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New Computer Lab Sports the Latest Equipment
A Look at the Growing Demand for Computing
Facilities
Liz Pickett, Computer Room Consultant Supervisor, and Anthony Zung,
Junior Computer Room Consultant, oversee the computers in the new open access computer lab in 73 Hutchison.
Photo by Jim von Rummelhoff, IET Mediaworks">
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 new open access computer room in 73 Hutchison
Hall recently opened its doors to UC Davis computer users, offering
a glimpse of what's to come for campus computer labs. Not only does
the lab feature the latest computer equipment, it is also the first
in a cluster of computer classrooms and labs to settle in Hutchison
Hall.
"By Spring Quarter 2003, two more computer rooms will move to
the Hutchison Hall location, making up a suite of labs conveniently
grouped for student use," says Chris LaVino, Space Coordinator
for Information and Educational Technology (IET). LaVino worked
closely with Resource Management
and Planning, the office responsible for the management of
space on campus, to coordinate the closure of the open access
lab in TB 114 and the computer rooms in Surge IV, all of which
are being re-purposed for classrooms and staff offices.
On Nov. 7, the lab's opening day, 163 users - including 139 students, 22 staff members and 2
faculty - stopped by to check out the new locale, spending a collective 194 hours using a variety
of software programs, surfing the Web, checking email, or writing papers.
The workstations these folks
enjoyed are courtesy of the
Dell
Computer Corporation "Higher
Education" program. The well-known
company donated 74 new PCs,
31 of which are now installed
in the new Hutchison lab.
The remaining donated machines
will find homes in the additional
Hutchison labs to be completed
in the Spring. Dell allowed
the Computer Lab Management
team the flexibility to configure
the computers as they wished.
As a result, the new Dells
exceed the campus' hardware
recommendations, with 2.4
GHz Pentium IV processors,
CD-rewritable drives, DVD
playback and flat-panel monitors,
according to Computer Lab
Manager Peter Blando.
While Blando said the building of a user base for any lab "takes
some time," the relatively short wait times and new equipment
are sure to eventually attract a larger crowd. In fact, during
the relatively low-volume time of a recent Friday afternoon, the
computer room was nearly filled to capacity with new clientele.
Students enjoy the new Dell workstations in 73 Hutchison Hall. Photo by Jim von Rummelhoff, Mediaworks
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"People are starting to realize there's a lab down here and more people are starting to come ...
I'm surprised; it's only the first week," said Joey Ou, a computer room consultant and double
major in Communication and Economics.
Victor Romero, a fifth-year Managerial Economics student, was taking advantage of the lab that
afternoon, remarking that, "the lab has up-to-date equipment, and it's not too far from the
library, the MU, and most of my classes."
With near-100% usage rates
in the MU computer room during
most of the day, the Hutchison
lab, located on the western
edge of the Quad, provides
a choice alternative. The
Computer Lab Management group
has been publicizing the lab
in the Aggie, on IET
Web sites, and on the
walls of computer rooms across
campus to get the word out
about the new location, but
Blando said that students
will eventually come across
it by word of mouth and the
sheer demand for on-campus
computers and printers.
Demand Continues to Rise
The demand for computer lab access has been enhanced by a number of factors, including the
explosive growth of instructional technology, the student computer ownership program
(http://computerownership.ucdavis.edu/),
research needs, specialized software applications used by faculty in the computer labs, and
student use of the robust network and printers.
Despite UC Davis' expectation
of student computer ownership
(which recommends that all
incoming undergraduate students
own a computer that meets
certain standards), the demand
for on-campus computers continues
to increase. According to
Janette Dickens, the Classroom
Technology Services Manager,
"the national trend is that
campus computer ownership
expectations actually raise
campus computer lab usage."
Students quickly discover the new computer lab.
Photo by Jim von Rummelhoff, IET Mediaworks
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Though it would seem that computer-owning undergraduates would need campus computer labs less
and less, the computer ownership expectation actually feeds into a general trend of increased
technology usage, which is strongly felt in the labs in many ways. For instance, more instructors
are requesting to reserve computer classrooms. Even instructors who don't teach in the computer
classrooms might load certain software programs on the computers in the campus labs where
students must go to complete their coursework.
IET currently manages 15 computer rooms, including four open access facilities for drop-in use.
Over the past five years, the number of logins in open access labs jumped 21%. The number of
unique users in the labs rose by 1,724 students. Printing in the labs has also increased
significantly.
With reports of increased enrollment on the horizon, the labs continue to chart their services.
There are 409 computer lab seats now available, 119 of which are in the open-access labs, with
the remaining seats in the often-reserved computer classrooms. Dickens points out that students
may use computer classroom terminals when a class isn't in session, bringing the statistical
number of seats available for drop-in use to about 219 at any given time. (For computer lab
hours and locations, log on to
http://clm.ucdavis.edu/.)
A Look at Labs Past
As Blando (Computer Lab Manager) looks ahead to the challenges of meeting campus demand for
computer labs, he can't help but reflect on the growth of computer lab resources over the years.
Beginning as a student lab employee in the early nineties, Blando remembers a decade ago when
only computer science and engineering students frequented the UC Davis computer labs. At that
time, they consisted of large terminals connected to a big UNIX-based mainframe the students had
to telnet into. "The lab users had to understand command-line interface, since most of the
software was DOS-based back then," Blando recalls.
The
Stand-only "Quick Stations" appeal to students who just want to quickly
check email or print something on their way to class.
Photo by Jim von Rummelhoff, IET Mediaworks
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Next, Blando witnessed lab use become especially popular among English majors who,
"tired of working with typewriters," needed programs like Mac Write and WordPerfect for word
processing. "The terminals didn't have hard drives then, so students would have to ask the lab employee
for a disk that had Word on it," he recounts.
Indeed, many things have changed; not only does Computer Lab Management host a number of its own
servers and specialized software for student use, it also oversees other media services such as
the audio and video production facilities in the Meyer Media Labs and the multimedia library in
1101 Hart Hall, where instructors can make various forms of media available for their students
who drop in to watch videos or listen to CDs and cassettes.
The layout of the labs has also adjusted over time to accommodate student use of the facilities.
For instance, the new lab layouts accommodate student needs for collaborative working, wheelchair
access, and stand-only (chairless) "Quick Stations" that are used by students who want to drop in
quickly to check email or print.
Though the cost of computers has significantly dropped over the past ten years (a personal
computer in 1991 averaged about $6,000, Blando says), the cost of supporting software, providing
labor, technical support, and networking more than makes up the difference.
What hasn't changed, however, is the high demand for the labs. Even 10 years ago, Blando
remembers students waiting in line to use computers.
Meanwhile, Computer Lab Management has stepped up its support services to keep up with the
variety of technical support scenarios that can occur in computer labs stocked with all kinds of
software and patronized by people with various skill levels. The diverse student staff employed
as lab consultants are made up of many academic majors, from computer science to english to
agriculture. Each summer, the diverse group undergoes a special week of training (more
affectionately known as "boot camp") to prepare them for the busy academic year in the labs.
(For more details on this tradition, read
Balloons at Boot Camp?
Computer Lab Management Prepares its Student Employees/.)
Looking ahead, Blando explains,
"We will continue to focus
on meeting faculty and student
instructional computing needs
on campus. That is our top
priority."
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