San Jose State University started the Wireless Laptop Pilot Project, the largest scale computing project in California State University campuses in Fall, 2003.

This project requires a laptop for each student in the College of Education, the school of art and design, and the school of journalism and mass communications. It provides the wireless networks in these departments.

Nationwide, more schools have been requiring laptops for students as a part of their educational discipline. According to the website, "Colleges & Universities with Laptop or Notebook Computer Initiatives," many science departments such as engineering, business or law schools adopted the wireless technology earlier, and many liberal arts, humanities and educational departments began the laptop or wireless programs in recent years.

Wireless connections were only available for College of Engineering students, faculty and stuffs in selected areas on SJSU campus under the engineering computing systems before the project.

Marshall Goodman, with his global perspectives, was appointed as new provost of SJSU in 2001. He has challenged many initiatives to improve the educational quality and managed to fund initiatives from alternative sources.

Goodman became devoted to the Wireless Laptop Pilot Project based on his idea that information technology could secure the reputation of San Jose State University as a metropolitan university at the center of Silicon Valley.

In April 2002, Apple Computer gave SJSU an opportunity to discover wireless technology for two days. During this process, SJSU set the vision and goals of the Wireless Laptop Pilot Project, and some departments later joined the project for integration of their curriculums and the wireless technology.

The project was funded by a lottery grant. The wireless infrastructures in those departments were completed during Spring 2003,and the services and supports would be provided for both the faculty and students after Fall 2003.

In Winter 1999, Cal-State Hayward was the first California State University campus to start a wireless project. The project, called Library Wireless Laptop Check-Out Program, provides the students access to information resources from their laptops in the library.

Myoung-ja Lee Kwon, university librarian, said the library was too old to install network drops and additional power, so CSU Hayward decided to put in wireless technology for students to check out the laptops. The funding came from the CSU Baseline Access, Training, and Support fund.

The same year, Fresno State University started Red Zone project, which provides the students access to electronic materials through a wireless network.

In Fall 2000, San Francisco State University began the Captive Portals for Wireless Networks project, which provides students, faculty and staff access the Internet via a wireless network.

“The project started as a research project, rather than a service project for SFSU,” said Sameer Verma, assistant professor of Information Systems at SFSU. “The goal was to create an experimental platform for students and faculty in the College of Business.”

In Fall 2003, San Jose State University started the Wireless Laptop Pilot Project. This is the first time a CSU campus provided wireless connections for the purpose of teaching and leaning process in College of Education, the school of art and design, and the school of journalism and mass communications.

“We wanted to have the tech integrations within San Jose State University,” said Mary Fran Breiling, director of the Wireless Laptop Pilot Project. “Technology is a tool to lead better understanding.”

Brief History of Wireless

The wireless network seems to be a recent technological development after the discovery of wired internet connection, but wireless technology was developed more than 100 years ago.

Wireless has been used since the 19th century when Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, made his mark in the world of wireless technology. Marconi transmitted a Morse-code telegraph signal by radio in 1895. He completed the word’s first truly long-distance communication.

In 1901, a radio transmission of the Morse code letter 'S' was broadcast with equipment built by John Ambrose Fleming, English electrical engineer. Marconi used a wire antenna and received the first transatlantic radio signal, the letter "S" in Morse Code, from a distance of over 2,000 miles.

The wireless telegraph developed by Marconi was first used by the British Army in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The British Army experimented with the wireless system and the British Navy communicated among naval vessels in Delagoa Bay.

In the United States, wireless technology was eventually developed and used by the U.S. Military during wars. During WWI, the United States had initially declared its neutrality.

In order to enforce the neutrality, President Woodrow Wilson issued an Executive Order which instructed the Navy Department to censor international telegraph messages sent and received by radio firms. During World War II, the military configured wireless signals to transmit data for sending battle plans or Navy instructions.

In 1971, the wireless local area network (LAN), which is a combination of networking technologies and radio communications, was developed under a research project called ALOHAnet at the University of Hawaii.

In 1997, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) drafted the 802.11 standard for wireless local area networking. In 1999, the 802.11b standard was drafted and accepted by the networking industry, and products for wireless networking over the 2.4GHz began to be produced.

Today many businesses and educational institutions use wireless networks and expand their computing communication areas by using LANs. Wireless networks are available in many public places such as cafes, hotels or even in McDonald’s.