Indiana Statesman For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students.
Volume 123, Issue 17
indianastatesman.com
Monday, Sept. 28, 2015
Technology gives students new ways to learn Morgan Gallas Reporter
Technology has been integrated into everyday life in every way possible — from GPS to children’s toys; but technology has made a huge impact on how students experience college. There are many aspects of college that have changed because new technologies allow for new ways of teaching. “One of the things that are provided to use because we have the technology we do today is distance education,” said Lisa Spence, associate vice president of academic affairs and chief information officer. “The whole concept of doing things online offers opportunities to students that just didn’t exist in the past.” Technology in the classroom has changed as well. Many professors have students using clicker devices to answer questions in class. Others use Twitter as a way to enhance out-of-class experiences. The library offers online materials to stu-
Biology education at ISU celebrates 50th anniversary A celebration of science will mark the 50th anniversary of graduate studies in biology at Indiana State University. “We want to celebrate all the experiential learning that goes on in the department of biology,” said Rusty Gonser, professor of biology and director of the Center for Genomic Advocacy at Indiana State. “There will be presentations during the day, and there will be tours of all the remodeled labs, spaces and all the designs for spaces for the new program in genetic counseling.” In 1953, the double-helix structure of DNA was discovered, ushering in a golden era of learning in the biology field. “And here we sit, the human genome had been sequenced at 10 years for $10 billion — and just in the last 15 years, we can now sequence a genome in a few days for a couple thousand dollars,” Gonser said. “We can now tailor drugs for people’s genome and change the face of health care to what they now call precision medicine — from general to precision — now treating you and your genetics.” Other research milestones such as animal tracking and acoustics have forever changed the way we learn about organisms. At Indiana State, biology graduate programs were started in 1965, with the Center for Bat Research, Outreach, and Conservation added in 2005 and the Center for Genomic Advocacy established in 2012. Just this spring, the Board of Trustees approved a new Master of Science in Genetic counseling program, pending approval
dents on and off campus. “Technology offers a really diverse experience in the class room in terms of how faculty can present the materials,” Spence said. “We’ve got a lot of things today that go to helping students be more effective.” Increased portability has allowed students access to technology in a greater number of places. “So much of what (students learn) can be brought with (them),” Spence said. “They have cell phones and e-books where they can be brought wherever students go.” With technology, professors can give information over Blackboard, email or websites that would otherwise only be discussed in class. There are also simulators for different aspects of classes, such as the flight simulators for aviation students. Including technology into classrooms allows schools to provide education more like the workplaces they will enter after graduation.
“There is a richness in the experience that you can have in college like the kinds of things that faculty can have you do and the kinds of things that students can do that just goes beyond, for example, what I experienced in school,” Spence said. “We can create an environment that is more active and a lot like the environment that students will go work in.” As more technologies come out, the information gets more complicated which can be difficult for students who find it hard to adapt to new technology. “Diversity usually means that something is more complex,” Spence said. “So students have to deal with the variety that they might see. If one faculty member uses this technology and another uses that technology, students have to learn to adapt to using both, which isn’t something that they had to do in the past.” Though there are many negative aspects of technology in college, it is generally seen as an overall advantage. “The cons really become advantages because they prepare students for being
able to change, which is what they will do after graduation,” Spence said. “Hopefully students can use this college environment to practice learning new things and adapting.” Spence said technology has become more personal not only in the workplace but also in personal life. “There is a huge progression of technology getting much bigger to much smaller, far away to very close to us. When I first started working, there was a mainframe computer in the basement, but now we wear technology with our FitBits and cellphones.” Technology is becoming more omnipresent in everyday life to where people need to learn to adapt to stay up-to-date. “Everybody knew how to use books or how to read what was on an overhead projector,” Spence said. “Technology is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our lives. I hope students have a good experiences with technology on campus … so that in the future, they are really prepared to use technology in their career.”
Think Pink
Marissa Schmitter | Indiana Statesman
Hundreds flocked to Indiana State University’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday to take part in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in support of breast cancer awareness. The annual event empowers cancer survivors and raises money to fund breast cancer research and treatment, with much of the funding helping people in the Wabash Valley.
SEE MORE ON PAGE 4
BIOLOGY CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
ISU working to improve Internet connections around campus Kristi Sanders News Editor
ISU upgraded its core network software and systems over the summer to address network connection issues due to increasing traffic. The upgrades involved significant changes to software and hardware. Lisa Spence, the associate vice president of academic affairs and chief information officer, explained some of these changes. “We made the changes in July and the network performed just fine, but traffic in the summer is lighter than it is during regular fall and spring semesters,” Spence said. “Start of school in the fall is a particularly busy time for our network. When the increased traffic ‘hit’ the upgraded system, we discovered that we
needed to change the configuration somewhat to handle the larger number of devices connecting to the network this year as compared to last.” Two Internet outages that affected campus were not related to this work, but had to do with issues related to ISU’s Internet connection, which is provided through i-Light, the Internet service provider for all state institutions. Those issues were resolved last week, Spence said. “Sometimes we can change device settings in a way that will improve your overall experience and stability,” Spence said. “If you are in a residence hall, you may be experiencing issues that have to do with the devices around you. “ The residence hall environment is somewhat unique from a wireless standpoint because there are lots of devices send-
ing wireless signals out at the same time but often from different rooms that all use the same wireless access point including smart TVs, gaming units, wireless keyboards, smartphones and laptops. These signals often compete with each other. “If you observe that this is the case in your room (many wireless devices, all turned on), you may be able to shut some devices off so that whatever device you are specifically using right now has a less dense environment to operate within,” Spence said. “Especially if you are doing something on your laptop in the residence hall, you can connect your device to a wired connection, and that will ensure you have a connection that is fast and won’t experience the issues that wireless is prone to experience.” OIT is now stocking Ethernet
cables that are free to students, so if students don’t have what they need to connect, they can stop by Stalker Hall and get a cable. “We are continuing to expand our network bandwidth and making our Internet connection more redundant,” Spence said. “We have also changed our design for wireless access in residence halls, and we have used that new design in Reeve Hall, 500 Wabash and Mills Hall (recent construction/renovation projects).” Residents in Reeve experienced improved service last year. “Unfortunately we can’t yet tell about 500 Wabash and Mills Hall because of the issues experienced over the last several weeks,” Spence said. “But we expect residents of those halls will soon begin to experience an improved wireless environment.
We will be surveying them specifically in the next few weeks.” If that looks good, Spence said she will discuss with Residential Life how they can move forward with changes to other halls. “We are also improving our building cabling around campus, and this should improve wireless and other network experiences in places like HMSU and the library over the next year,” Spence said. Spence believes the Internet connections will improve as they make changes and receive feedback. “We have made some … changes already, and we will complete all the anticipated changes within the next couple of weeks,” Spence said. Students needing assistance can find information on the OIT website, by calling 812-2372910 or going to the basement of Stalker Hall. Page designed by Carey Ford