Uoit, a laptop university: a look at the eight-year mark In higher education, one of the trends that have manifested themselves in the past decade, in many cases because of pressure from the students themselves, has been the attempt to achieve ubiquitous internet access, if not ubiquitous computing, on college or university campuses. The ideas gravitating towards a students/computers ratio of one to one as well as trying to provide the necessary associated support infrastructure have lead to many interesting projects. As large computer labs were no longer seen as a viable solution, some colleges and universities instituted laptop programs. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Canada, Ontario's first laptop-based university is one such institution. Since it opened it's doors in 2003, it has supplied every student with a new, current laptop preloaded with all the software required for every course as well as wireless internet access from anywhere on both campuses. Presently, the more than 7,000 students enrolled in undergraduate studies for the 2010-2011 academic year, along with another 500 in graduate studies, are encouraged to use their laptop to access course materials, conduct research, make presentations and communicate with faculty.
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