Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Technical difficulties Expanding system suffers growing pains n apers could be typed in the con- venience of one ' s room. Library books could be looked up within a matter of minutes, and locating friends was no longer a frustrating task. Technology at its finest From 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. hiad been integrated into the when the mail mode was ac- learning environment at Northwest with the installa- tion of computers in every residence hall room and faculty office. For the first time, students and faculty members had access to a computer system at their fingertips. Students ' expectations for the system were high, and those expectations were often met with disappoint- ment when the system fell short of perfection. However, with any ad- vancement came problems. Gntil the initial difficulties were overcome, students faced setbacks when using the new system. It was a hassle, Chris Gose said. It was too crowd- ed in the library to print any- thing off. For this reason, some stu- dents avoided using the computers. 1 had to type my paper in, file it, and go to the library to print it out, Ken Campbell said. The typewriter was still right there. The advantages to having a computer in every resi- dence hall room were some- times also disadvantages be- cause of the large number of people who had access to the system. The majority of use on the VAX system was dedicated to the mail mode. cessible, there was a waiting queue. The waiting queue was sometimes close to 200, and that meant waiting for a cou- ple of hours, Campbell said. When the University tried to eliminate this problem, however, some students felt their corrective measures were too drastic. Though I agreed with shutting the mail service off during the day, 1 thought we should have been allowed to at least read our mail mes- sages whenever we wanted, Robin Brockman said. Another measure taken to avoid students mono- polizing the system was the automatic log-off for users logged on the system more than an hour, or for those who had been inactive for five minutes. The measure, though effective, seemed to irritate users. It was upsetting when lit- tle messages flashed on the screen while 1 was writing be- cause it left a blank space in the middle of what 1 was typ- ing, Campbell said. Though the measures al- lowed for some control, they didn ' t guarantee immediate access for users. Dr. Jon Rickman, director of Com- puting Services, expressed doubt toward a day when ac- cess to the mail mode would be easily attained. The amount of money that had already been spent toward the project was im- mense, and administrators seemed to favor investing in the academic capabilities of the system rather than in the mail service. Another area that seemed to raise opposition from stu- dents was the directory. It list- ed each student ' s name, ad- dress and phone number, all of which were available at the stroke of a few keys. 1 didn ' t like the student directory because someone 1 didn ' t even know could have found out where I lived, Di- ana Jensen said. It took away from my privacy. Students and faculty were also unsatisfied with the fact that the computer could shut down or log them off at any minute, regardless of what they were working on. It made me angry when 1 was right in the middle of an assignment and the system shut down for repairs, Kar- ralena Roberson said. The frequent problems were no surprise to those people directly involved with implementing the system. We expected considera- ble problems in September and October because the system was new, Rickman said. Administrators continued to make improvements in the system as it was adapted to meet the needs of students and faculty. Even though the system didn ' t meet their ex- pectations at times, adminis- tration continued to focus on and improve those areas that caused problems, n Debbie Allen 20 Electronic Campus

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Stress sets in as Todd Spitz- miller discovers the VAX sys- tem is shiut down for repairs. Some faculty members allowed work to be turned in late when the system was out of opera- tion. Photo by Mark Strecker The first shipment of computer terminals in spring signals the beginning of the Electronic Campus. Computers were in- stalled during the summer be- fore students returned to cam- pus. Photo by Kevin Sharpe When 9 p.m. arrives, students like Al Stewart log on to check mail messages. Some faculty members felt the mail option should have been deleted from the VAX system to allow more academic time. Photo by Mark Strecker Electronic Campus 1 9

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With a bored expression, Dave Maytes looks over his news- paper to see if his terminal is back in service. When the VAX system shut down, it delayed many students. Photo by Mark Strecker Providing a demonstration of the Electronic Campus, Stacy Lee explains the VAX system to Gov John Ashcroft. The gover- nor attended opening ceremo- nies for the system and official- ly switched on the Electronic Campus. Photo by Mark Strecker Keying in part of Shirley Rey- nolds ' paper, Nedal Almobaied edits mistakes. Assistance was available in B.D. Owens Library. Photo by Mark Streckei Electronic Campus 2 1