Lab management strategies for IT database curriculum

摘要

Academic departments teaching information technology are faced with competing pressures, resources are limited, but student and curricular needs are seemingly "unlimited". Computing labs exemplify this contention. Resources in terms of physical space, computer equipment, and support staff are limited. However the demands on and expectations of academic computing labs are high and ever changing. A typical computing lab must be the following:

Highly functional:
• Support different curricula
• Support different uses
• Provide a flexible environment
• Support activities that continue over multiple sessions

Highly available:
• Provide a maximum of useable time
• Provide a homogeneous environment

Easily maintainable:
• Be quick and simple to "re-image"
• Be easy to upgrade
• Support licensing agreements

Secure:
• Provide a stable environment

This paper will discuss how the database labs of the Information Technology Department at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) are designed and managed from both the physical and the curricular perspective to address the issues above. Topics covered will include how the labs are designed to support different levels of curriculum: introductory undergraduate courses, upper-level undergraduate courses, graduate courses, and graduate work. Lab management details in terms of equipment, software, hardware, and procedures will also be discussed.