Abstract

The Health Sciences Microlab is an essential computing facility for students in the Health Sciences and other nearby departments. In order to continue providing high quality service for our users, we are requesting updated equipment and software. We are asking for: 58 workstations to replace 4-year old equipment, DVD/CD creation software, JAWS screen reading software, hardware to add 2-sided print capability to existing printers and headphones.

Background

The Health Sciences Microlab was established in 1986 to support the common instructional computing needs of the six Health Sciences schools (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Community Medicine, and Social Work). As computing needs have changed over the years, primary use of the lab has shifted from face-to-face instruction to collaborative learning supported by drop-in use. Today, most Health Sciences students use the Microlab as their primary computing center.

The Microlab currently consists of a common drop-in area for general use (70 seats), two traditional lecture style computer teaching rooms separated by a folding wall that can be opened to create a larger classroom (20 seats each), a collaboratory-style teaching room (25 seats), a small Library Teaching Lab (13 seats), and an email area of 14 stations.

The lab is open seven days a week for a total of 81.5 hours. For approximately 87% of our open hours, the teaching rooms are available for general drop-in use. Academic course sessions are held in the computer teaching rooms during the remainder, an average of fewer than 2 hours per weekday per classroom.

The Microlab serves over 4,000 graduate and undergraduate students in the health sciences and is open to all UW students. It is centrally located in the same complex as the classrooms, teaching labs and other instructional support services for five of the six Health Sciences schools (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health). The student breakdown of each school is roughly as follows:

Dentistry 287, Medicine 1824 (plus 1114 resident physicians in training), Nursing 472, Pharmacy 331, Public Health 639, Social Work 450.

In addition to our primary clientele, the lab is used by students in interdisciplinary programs taught by Health Sciences faculty, and other nearby programs such as biology, bioengineering, chemistry and zoology.

All Microlab computers provide access to the campus network, to the Libraries' public databases, to unique health sciences software programs not available in other computing labs, and to general-purpose applications (e.g., word processing, presentation graphics, spreadsheets, statistical software and email). Student use of the Microlab ranges from assigned course software (e.g. web-based educational modules, electronic course reserve materials, statistical programs) to self-directed information discovery and retrieval. Subject specific software promotes the learning and retention of vast quantities of information (such as anatomy and physiology) and acts as an effective component in teaching skills (such as how to accomplish blood draws).

Laser printing in the Microlab is self-service and is provided on a cost-recovery basis. The current rate is $.10 per page, which is subject to change based on annual reviews of costs for printer maintenance and supplies. Print jobs are selected and paid for at self-service computer printing stations.

Benefits

The Health Sciences Microlab is a resource that is highly valued by our students. Students also appreciate the improvements we have made in the Microlab during past remodels and have come to rely heavily on our improved level of service. This comment, from our Spring 2004 survey, describes how many students feel about the Microlab:

This is definitely the best place to study on campus. - Undergraduate student, Medicine

We conduct surveys several times each year. Survey results indicate that overall satisfaction is high (see Student Endorsement section and survey results below). Based on comments from our Autumn 2003 and Spring 2004 surveys, we developed questions in the following topic areas for the Fall 2004 survey: replacement of outdated workstations,additional software, color copying/printing, and duplex printing. We used responses from the 122 Microlab users who completed the survey to shape this proposal. See the survey and survey results at: https://catalyst.washington.edu/webtools/webq/survey.cgi?owner=hsl&id=21 and
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/commons/stf/

Benefits of Dell Workstations:

The computers in the Microlab are used heavily by a variety of people from 7:30am to 9:00pm most days. This type of use contributes to significant wear and tear. To continue to provide high quality service, old equipment must be upgraded on a regular basis and new resources must be added to meet evolving student needs. To this end, we have been operating on a staggered 4-year replacement schedule for the workstations. One year the workstations in the classrooms are replaced. Two years later all of the drop-in stations are replaced. So, at any time, students have the option of using equipment that is less than two years old.

This year we are requesting 58 new 3.0 GHz Dell PCs. These will replace the four-year old 1.0 GHz systems in the drop-in area. These high-speed systems (in conjunction with the software upgrades and previous facility improvements) will allow us to improve the users computing experience, and keep pace with current system software and programs. The workstations that will be removed will be offered to the campus community via departmental transfer. Student use in other campus units will have priority. Any remaining workstations will be sent to UW surplus.

In our Fall 2004 survey, we asked students what they thought of our replacement schedule. Of the 117 students who responded to this question:

15.4% said “equipment should be replaced more frequently.” 76.1% said “the replacement schedule is just about right.” 7.7% said “equipment should be replaced less frequently.” 0.8% (1 respondent) included a write-in answer of “replace on an as needed basis.”

The overwhelming support for replacing these workstations demonstrates that students receive tangible benefits from new equipment. The difference between the new workstations in the classrooms and the old workstations in the drop-in area is readily apparent to students as indicated in the following comment (though she attributes the difference to maintenance rather than age):

"Computers in the classrooms a,b,and c are really nice and ideal to use. The computers in the larger microlab are less well-maintained generally." - Public Health Student, Fall 2004 survey.

The workstation features we’re requesting (e.g. flat screen monitors, cd burners, and optical mice) are also based on responses from older surveys.

The Microlab is crowded and students work elbow- to-elbow. Increasing the workspace by installing flat-screen monitors will improve the overall computing experience. An additional benefit is power savings due to the decreased power consumption of LCD panels of proposed systems when compared to CRTs. About 70% of the Fall 2002 survey respondents supported installation of flat-screen monitors. The following student comment does an excellent job of describing the benefits: ”I love the microlab. My research laboratory is off-campus, so it is great when I am at the UW that I have a place to work. I get more done here than at home or work, anyway: fewer distractions. Flat screens would be awesome, just to have more work space on the tables. I will certainly be writing a lot of my dissertation here. Thanks!!” - Public Health Student

The workstations would also include CD/DVD burners. We're requesting Nero (for the pcs) and Toast (for the exisiting Macs) to take full advantage of these drives. This software, supported by 61.5% of survey respondents, is essential because the workstations come without software to fully utilize the CD/DVD burners.

