Described below are "some ses of existing and requested lab equipment", "wanted/needed equipment and software", and "some experiments" possible with existing and additional equipment.
One purpose of the WebLearningTools Research lab is to create a "test classroom" of appropriate and typical educational computer equipment, software and sample or test courseware. This hardware and software are to be suitable for testing lab-developed software and courseware and course content delivery systems in a number of small to medium-scale deployment and course content deliver configurations. A second purpose of the lab is to test and refine networking performance metrics (1) intra-lab: in-house (in the lab) between the networked computers in the lab and (2) inter-lab metrics between the WLT lab and one or more T1 (or faster) computer labs on the nearby San Francisco State University campus. A third purpose, of course, is to test -- or develop tests for testing -- educational efficiency and effectiveness of certain courseware and supporting client or server software and develop and refine metrics related to those tests in conformance with and extending those metrics in the existing "research literature".
The Lab Computer Equipment currently consists of a 10/100 Mbps LAN for desktops and servers, WiFi (b/g) wireless networking for laptops, and a high-speed DSL connection to the Internet. Networked computers in the lab number 5 to 10 depending on the number put in service for "serving" purposes and as part of an ad-hoc test-classroom configuration of laptops.
There are currently 4 dedicated server computers in midi-tower cases, each a single-core 2 GHz Pentium 4 with 1 GB RAM. Two run Windows 2003 Server (service pack 2) with RAID-1 (mirrored) high-capacity SATA hard-disk storage. The third and forth run Debian 5 and are "page scanning" hosts. Upgrading to Ubuntu for at least two of the servers may happen by summer 2010. Among other things we can experiment with load balancing locally before deployment of server software to a "live" site. With the "scanning" servers we can scan and OCR (convert to digital text and graphics) many of our 1000+ technical books.
Some equipment-test goals are: to be able to experiment with various configurations of "thin" (stupid, dumb, slow, but rugged and durable) and "thick" or "robust" (smart & fast, but expensive) client computers in "test classroom" scenarios. We are materially able to do some of those tests now, if and when they become a priority. For client computers currently there are 2 laptops available, both 5+ years old single-core 2 GHz Pentium 4s. These and test-users' laptops brought in for test purposes can be used as simulated in part as thin-clients or as thick/robust/smart client workstations. They also can be put to use in a variety of test-classroom and test student-course-materials presentation and learning interactivity scenarios. But before such tests can be conducted, first the PI needs to build the necessary enhanced free, open source web site content / learning management systems that "vend" the learning content and facilitate online learning experiences. Initially the CMSes are Joomla v1.5, Drupal v6, Moodle v1.9.
Donated older laptops and a any donated older Pentium 3 desktops will be used for "regression testing" of the same tests we would perform with newer, more recent hardware and software, but using slower machines, perhaps with no file storage capabilities on the laptops, and perhaps running older operating systems.
Some Intended Publications are: to publish best-case configurations and performance reports about the uses of older equipment which in turn can use "well" the newer or newest educational distance learning software, course-ware, group-ware, and distance learning techniques and commercial web-sites. We hope to publish these reports in several languages such that they will encourage and guide certain "poorer schools", school districts in developed and developing countries to adopt state-of-the-art distance learning services and materials in their curricula if and when all they can get is the "older refurbished computer equipment" and networking hardware.
