Technology Environmentfor Teaching and Learning

Carl Harris, Jeff Crowder

Task Force on Instructional Technology

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Oxygen Principle

In the future, computing will be human-centered... available everywhere, like batteries and power sockets, or oxygen in the air we breathe. It will enter the human world, handling our goals and needs and helping us to do more while doing less.

-- MIT Project Oxygen http://www.oxygen.lcs.mit.edu/Overview.html

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The Network as a fabric for...CommunicationCollaborationImmersion

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Desirable AttributesTechnology infrastructure should be...

UnobtrusivePervasiveExtensible... a platform for innovationContext-Aware

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Major Initiatives• Wireless/mobile improvements• Unified communications system• Application platform virtualization

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Wireless Outlook• Coverage and capacity improvements

• More bars, more places• Distributed antenna system for mobile

carriers• Campus wireless technology upgrades for

better experience in large lecture halls

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Wireless Outlook• Improved wireless network on-boarding

and off-boarding• Seamless transition from mobile carrier

networks to campus network• Unobtrusive access control

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Unified Communications• Integrating different modes of

communication over the network• audio• video• text, images, shared documents/tools, etc.

Allowing us to derive new and useful ways of collaborating...

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Collaboration with...• any combination of participants located

anywhere• multiple mediums for interaction• minimal administrative or technology

overhead• any combination of devices

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Platform Virtualization• Enable innovative application

development by reducing cost of entry• Minimal out of pocket expense• Offload administrative overhead• Share hardware resources and other

infrastructure

"Who will pave my information super-driveway?" - Zigurd Mednieks in Telirati Newsletter #31, 12 Oct 1998.

Federal Broadband Technologies Opportunities ProgramExpanding Virginia Open Access Fiber