1:1 computing @mit a discovery project bill fitzgerald senior project manager, acp joanne hallisey...

1:1 1:1 Computing @MITComputing @MIT

A discovery project

Bill Fitzgerald Senior Project Manager, ACP

Joanne Hallisey Senior Project Manager, Discovery

Phillip Long Senior Strategist, ACP

Oliver ThomasGroup Leader, Athena-RCC Group

Story LineIntroduction

Athena Environment Student Computing

MIT Infrastructure

Student Expectations Use of Technology

in TeachingEd Technology

InitiativesProposal

Next Steps



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

•If you’re praying in W13, you must be at MIT

A culture of technology and research




MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

•MIT faces the consequences of

being “first”– We have a “well defined” computing environment that endorses the three “S’s”

Scalable

Serially reusable

Sustainable

This was implemented through the development of Athena


Oliver Thomas



MIT InfrastructureStudent Expectations Use of Technology in

TeachingEd Technology

InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Group Leader, Athena-RCC GroupGroup Leader, Athena-RCC Group

The Athena Computing The Athena Computing EnvironmentEnvironment

Originally Project Athena(1983-1992)

A different kind of ubiquitous computing

Original focus development of an Academic computing platform and discipline-specific courseware

Sponsored by Digital Equipment Corporation and IBM



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Key Technology Developments

X Window System

Kerberos authentication system

Zephyr messaging system

OLC/OLTA interactive on line help

Hesiod directory services

Roaming profiles

Thin workstations

Highly scalable



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Athena Today

700+ workstations in clusters, labs, offices, and dorms maintained by minimal staff

25,000+ users

About 6,000 logins from unique users per day

New platform support (SGI, Sun, Linux)

AFS file system

3rd Party SoftwareMath packages (Matlab, Mathematica, Maple)

Graphics/Modelling (Alias Wavefront, Autocad, Insight, Pro**Engineer)

Office packages (StarOffice, Applixware, Framemaker)



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Drawbacks

Heavy network dependency

Slow on launch

Demand exceeds supply at peak times

Unable to leverage market

Limited commercial software choice

UNIX is hard!



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Student ComputingStudent Computing

The Student Computing dipole



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

High personal ownership (85%-95%)

Increasing resistance to high learning curve Athena (UNIX) presents

Athena is the base for academic computing

Faculty build with Athena in mind

Personally owned machines are not “critical systems”


The Student Computing Class System

The EliteIt’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!

The ProfessionalsIn-Depth Knowledge

No Passion

The OthersGoal Oriented

Computer is a means to an end



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

MIT InfrastructureMIT Infrastructure

The MIT Network

Wireless Pilot

Network Security

Challenges



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Wireless Pilot300 access points in service in selected classrooms, libraries, and public spaces by 6/30/2001“Partnership” with Lucent



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Network Security

Kerberos

X.509 Web Certificates

Certificate-Based DHCP Reg



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps


Network Security Challenges

Big Pipes, Little Pipes

Servers, Servers Everywhere

MIT’s Network Is Open(No Firewalls)



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

15 October 1998

Courtesy Luis Carmona, Telepac (PORTUGAL)

Hazards of Cracking – Portugal Closed for Business


Network Security Challenges

Big Pipes, Little Pipes

Servers, Servers Everywhere

MIT’s Network Is Open(No Firewalls)



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

The Three Myths of The Three Myths of FirewallsFirewalls

1. The Only Way In Or Out Is Through The Firewall

2. All Threats Originate From Outside The Firewall

3. Connections Are Dangerous But Data Is Not



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

“Nobody Here But Us Chickens.”

“We’ve Got The Place Surrounded!”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!”“Sticks and stones may break my bones but Word™ will never hurt me!”

Bob Blakley, IBM


The Cost Of Freedom

The MIT Network Security Team

Average 4 Incidents per day

Cross-Departmental, Volunteers

Funded and Paid (finally!)



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Joanne Hallisey



MIT InfrastructureStudent Expectations

Use of Technology in Teaching

Ed Technology InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Senior Project Manager, DiscoverySenior Project Manager, Discovery

Student Expectations

• Pre-admissions

• New Students

• Parents

• Upperclass students






Next Steps

Anytime…Anywhere

• 24x7 reliability

• 24x7 availability

• Security

• Multiple platforms

• Lab, classroom,dorm,public space, off-campus connectivity

• Remote access






Next Steps

Anytime…Anywhere cont.

