{"id":5823,"date":"2017-11-30T13:30:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T18:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=5823"},"modified":"2024-07-08T06:06:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T10:06:10","slug":"students-demand-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2017\/11\/30\/students-demand-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Students’ demand for technology: Transforming the Michigan experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first day of class is one of the biggest days on the IT calendar. Lots of planning and preparation are done to get ready for thousands to descend on campus\u2014will all of our systems handle the increased volume? Well, this year the first day of class was quieter than days past, thanks to the generous support of the Office of the Provost to fund the necessary infrastructure, and the hard work of Facilities and Operations and ITS Infrastructure teams. \u00a0\""<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look back in time. Were you on campus the first day of fall 2015? Although most of the things we expect at the start of the new term were in place\u2014students bustling around Ann Arbor, faculty in classrooms preparing to greet students\u2014there was one very important thing missing: WiFi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Suddenly, students lit up the ITS Twitter account, <\/span>@umichTECH<\/span><\/a>, wondering what was going on. Calls started coming in fast and furious to the ITS Service Center, reporting no WiFi connectivity on the Ann Arbor campus. Why bring this up? To show just how reliant campus has become on our ability to connect our devices from anywhere on the Ann Arbor campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

This technology continues to grow and change to the point that, according to Campus Technologies, <\/span>“colleges and universities are amongst the most demanding wireless environments built today.\u201d The main driver: Good WiFi is important in “attracting and retaining on-campus students” and keeping students engaged on campus, all of which has an impact on “the university as a whole.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Flash forward again to fall term 2017. Comparing WiFi from the first week of fall 2016 and 2017 illustrates the growing demand. (See infographic.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But what are students doing to create so much data transfer? Some might think that the primary use for students is connecting with friends through social media, but that is only part of the story. Students use this technology in every aspect of their lives. Increasingly, faculty and students at U-M are committed to a digital lifestyle and learning environment, whether that means connecting to Canvas for course information or new digital learning platforms connected through Academic Innovation, streaming videos assigned by professors, or collaborating with study groups via BlueJeans and other video conferencing apps. Our students are digital natives who work productively in a multitude of these environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEducation has definitely gone digital and also mobile.\u201d<\/p>