BSU technology initiative receives national attention

An experiment using Macintosh computers at Bemidji State University has drawn the attention of Apple, which has featured BSU in a higher education profile at apple.com, and of Campus Technology magazine, which featured the experiment as the lead story on its Web site.

During the summer of 2006, Director of Technical Support Brian Allen and other members of the BSU tech support staff began an experiment with a new Apple iMac computer, which was capable of running both Apple’s Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems. Allen saw these new computers as an opportunity for BSU to reduce the number of machines on campus while at the same time expanding the availability of each particular operating system.

At the time, BSU had more than 800 computers, both Windows and Macintosh platforms, throughout 76 computer labs on campus. In BSU’s SuperLab alone, there were 100 machines split nearly evenly between Mac and Windows. Those 810 machines in 76 labs were supported by one person.

After a lengthy effort to perfect the installation of everything BSU would need on these new iMacs running both Windows and MacOS X, the machines were ready for their trial by fire — a selection of the highest-horsepower Windows applications Allen and his staff could find on campus. The first test case was running ArcGIS mapping software on a MacBook Pro. Allen and his team put a test group through the paces with that software and then asked for feedback.

The only complaint? The resolution on the MacBook Pro was too high.

“Once we heard that,” Allen said, “we knew the program not only could work, but be hugely successful.”

Now, a pilot program is underway among a small group of BSU faculty to put the experiment through the trials of an everyday, real-world environment.

Allen’s goal was to find a broad cross-section of faculty who were heavy Windows users that would put the machines to the test.

As a self-described “die-hard PC user,” Dr. Mur Gilman, department chair and professor of physical education, health and sports, was an ideal candidate for the pilot project. After getting past the early learning curve, she has taken well to her new computer.

“It took about a day to get used to the keyboard,” Gilman said. “I had to learn some new keystrokes or connect an external mouse for some right-click shortcuts I like to use. Now, I don’t remember that I’m using a Mac except when I pull it out and see the Apple symbol on the lid.”

Allen estimates the cost savings to the university due to the dual-boot hardware project could approach $2 million over a three-year period. Reducing the number of computers on campus from 810 to about 400 during a future hardware refresh cycle could save the university $800,000 in hardware alone.

However, the dollars saved might not be the most visible impact of the program on BSU’s students. For them, the benefit comes in saved time and increased productivity.

“This program could end up being a tremendous benefit to the students on campus,” Scott Theisen, a technical support analyst at BSU, said. “Today, if a student needs to go into a lab and, for whatever reason, there’s only Macintosh or only Windows computers open, they’re stuck with what’s available. Now they can sit down at any machine and do what they need to do.”

As the first university in Minnesota to deploy this technology on a wide scale, people from across the nation have taken notice of the work being done at BSU. Campus Technology magazine featured the initiative on its Web site on Dec. 11, and Apple, Inc.’s feature on Bemidji State as a higher education success story was published Dec. 14.

In February, Allen and his staff also will be presenting their work at the Society of Applied Learning and Technology’s New Learning Technologies conference in Orlando, Fla. That conference will continue SALT’s practice of bringing together senior professionals from government, industry, academia and the military to present the latest developments in the field of learning and training technologies.