tkid124

March 31, 2009 at 7:52pm

Sitting in a lab of a 16,000 student university, and using the other labs across campus, no they aren't out of date.

I have a laptop and server in my room, but the ease of a desktop keyboard is hard to resist while typing a paper. I could understand cutting down on computer labs or going to the idea of having computers in non-lab settings, (dorms, writing stations, etc) but to take out all the computers even in this tech overloaded age, seems silly.

Keith E. Whisman

March 31, 2009 at 9:26am

Hell when Iraq invaded Kuwait and Bush 1 started sending troops to Saudi I dropped out of High School and I lied and twisted my answers to get into the Army. But I remember during the few months it took to get to Basic Combat Training I did get a few jobs that payed a minimum wage of $3.25 per hour. In Phoenix back then it was hard to find a job that payed more than $7 dollars an hour. 

Now on that pay I couldn't afford to live on let alone buy a laptop. Even for a $700 laptop I couldn't afford one if they had them back then and they didn't.

So unless their parents buy their collage student children computers I don't see how students can afford to get a computer even if they get jobs. There just aren't very many jobs for students that pay much more than minimum wage and if the do pay more than minimum wage then they are only part time jobs.

So really only students that come from well off families won't notice the missing labs and I have a question.

Will the savings made by closing the computer labs be reflected in the tuition? Or is this just the universities giving the middle finger to the poor student? 

biggorilla

March 31, 2009 at 7:12am

I currently attend California State University, Los Angeles and I can't see this happening at my college anytime soon.  On any given day, there are long lines formed outside the computer labs.  In my classes, there are generally only 5 or 6 students with notebooks out of 30+.  Many students at CSULA would struggle without a Computer Lab.  So, for the schools with wealthier students, the labs will probably be fazed out but for the less affluent, I suppose there will be numerous bulk computers available for sale.

cfmwarren

March 30, 2009 at 5:54pm

Of course, this is only for universities, but I think it is just plain funny. Who would of thought that computer labs would become obsolete??

 

sp33dyf33t

March 30, 2009 at 5:11pm

I believe that computers are necessary for learning.... this guy has the right idea

 

http://ffwtech.com/2009/03/why-laptops-are-necessary-in-the-classroom/

 

as a student i think that computers are wonderful tools that should be used for more efficency and learning capabilities go through the roof when you can access the internet.

soccer1105

March 30, 2009 at 4:24pm

I was just about to comment on how stupid this is, but I think everyone bellow already did it for me.  Expensive software licenses, free prints on campus, poor freshmen without computers... I just don't see this happening.

comptech08

March 30, 2009 at 4:14pm

there phasing out computer labs not computers, but i still think it is stupid to get rid of them all together.

Ilander

March 30, 2009 at 2:33pm

They'd better make access to necessary tools for specialized majors (engineering, design) available.  I can personally say that the only 3d-modeling tool most of my architectural-major friends could afford is Google Sketchup...which is a truly poor product in comparison to AutoCAD, Rhino, and Maya, all of which we have access to thanks to our computer labs.

Also, while our school makes Visual Studio available to students enrolled in computer-science courses, I'm sure that compiling large amounts of code works much better on the quad-core machines that are the standard on our campus now.

A college focusing heavily on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) simply should not be throwing its students out into the cold, and forcing them to run professional software on inadequate machines that may actually break under the stress (from the likes of hard-drive thrashing, increased heat, etc).

Scaling back?  Yes.  Students no longer need access to large arrays of word-processing devices.  Our college did away with in-room landlines due to the adoption of cell phones, so I'm sure that they're looking at scaling back the computers that are only being used for web-browsing and typing, but the beefy machines?  We can't afford to stop maintaining those.

mikeart03a

March 30, 2009 at 2:33pm

Personally, I don't think it's wrong to start phasing out a large number of general use labs, but it would be smart to probably reduce the size of them based on usage instead. I don't see the need for 20 labs with a 50 seat capacity as you're lucky if you're going to use half of that these days... When I was at college, we had a single building for 1000 students (no dorms, local community college where most students had laptops or a PC at home), and we only had 3 labs of 30 machines each to serve the general population (not including specialised computer labs for students of certain programs. ex. Electronics, Graphic Design, etc.). Most of our classrooms were computerized as well, but the requirement for them was there. The only students who really needed the labs on a regular basis were the visual arts, liberal arts and social science students (Approx 40% of the total population).

- mike_art03a
IT Technician
Gov't of Canada

cronjob

March 30, 2009 at 2:15pm

So I guess there won't be any Cisco Certified Networking classes at Virginia (like there are at Jr. college).  Must be a liberal arts college.  I'm just guessing, but I think they might very well sink that money into teaching comp-sci and still have computer labs, just not for everybody.

 

 

 

 

"...a version of cron was created that spent most of its time sleeping,
waiting for the moment in time when the task at the head of the event
list was to be executed..."

icebird

March 30, 2009 at 2:10pm

Are Labs obsolete?  No way--still very useful for classes.  The workstations IN those labs are the only thing going out of style.

KaylaKaze

March 30, 2009 at 1:38pm

I think that's a typo considering the context of the article. I'm thinking it's only 4 that DIDN'T have computers.

Mikey1091

March 30, 2009 at 1:26pm

 You're kidding me, right?  Pulling my leg?  The University of Virginia is taking away all Computer labs because of not 1000 out of 3000, not 500, not 50, but FOUR out of a total of 3,117 new student brought a laptop to school with them?  That has to be the most rediculous and insane thing I've ever heard.  Whoever's runnining that university needs to run the numbers through again because they're making a pretty big mistake here by cutting out Computer Labs because of a measly four people.  But hey, it was apretty good laugh though :)

 

Cheap Web Hosting from Nova Internet Services!  http://www.novaservices.biz/

Geeksquadmyss

March 30, 2009 at 1:16pm

Maybe down sizing would be a better choice.  As a college student now last year my laptop broke and i still had a project to do, so it meant going to the computer lab.  The more college starts costing and the less students are getting from the schools the more likely it is that they will be unable to attend.  I just transfered from a private school to a state university because i was paying $35,000 a year plus and a state schools are cheaper but taking amenities like Computer labs away is a good way to piss people off.

I used my Computer lab at least 4 or 5 times a week, on a slow HW/project week, and if i had tests or something it was more, laptop or not there still used. 

Danduhman

March 30, 2009 at 1:12pm

I only use my school computer lab so I don't have to use the ink on my printer at home.