This session was run by Toshiba, relating to the issues surrounding the use of mobile computing.

A quick summary on where we are:

Student Support
Varied tradition, but most don’t support laptop users
Some have contracted for support (e.g. Middlesex, Warwick)
Some have encouraged laptop use without support provision
Good planning minimises problems (e.g. Edinburgh and Bristol)

Experience shows that the expected problems do arise, but these are not new problems (viruses, abuse of privileges)

Student Laptop Management
Access to the network: wired/wireless/dial-up/internet?
Configuring laptops for network access
Charging, storage and security

Toshiba now offer a secure storage unit which allows students to leave laptops to charge while they get lunch etc. This is coin operated. Definitely like this idea – where can we get one?

Then two brave souls stood up to outline their own solutions to some of these issues – I’m paraphrasing them here:

University of Sussex have now got a ‘self registration’ scheme for wireless connectivity, using a VLAN and Firewall. The main challenges they faced were:

Providing documentation
Helping people to read the documentation
wireless connection kit (held at user support desk)
problems with peer-to-peer file sharing application and some personal firewalls

Security is dealt with in the following way:
Self registration
Private network behind firewall
WEP
MAC address authentication on firewall
User authentication to web proxy
Restricted applications/ports

University of Stirling
Students want access from study bedrooms, labs and wireless zones using their equipment

Problem:
Enable students authenticated access to University network from a virus free PC. Problem compounded as students have divers range of equipment and IT skills

Solution:
VPN plus antivirus software

Solution – first pass
Student installs approved antivirus software
Student sets up VPN under Windows 98, Millennium, Windows 2000 & XP (Home/Pro)
We prodcued written documents describing process

However – students fail to or can’t folllow instructions and come to Information Centre for individual help
This is very time consuming an obviously not scalable
No guarantee that antivirus software is installed

So – wrote software which did the following:
Ensure Symantec antivirus is running on host PC and offers to install when not
Requests username
Sets up appropriate VPN (on/off campus)
Optionally set up desktop link to student’s home folder and adds the printer driver for central print system

This resulted in many more students using campus network
Hugely reduced problems at Information Centre (helpdesk) – and in general only ‘odd’ PCs cause the software problems (static IPs, firewalls, network bridges)
Minimal intervention on student PC

The necessary software is installed from a CD, which can be borrowed from the library.

Interesting to see that both had the same issues (students can’t/won’t read/understand documentation). This doesn’t exactly suprise me. Anyway, they solved this in different ways – employ more people to help students, write software to do it for them. The second seems like the better solution to me (although there are support issues here – what seems suprising is that MS aren’t providing better software/functions for this in Windows I guess).

Anyway, I’m not convinced that either of these is the ideal solution (I really want to sit down, switch on my laptop, and be online) – but perhaps we have a way to go before we get to this kind of solution (not just for Universities, but for the whole ‘wireless’ access issue.