| Wireless Campus
- Magee
The Magee aspect of the Walled
City to Wireless City Project focused on the creation of an educational
precinct in the Strand Road area of the City, which is serviced
by a wireless network covering large areas of the campus. Thus initiative
has also served to improve the teaching environment of a number
of lecture halls on the Magee campus – these have been equipped
as SMART classrooms including wireless connectivity, interactive
white boards, and a range of multimedia audio and video systems
.
Students and lecturers of the
School of Computing and Intelligent Systems have been provided with
wireless enabled tablet PCs, to ensure that full advantage is taken
of this innovative learning environment. All year 1 students taking
either a single honours course, or a major in computing in the School
received a Toshiba Tablet PC for the duration of their course (normally
4 years).
Professor Martin McGinnity, who
manages the wireless campus elements of the project comments:
“This exciting project enables us to deliver a more interactive
and exciting learning environment for our students. It supplements
our other research work on e-Learning and remote access to laboratories,
and permits us to provide a better, more flexible approach to teaching
and learning. We anticipate a new integration between lecture and
practical laboratories, and the application of new teaching methodologies,
as a result of the Smart Classroom elements of this project. Our
goal is to create an active learning environment where students
engage enthusiastically in their learning, as a result of the potential
offered by 'anytime, anywhere' computing inherent in the advanced
wireless infrastructure”.
Wireless
Technology Centre
Another aspect of the University’s element of this project
has seen the creation of a Wireless Technology Centre. The Wireless
Technology Centre exists to provide independent consultancy to businesses
on wireless broadband applications and content. The Centre has a
number of objectives, which include:
- Facilitating the research, development, prototyping
and manufacture of cutting edge innovative wireless hardware/
software solutions for integration into existing or new products
for businesses
- The development of novel, innovative and localised
applications/ content for delivery over the extensive wireless
infrastructure provided by the project. This will include innovative
e-learning and e-University applications to accelerate the utilisation
of the tablet PCs provided by the project.
- The development of innovative embedded wireless
sensor technology solutions to a range of emerging applications
and problems.
For
further information on the Wireless Technology Centre contact Dr
Shyam Chakraborty, Wireless Technology Officer, on 028 7137 5126;
email: ss.chakraborty@ulster.ac.uk
For
further information on the Wireless Project at Magee contact Prof.
Martin McGinnity, Project Manager, on 028 7137 5217;
email: tm.mcginnity@ulster.ac.uk
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