2008 Woodie Awards
Wireless internet needed campus-wide
Freshman Confessions
Brian Washburn
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Opinion
Well, the school year is almost over. Finals are less than three weeks away, and I'm still swamped with schoolwork and preparation for tests. Although this is a little inconvenient because of the nice weather, it's not as bad as it seems because most of the work is done through online research and assignments.
However, there is one problem. Half of the time the Internet in my residence hall is not working properly or going extremely slow.
Even though this is a point I've hit on in the past as being a bit far fetched, I now see it as a necessity for all of the students on campus. The UA campus needs to be equipped with wireless Internet for all residence halls and on-campus buildings.
Although Maple Hill will see the addition of wireless Internet in the not-so-distant future, it is not the only residence hall on campus - just the most expensive. But when you are you're in a crunch for time working on an assignment that requires online research or completing an online task and your building's internet goes out, what is there to do?
This has not only happened several times this year to students all over campus, but many students have experienced this in the past couple of weeks.
The solution to the Internet on campus at the beginning of the year was ResNet, which required downloading a program and signing in to access the Internet. ResNet was the Internet for all residence halls up until a week ago.
A week ago ResNet crashed and students were introduced into a new form of on-campus Internet. However, this service still takes a while to load and, at times, works extremely slow. And what is going to happen when this service fails?
This technological breakthrough of the Internet (you know, the one that has been going on for almost two decades), should be included more in our education, as well. This includes having wireless Internet in classrooms.
Though some might claim this would distract students from the "learning process," it would certainly do more good than harm. Having wireless Internet in newer buildings like the J.B. Hunt Building has helped UA students do some on-spot research when discussing a topic in class, and can help a student delve deeper into a topic they might not fully grasp. Broadening technology on campus will begin to broaden the minds of the students on campus, as well.
However, there is one problem. Half of the time the Internet in my residence hall is not working properly or going extremely slow.
Even though this is a point I've hit on in the past as being a bit far fetched, I now see it as a necessity for all of the students on campus. The UA campus needs to be equipped with wireless Internet for all residence halls and on-campus buildings.
Although Maple Hill will see the addition of wireless Internet in the not-so-distant future, it is not the only residence hall on campus - just the most expensive. But when you are you're in a crunch for time working on an assignment that requires online research or completing an online task and your building's internet goes out, what is there to do?
This has not only happened several times this year to students all over campus, but many students have experienced this in the past couple of weeks.
The solution to the Internet on campus at the beginning of the year was ResNet, which required downloading a program and signing in to access the Internet. ResNet was the Internet for all residence halls up until a week ago.
A week ago ResNet crashed and students were introduced into a new form of on-campus Internet. However, this service still takes a while to load and, at times, works extremely slow. And what is going to happen when this service fails?
This technological breakthrough of the Internet (you know, the one that has been going on for almost two decades), should be included more in our education, as well. This includes having wireless Internet in classrooms.
Though some might claim this would distract students from the "learning process," it would certainly do more good than harm. Having wireless Internet in newer buildings like the J.B. Hunt Building has helped UA students do some on-spot research when discussing a topic in class, and can help a student delve deeper into a topic they might not fully grasp. Broadening technology on campus will begin to broaden the minds of the students on campus, as well.
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