Secrets of wireless Planning
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Secrets of Technology Planning: Simple Things Done Well
In August 2000 Buena Vista University, a small campus of 1250 students located in rural northwest Iowa, unveiled the first wireless community in the nation. Every full time student and faculty member received a laptop computer connected to a campus-wide wireless network. Nearly 1400 users could freely roam the entire campus footprint and remain seamlessly connected to the university network and the Internet as part of the information technology access program, called eBVyou. Buena Vista had achieved true ubiquity not just anywhere, any time, but Everyone, Everywhere, All-of-the-time.
But the real achievement wasn't so much the technical marvel of establishing a seamless campus-wide wireless network. What BVU had managed to accomplish was the culmination of three years of planning aimed at providing ubiquitous computing access, establishing a service-oriented sustainable support system for technology, and enhancing the teaching and learning environment. In short, the institution transformed its approach to information technology by developing a long-term plan tied to university mission and values, built on interdepartmental collaboration and cooperation, and integrated across the campus with a coherent plan.
The results have been dramatic. No student ever has to wait in line for a computer or go somewhere use information technology tools. Students can access resources on their desktop, the campus network, or the Internet wherever and whenever they need to...