April 17, 2003

Rose-Hulman Awarded Hewlett-Packard Technology Grant
to Use Cutting Edge Tablet and Pocket PCs in Classes

Rose-Hulman Professor Mark Yoder (center) uses an  iPAQ pocket personal computer in an electrical engineering laboratory with graduate students Todd Goldfinger (left) and Anthony Kang (right).

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students and faculty will be able to utilize cutting edge tablet and pocket personal computers in classroom projects through a $220,500 advanced mobile technology grant awarded by the Hewlett-Packard Company that hopes to accelerate creation of "the campus of the future."

The grant also extends Rose-Hulman's leadership role in using technology in the classroom and exposes undergraduate students to the most current mobile technologies available, making them competitive in today's technology-driven job market.

HP will provide Rose-Hulman with hardware and software products, including 85 iPAQ H5450 pocket personal computers and 70 TC1000 tablet personal computers (valued at $200,009); $20,500 in monetary support for students implementing the educational programs and travel to attend a HP grant forum; one HP digital camera; consulting expertise; and increased direct contact with HP employees.

Rose-Hulman Professor Mark Yoder writes notes on a tablet personal computer that can be converted to a text file and downloaded for use in classroom documents.

This state-of-the-art technology will support the creation of teaching-and-learning test beds that incorporate HP mobile technology solutions, according to Art Western, Rose-Hulman's vice president of academic affairs.

There are two major projects of the Rose-Hulman program: Amplifying interactions in the classroom and amplifying interactions in the laboratory. Both projects are broad-based, involving a variety of disciplines (humanities, physics, computer science, and chemical, electrical, computer and software engineering) and a variety of learning models and settings (traditional and studio classrooms, laboratories, collaborative learning, and project-based learning).

"Mobile computing and wireless connectivity create learning environments not previously possible," Western stated. "The laboratory no longer needs to have four walls, electric power, and a network computer hookup. It can be literally anywhere. That opens up new kinds of laboratory locations: Parking lots, woodlands and swimming pools, to name just a few."

A tablet personal computer is used to write notes that can be converted to a text file.

For instance, student project groups can meet through the Internet, at different locations throughout campus, without the hassle of having to get the group physically together.

"Think of any example where we currently move people and objects, when what we really need to do is move concepts, information and data. That's where I expect to see the real advantages of mobile computing," Western said.

The grant also offers opportunities to investigate technology "beyond the laptop" initiative that has already proven so successful at Rose-Hulman, according to Louis Turcotte, vice president of instructional, administrative and information technology. He acknowledged that university students and faculty are prime users and developers of leading-edge technology.

An iPAQ pocket personal computer has wireless capabilities to download information, like web pages, from anywhere on campus.

In 1995, Rose-Hulman became one of the first colleges in the world to require all incoming students to purchase an institute-selected laptop computer and an associated suite of software. All classrooms are wired for high-speed network connections and there are wireless nodes strategically placed around campus. Students use their laptops in the classroom on a daily basis in most first-year classes and in many upper-division courses. Faculty members are currently using 32 iPAQ PocketPCs, provided by HP, in classroom and laboratory projects.

Rose-Hulman's Office of Instructional Research, Planning and Assessment will identify the value of using handheld technology in teaching and learning environments. All data collection and analysis will be done using HP wireless tools. Rose-Hulman is one of 11 U.S. colleges and universities receiving new grants this year.

Administrators involved in the mobile technology program are Gloria Rogers, vice president of institutional research, planning and assessment, and Turcotte. Faculty involved will be Claude Anderson, Mark Ardis and David Mutchler of the computer science and software engineering department; Victor Rivas and Julia Williams of the humanities and social sciences department; Mark Yoder of the electrical and computer engineering department; Alfred Carlson of the chemical engineering department; and Sudipa Kirtley of the physics and optical engineering department. Staff members involved will be Steve Jones, chief systems architect in the computer center's information technology department; and Gwen Lee-Thomas, director of assessment.