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IUS
By JOHN L. GILKEY
The wireless network has been a part of the landscape at Indiana
University Southeast for the past three years, but in the last
year it has taken on a life of its own and is now positioned
to become an incredibly important part of the learning experience
according to Dr. Larry Mand, Vice Chancellor for Information
Technologies.
"When we started to think about this project two and one half to three years
ago, we wanted to put computers in some of the large open areas of the campus
where students could get access to them readily," Mand said. "We didn't
want to destroy the aesthetics of the areas by running wires or channels to the
machines, so we began to look at other technologies that would work." Mand
says the emerging wireless computer technology of the day became the key focus,
and he and his staff began to explore the possibilities.
"We found we could put a wireless access point up through the ceiling and
serve a cluster of computers," Mand said, leaving only the problem of getting
power to the devices. "That was solved with an ingenious technology that
can provide electrical current through an incredibly flat cable that is placed
beneath the carpet. "It's so flat you can't tell it's there," Mand
said. The stations were an instant hit with students and teachers alike as they
started to learn about the advantages of wireless technology.
About a year ago, the university found that demand for video projectors
in the classroom driven by computers was growing exponentially.
The problem was that when many of the classrooms at the university
were built, computer networking was reserved for specialized areas
of the school. "We have a lot of classrooms that don't have
any network connections at all, and that quickly became a problem," Mand
said.
About the same time, the university began distributing a program
called "On Course" that provides a web-based interface
for teachers and students to accommodate everything from registering
for a class to turning in homework.
"The system handles student information as well as class scheduling, allowing
real-time population of a class roster," Mand said. "An instructor
can give assignments, post a class syllabus, receive homework and post grades
through the system."
The popularity of OnCourse was so great, that problems began to
develop with access to computers in the classrooms that were not
wired for the computer network. "It quickly overwhelmed the
wired network infrastructure," Mand said. The solution was
to expand the wireless network.
"We put computers and projectors on carts that could be rolled around and
used in just about any classroom on campus. If the room was wired, they could
plug into the wireless network. If the room was not wired, the network was still
accessible using the wireless network," said Mand.
The vice chancellor said the OnCourse system became so popular
with instructors and teachers alike that it wasn't long until a
decision was made to roll out wireless technology across the entire
IUS campus.
A hardware supplier was able to provide an access point that mounts
in a standard computer cabinet, but can support 14 remote antennas
using the popular 802.11b and 802.11g wireless standards. With
that installation, wireless access was available across the entire
campus in classrooms and to students with laptops that have wireless
connectivity.
"This fall we are starting a new program to help students get connected
to the network," Mand said. As they do, students will be able to log into
the IU network and take care of class assignments from anywhere on campus. Instructors
are also being brought into the wireless age with a pilot program that will provide
notebook computers with docking stations to allow even more use of the wireless
network and the OnCourse system.
Mand said the school already has two programs that make extensive
use of wireless technology: The School of Education and the School
of Nursing. The School of Education uses wireless Personal Digital
Assistants or PDAs for classroom support while the school of nursing
mirrors real-world wireless PDA technology used in hospitals and
medical centers. "We are even looking at tablet computers
that are not only wireless, but don't need a keyboard," said
Mand.
He said at some point, the university might even offer a public
access wireless hot spot for general Internet connectivity. "That
has to be on a totally separate network," said Mand. "Anybody
who accesses the IU network must log in and authenticate for security
reasons." According to Mand, "This is some pretty neat
technology and it's changing the way we do business here at IUS."
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The
UPS Store
By
John L. Gilkey
Putting something in a box and handing it over to the UPS delivery man, at
first glance, doesn't seem too technical a task, but looks can be deceiving.
Take the UPS Store in the Highlander Point Mall for example. The business
simply wouldn't exist without technology, and lots of it.
Roy and Joyce Vallance got into the business some years ago when the franchise
was still operated as Mailboxes, Etc. Since then, the company has been acquired
by United Parcel Service as an independent subsidiary that serves as a drop-off
point for packages destined to travel to locations around the world.
So what's so complicated about shipping a product? Joyce will quickly tell
you that without the computers, databases and T1 lines you're left with an
empty box and a bag of styrofoam peanuts. The UPS store utilizes a high speed
connection to a national database the company uses to keep track of its customers,
where they ship and any preferences about how they ship.