• File storage

• Network performance

• Software availability

• Support

• Repair

• Personal use options

• Backup????






Next Steps


• Japanesehttp://web.mit.edu/fll/www/languages/Japanese.html

• 6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programshttp://sicp.ai.mit.edu/Fall-2000/

• 2.009 Product Engineering

Processes http://web.mit.edu/2.009/www/






Next Steps

6.001• “An Educational Experiment”• All course information on web pages• Lectures are online only via the

online tutor system• Problem sets releases via the online

tutor system- individual work• Collaboration encourage with

caveats• Support for specified OS on personal

computers - no Macs or general Athena






Next Steps

Japanese• Use of technology to

teach language - began JP NET in 1995

• Daily use of web (JP NEThttp://www-japan.mit.edu/)

• Interactive exercises• Accessed by MIT and

non-MIT people






Next Steps

2.009• Web pages parallel MIT

home page• Course information online• Email and chat• Resources• Peer review






Next Steps

Bill Fitzgerald






Next Steps

Senior Project Manager, ACPSenior Project Manager, ACP

MIT Council on Educational Technology

(MITCET)

• Momentum for Change

• From Ideas to Reality

• Latest Call for Proposals

• Support for the Future





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Momentum For Change

• The Work– Educational Technology Council– Task Force For Student Life and

Learning– The New MITCET– Life-Long Learning – Alumni Engagement

• The Commitment– PIVoT Is Deployed– EMCC Is Launched





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

The Resources

• MIT / Singapore• MIT / Cambridge University, UK

• MIT / Microsoft I-Campus• d’Arbeloff Gift

• MIT Internal Funding





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

From Ideas to Reality

Studio Physics:The Re-Birth of

Wonder

Project VIEW:Communicating

aroundCampus

Solving Complex Problems:

Mission 2004

FLUIDS:A School-Wide

Modular Program

Factories and Laboratories:A New Undergraduate

Seminar

Classroom Communicator:

Increasing Classroom Interaction





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Engagement Across the Campus

• Students– Classroom Communicator “Raising your hand...

virtually!”

• Faculty– Technology-Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) “Selling

your chalk stock?”

– Physics Interactive Video Tutor (PIVoT)

• Alumni– Life Long Learning: Keeping our alumni engaged with

perpetual learning and involvement (i.e. Mission 2004)

• Staff– Learn and apply new skills– Work across traditional departmental boundaries





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Latest Call for Proposals

• Continued interest in new ways to create excitement about the first-year educational experience. New areas of interest are:

– Educational impact of wireless and portable computing– New educational initiatives that include alumni as

participants– Projects that investigate increased flexibility for

learning experiences on and off campus

• New support model will be needed– Is this the next generation of Athena, or a brand new

family?





InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Next Steps



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

• Leveraging existing technology proclivities among the MIT students

• Preserve the functionally valuable attributes the Athena

• Craft a series of experiments to evaluate the characteristics of a mobile student computing environment

• Goal: transformation of educational technology in mature computing environment

Dimensions of Study



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Academic Value

Social/Cultural

Hardware

Software

Support

Dimensions of Study



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

Infrastructure

Security

BusinessFinance

Test Cohorts



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

•Convergence of academic program and independent living groups (ILG’s)

Student cohorts engaged in an academic program provided by a specific course or department

Student cohorts engaged in single shared class (e.g., course 6.001)

Student cohorts derived from a shared living environment (e.g., drawn from the same residence setting)

Givens



MIT Infrastructure



InitiativesProposal

Next Steps

• Multi platform (Intel, Mac)

• Multi OS (Linux, W2K, MacOS X)• Common File System

• Central+Distributed• AFS + MITster or Apache local web server

• Secure Kerberized/Certificate-based environment

Thank You

Tune in Next Year for the

Results !

URLs for Reference• Academic Computing Practice (ACP)

http://web.mit.edu/acs/

• Project I-Campus http://web.mit.edu/alliance/index.html

• Latest Call for First-Year Proposalshttp://mit.edu/ed-proposals

• Educational Media Creation Center (EMCC) http://emcc.mit.edu/

• Center for Advanced Educational Studies http://www-caes.mit.edu/





InitiativesProposal

Next StepsThe End

1:1 computing @mit a discovery project bill fitzgerald senior project manager, acp joanne hallisey...

Documents