The Voorhees College proposed Supplemental Technology Infrastructure Project is designed to further the goals of the MBRS project by upgrading the College's network infrastructure that will improve the interest, skills, and competitiveness of student researchers and all them to become more active learners. This project will achieve this goal by upgrading the local area network (LAN) with appropriate hardware to provide high speed Internet access to remote scientific databases such as Medline, CRISP, GOFFER as well as with NIH. This project will also further develop the Intranet to allow MBRS students and faculty to communicate effectively with each other, share and transfer files and experiments. Additionally, this project will develop a wireless network in the Science and Technology Center to allow MBRS students and faculty to access information """"""""anytime and anywhere"""""""" in the Building. Finally, this project will facilitate the hiring of a LAN Coordinator to facilitate the improvements in network functions and support the technology needs of students and faculty. Specific objectives are: 1) To upgrade the LAN by installing appropriate equipment to provide high speed access to external databases and other related sites; 2) To further develop the Intranet to support the development of a website for the MBRS project and student and faculty individual websites; set up of MBRS courses utilizing the Blackboard software; creating an electronic bulletin board to keep MBRS students and faculty informed of important announcements and events on the campus and at other nearby institutions; allow for the transmission of streaming videos of experiments and lectures by guest scientists; and finally the posting of internships and summer research opportunities as well as grant opportunities for faculty researchers.; 3) To create a wireless network in the Science and Technology Center so that students and faculty can have access to the network in selected areas such as the student lounge, auditorium, selected classrooms and two science labs; This network will serve as a beta test site for the College as it explores the need for Wireless Networks throughout the campus; and 4) To hire a LAN Coordinator to facilitate these improvements, provide training, set up Blackboard courses, design websites, and to work closely with the College's Department of Computer Services to monitor and evaluate Performance of the network.
