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Northeast Goes Wireless
Northeast Alabama Community College has gone wireless. The
college now provides wireless Internet and computer service
anywhere on campus – inside and outside buildings and throughout
the campus area.
“This is the result of a federal grant that permitted us to
complete this project,” stated Dr. David Campbell, NACC
President. “This wireless system adds another component in our
efforts to provide as much educational technology to our staff
and students as we can.”
The Northeast Wireless System was provided by Foundry/Brocade
Manufacturer and consists of forty-eight access points on campus
and ten exterior antennas. The Mobility 3000 Wireless Controller
system that is used permits students to move about on campus
without having to disconnect from one access point to another.
The system accommodates the widest variety of wireless devices
at the fastest possible speeds.
Northeast is one of the most advanced colleges in the South in
regard to educational technology. All students and staff at the
college have Internet accounts and individual e-mail addresses.
More than twenty computer laboratories are in operation on the
campus, providing computer access and software for students in
fields ranging from English to mathematics to computer-assisted
drafting. The college has more than six hundred personal
computers on campus, and provides software instructional and
administrative services from Blackboard, Wimba, and the Alliant
Group. NACC was one of the first in the nation to provide
mathematics instruction through computer software. The college
also has a modern teleconference center and provides two mobile
teleconference units for campus use. State-of-the-art broadband
is provided to the college through Farmers Telecommunications
located in Rainsville and the Alabama Super Computer Authority,
which serves schools, colleges, and universities throughout the
state.
College officials point out that the wireless system is a
supplement to wired computer connections throughout campus. The
wired system is particularly adaptable for the use of extensive
data transfer and is not subject to any possible atmospheric
fluctuations. The wireless system permits students and staff to
access the Internet anywhere on campus and is expandable to
accommodate the college’s continued growth.
According to Sam Dobbs, NACC Director of Educational Technology,
the wireless system has three separate networks – one for
faculty/staff, one for students, and public WiFi for visitors to
campus. “This type of separation permits us to have security for
student, faculty, and institutional accounts.”
“We do want to permit public access to the Internet on the
Northeast campus,” Dr. Campbell stated. “Communication and
access to information through the Internet have changed
everything over the past decade, from the way we do business
domestically and globally, to providing health care services, to
manufacturing, to social interaction, to education. The way we
look at it is the more access that is available, the better for
everyone.”
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Campbell commended Northeast
personnel for their work in bringing wireless to
Northeast. Funding for the project was obtained as a
part of a 1.2 million dollar federal Title III grant.
This grant supports the enhancement of educational
technology at Northeast, and specifically provides
training opportunities in educational technology for
NACC students and personnel. Recently, Judith Lea was
chosen as the Director of the Student and Faculty
Technology Center at the college, which is being
established at Northeast. “Dr. Burke, Mr. Dobbs, and Ms.
Lea and many others on our staff are doing a great job
in helping us bring even more technology to Northeast,”
Campbell stated. “We want to stay on the cutting edge
with all our technology.”
NACC students Brooklyn
Rains of Sylvania and Chase Bonds of Grant enjoy the
wireless capabilities now available campuswide. |
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