FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, with the right technology will no longer have to worry about availability in the College’s computer labs. The Walton College recently launched a wireless network within the Business Building, the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development and the campus space in between.

"Students with laptops or PDAs and the proper wireless card (802.11b) are now able to access e-mail and the Internet through our wireless network," said Sandy Kizer, Walton College Technology Center director. "They have total coverage anywhere on the business campus. They are no longer bound by a specific room. I think, at this time, the Mullins Library is the only other place on the UA campus that offers this kind of capability."

Wireless networks use radio frequencies as an alternative to standard Ethernet cabling as a means of networking multiple PCs and PDAs.

Paul Cronan, professor of information systems and M.D. Matthews Chair of Business, taught a pilot class last spring in which master of information systems students had access to a wireless network. Through the wireless connection on their laptops, they had access to DB2/NT, the NCR Teradata system and an IBM S/390 system through their laptops. With this technology, they developed distributed database and e-business applications and manipulated a large dataset donated to the College.

Cronan is currently using the wireless network in his class, "Seminar in Business Technology," for new PhD students to help them take advantage of using technologically mediated instruction. The instructor can manage the classroom on the wireless PDA, control a PowerPoint presentation and send files to students in the classroom.

Cronan said, "What this wireless network means to education is that our students now have more tools to increase learning in the classroom. For example, they can use wireless PDAs and laptops to take notes in class, access the Internet on the spot and download the instructor’s PowerPoint slides and notes.

"In effect, the wireless devices have become 'supermobile’ computers. In the near future, they can be used to provide instant feedback to instructors, take quizzes, and generally facilitate classroom instruction.

"As well, we want to set an example that the College is on the leading edge of technology. We are not afraid to test new ideas and experiment. While the wireless network is not unique in colleges across the country, it is a great advancement for the region."

A team in the College has been testing the network for over a year. The team includes Kizer; Cronan; Will Allred, network administrator; and Greg Dorne, systems programmer. Grants from various sources helped fund the project.

Instructions on the technology needed to access the wireless network can be accessed through http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/techcenter/wireless.asp