"We have an address book that allows us to retrieve information about a
location if a customer has shipped there before," Joyce is quick to point
out. "You could walk into a UPS store in St. Louis, and if you have shipped
to an address before, they will have that information ready to code your package."
It's the coding part that is the other element of the business that just couldn't
happen without today's computer technology. Since the store focuses primarily
on shipping via UPS - although they do support other carriers as well - they
need to have a way of printing specialized barcodes and other coding that is
used to identify a package and assist in sorting packages as they travel along
conveyor belts at UPS distribution centers. The system automatically calculates
shipping rates, and like that insurance commercial so prevalent on TV these
days, will even give you rates for UPS competitors to allow you to select the
lowest rate for the customer.
The Vallances say they were being choked by slow Internet connectivity, but
through the Southern Indiana Chamber of Commerce Technology Council, learned
about alternatives to high speed Internet connectivity. "We now have a
functional T1 that gives us the bandwidth we need," according to Joyce.
She said the technology employed by The UPS Store makes business possible. "We
just couldn't do business with UPS without this equipment and without the high
speed Internet connectivity. She said the Chamber's Technology Council is responsible,
in large part, for accelerating the implementation of low-cost and high speed
Internet access in many areas of Clark County. "If it hadn't been for
the Technology Council pushing for this, it might have taken years to come
to this area," she said.
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L & D
Mail Masters
By JOHN L. GILKEY
L&D Mail Masters is a company that was truly revolutionized by its own
technology. The change was so profound; it spawned a new business, L&D
Learning Masters, which could ultimately become bigger than its parent company.
Diane Fisher, President and CEO of the two companies, got her start in the
mailing list business as a home enterprise manually stuffing and sorting envelopes.
Today, she has a post office station inside her business, and says there are
very few people that can’t save money by doing bulk mailings with her company.
With the ability to print mailing information directly onto items and sorting
them in the same way the post office does, L&D Mail Masters is one of the
highest-tech small businesses in the field. "We have customers who supply
us their databases and we set up our machines to print them directly on the
materials," she said. At the end of the day, the company takes all of
the materials it has addressed and co-mingles them into one giant sort to get
the lowest possible rate from the post office. "We are constantly showing
people ways to save money on their bulk mailings," Fisher says. "They
chuckle and tell us that we just cost ourselves some business, but we tell
them we are looking for their future business as well as today's."
As the process moved away from manual sorting to one employing high-tech machines,
it started to become apparent to Fisher that the technical proficiency of her
employees would limit the maximum potential of her company. "I looked
around and found a company that could provide web based training on Microsoft
Office products as well as on other technologies," Fisher said. Initially,
she offered the training to her employees at no cost if they would train on
their own time.The response was overwhelming. She had people coming to her
with suggestions on how to improve the operation of machines, workflow and
lots of other aspects of her business.
It wasn't long until she decided to allow employees to take time from their
workday to continue their training. "Our people were excited about learning
and about how much money they could save the company." Since employees
are rewarded at the end of the year based on profitability, saving the company
money is a big issue for the L&D workforce.
In the first six months of offering the training, the company saved $31,000
in overtime costs because of recommendations made by employees on how to operate
more efficiently. The second year the program was in effect the company grew
25 percent. This year's growth is 38 percent; and it's only September! Fisher
says she owes it all to the employee training program.
The education process was so successful that she has now started a subsidiary
called L&D Learning Masters that is being marketed independently under
the L&D Learning Masters program. She has initially offered the program
to the Prosser Vocational Technical School and to the New Albany Housing Authority
where it is made available to individuals in subsidized housing complexes to
help them obtain better jobs and move up in life. "It's working well," says
Fisher. "We have already had some real success stories out of the housing
authority."
Another program allied with the Learning Masters program involves recycling
old computers and returning them to people in the community who otherwise would
not have access to a computer. Successful completion of training programs under
Learning Masters makes housing authority tenants eligible for monthly drawings
for computers.
With the opening of a computer center next to L&D Mail Masters on Security
Parkway, Fisher says the program is now available to the general public. The
program offers a wide range of Internet-based training and the ability to go
to the learning center and go through tutorials or dialogue with other students
involved in the same curriculum.
Training is available in a wide range of subject areas including office productivity,
business and management skills, workplace safety and even certification tracks
such as A+ and MCSE. "I know we're on the right track for growth," Fisher
says, "and we want to make that available to everyone in the community."
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