.

Maintained by Dave Mason as part of the ITSDC pages
Last modified: Fri Jul 4 08:27:05 EDT 1997