A laptop College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma

Since 1998 every entering freshman entering the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU) has been required to have use of a laptop computer. The first engineering course, Introduction to Engineering, was redesigned to use laptops. Attempts to extend the laptop to other years and other courses revealed the need for a total infrastructure approach to the use of laptops. This paper describes the steps that the OU College of Engineering has taken to effectively integrate laptop computing into the curriculum. The College developed a vision and strategy for its laptop program, which affects most aspects of its undergraduate education. Specific actions have included the refurbishing of classrooms to be laptop compatible, the evaluation of tradeoffs between wired and wireless communication for the laptops (and between wireless protocols), the training of instructors in use of the laptops for education, and the training of students to use them. Assessment of the laptop program has been made by surveying students and faculty and by assessing the costs and benefits of the program. Barriers to more extensive use of laptops have been assessed and actions planned to address them.