1. Copyright © College of Mount St. Joseph, 2002 This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author. Project MERLIN: Universal Computing and Wireless Thin Client

2. Mark Cain Jim Krailler Chris Buelterman

3. About the College  Private liberal arts  Sponsored by Sisters of Charity  Emphasizes values, integrity, social responsibility  1700 FTE students (74% commuter)  43 academic programs

4. Challenges  Scheduling problems in computer labs  Insufficient number of computers for student general use  No remote access to lab software  Assuring computer literacy without a computer literacy requirement  Inadequate infrastructure for a “media-rich” learning environment

5. Solution Universal Computing Program

6. Planning Phase 1998SummerResearch on laptop colleges FallFreshman survey 1999SpringSite visit to laptop college College strategic plan IT strategic plan (Tech Audit) SummerConcept approved by Cabinet Economic modeling for project

7. Solutions Phase 1999SummerFirst wireless network FallPrototype Citrix server WinterFirst wireless thin client test 2000Winter/SpringTesting SummerPhase I wireless, server farm FallMERLIN: First freshman class

8. Building Support and Awareness 1999SummerFirst presentation to faculty FallApproval by Trustees Presentation to Faculty Assembly MERLIN name selected 2000WinterMERLIN logo developed Media announcement

9. How does MERLIN work?

10. Notebook PC How does MERLIN work? Basic productivity software (Office, IE, plug-ins) resides on low-cost PC. Off-campus access with modem.

12. Wireless Network Notebook PC How does MERLIN work? Wireless connectivity allows campus roaming while still maintaining access to network, Internet and network software.

13. directional patch antenna

14. leaky co-ax antenna

15. high-gain omni-directional antenna

17. Citrix Server Wireless Network Notebook PC How does MERLIN work? Lab (high-end) software runs off CITRIX server for LAN and off-campus access.CITRIX

21. Citrix Server Wireless Network Notebook PC How does MERLIN work?

23. Other Goodies

31. Before MERLIN, I was a 98 pound IT weakling. Look at me now!

35. Infrastructure Considerations  Coverage  Access points  Antennae  Security  Wireless network  Citrix  Citrix gotchas

36. Ongoing Challenges  Classroom issues  Technology refresh  Bandwidth  Faculty  Students

37. Lessons Learned  Communicate, communicate, communicate  Choose your vendors carefully  Faculty first?  You can never test enough  Pilot  Stay flexible, move fast

38. Questions? Mark_Cain@mail.msj.edu Jim_Krailler@mail.msj.edu Chris_Buelterman@mail.msj.edu