ETSU students will soon have a unique computing opportunity available to them when the Office of Information Technol-ogy opens its wireless lab in Lucille Clement Hall.
The lab will feature 60 Dell laptops connected to a wireless network, allowing students to complete their schoolwork in a more relaxed setting than the current labs.
“Desktops are not flexible and require hardwired power and networking,” said Kimberly Thompson, OIT computer lab technician. “Laptops can be moved around a room very easily.”
Another element unique to the Lucille Clement lab will be a full-featured multimedia classroom to allow students to practice for class presentations.
“When students have to give a presentation, it is stressful enough without having to figure out new technology that you’ve never used,” Thompson said. “Therefore, we decided to put in (the multimedia classroom) setup so that students can become familiar with [using the technology] before giving a presentation to the class.”
The lab will also have group seating areas to allow students to collaborate with classmates on assignments more easily.
“We realized that we had no places on campus dedicated to allowing students to collaborate using technology, so we are putting something in place to accommodate that goal,” Thompson said.
“We want it to be an academic and social environment,” she said.
The Lucille Clement lab, which will be funded by the Technology Access Fee, will provide a major lab for the west end of campus and will be open to any registered student. OIT hopes to open the lab before the end of March.
If the lab proves to be a viable option for giving students better access to technology, more wireless labs may be considered in the future, Thompson said.
The lab was designed and implemented by Kimberly Thompson, Vincent Thomp-son and Mark Bragg.

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