Benefits of JAWS:

JAWS is a screen-reading program which converts text to speech. While it is indispensable for vision impaired students, it's primary use in the Microlab will be for student web editors to check their web pages for accessiblity. This will let them experience their web pages in the same way as visually impaired users will hear them. This function is especially important in the Health Sciences field. Many health-related web materials are aimed at users with health problems, including the visually impaired. This purchase was supported by 68.9% of students who responded to this survey question.

Benefits of duplex printing:

Survey respondents overwhelmingly support purchasing hardware to convert our existing printers to duplex printing. Of the 86.9% of the students who supported it, some even included comments such as: "Yes, yes, yes to new printers that allow double-sided printing!!" We expect our existing printers to last at least 5 more years, so adding this hardware is much more cost effective than purchasing new printers.

Benefits of Headphones:

Demand for headphones has increased since we purchased 30 new headphones with STF funds last year. One survey respondent commented: "
The new headphones were the best upgrade you have made, but I don't think you bought enough because I sometimes have to wait for a pair. MORE HEADPHONES!" So we are requesting 15 more headphone sets to meed this demand. Headphones are distributed by Microlab staff upon request.

We asked about color/copying printing as part of the survey. While color was supported by 59.5% of survey respondents, we felt that it did not justify the $30,000 price tag at this time. We also had concerns about the quality of the machines that we tested. Because of this level of support, we'll continue to investigate color options to see if there is a better, less expensive solution in the future.

Student Access

Health Sciences students have ready access to computing resources at a location that is convenient to their classes, labs, and patient care responsibilities. The library is open 81.5 hours/week, spanning the hours when students generally come to campus. Other campus computing facilities are located too far from the Health Sciences complex for drop-in use between classes and lack the specialized software needed for Health Sciences student assignments. We’ve found that many non-Health Sciences students who have classes in the Health Sciences Building or in neighboring buildings also take advantage of the convenience of working here.

Available Resources

The Health Sciences Administration provides funding for day-to-day operations and the Health Sciences Library provides overall lab administration. Support for daily operations of the Microlab includes the contributed time of a librarian and library support staff, a 1.0 FTE senior computing specialist, and 4.0 FTE student assistants as well as funding for ongoing customer service and technical training for Microlab staff.

Microlab staff install new equipment/software, provide routine maintenance, and assist students in using the lab. Staff also provide security for the equipment by being present in the area while the library is open. All doors are alarmed and centrally monitored while the library is closed. In the unlikely event that STF equipment is vandalized or stolen, insurance is funded by the Health Sciences Library.

HS Administration and the HS Library also fund many of the educational licenses for software and computer manuals, workstations for the Library Teaching lab, and the Microlab email stations.

Since the Spring of 2001, the Health Sciences Library has spent $74,500 to upgrade wiring, power, air conditioning, and rack mounts in a server room that houses equipment servicing the Microlab.

Installation Timeline

If funds are awarded before the end of May 2005, the proposed services should be operational before the start of Autumn Quarter 2005.

Departmental Endorsement

In addition to the departmental support described in the resources section, this proposal is supported by Dean Sidney Nelson, School of Pharmacy and Chair of the Board of Health Sciences Deans, Dean Nancy Wood, School of Nursing and other Health Sciences deans.

Student Endorsement

A statistical summary of student support for these enhancements is described in the survey results available at:

Fall 2004 Survey: https://catalyst.washington.edu/webtools/webq/survey.cgi?owner=hsl&id=21

Survey results are linked from:
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/hsl/commons/stf/

91.4% supported our current workstation replacement schedule or thought workstations should be replaced more frequently.

61.5% supported CD/DVD creation software for both the new pcs and the existing Macs.

68.9% supported JAWS screen reading software.

86.9% supported hardware to convert the existing printers to duplex copying.

As part of our Fall 2004 survey, we asked students the question, "May we use your name in our Student Technology Fee funding proposal?" In response to this question, the following students have agreed, as individuals, to support STF funding for the Health Sciences Microlab.

David Mauchley, Medicine, mauc2387@u

Anthony Crest, Public Health, abcrest@u

Lynne Harris, Health Services, ltownsen@u

Laura Streichert, Health Services, lstreich@u

Brian Myers, Pharmacy, bemyers@u

Elizabeth Hom, Public Health, ehom@u

Carolyn Hutter, Epidemioloty, chutter@u

LaTonya Trotter, Health Services, ltrotter@u

Michael Gilden, Medical Technology, mgilden@u

Valerie Trump, Nursing, valert@u

Martha LaBarr, Nursing, ladymuse@u

Mary Scarlett, Nursing, marugo@charter.net

Jennie Bowen, Public Health, jdbowen@u

Julia Coolman, Pharmacy, jcoolman@u

Juliane Gust, Medicine, jgust@u

Melinda Marsolek, Environmental Health, mrmarsol@u

Maegan Ashworth, Medicine, ashmeg@u

Tawnya Horsley, Nursing, tawnyah@u

Courtney Easley, Biology, cneasley@u

Monique Woo, Pharmacy, woom@u

Kellie Fay, Environmental Health, kellief@u

Brad Sainsbury, Dentistry, bsain@u

Nicole Campbell, Nutritional Sciences, nlc2@u

Grant Keeney, Medicine, gkeeney@u

Jennifer Gunther, Nursing, jengh@u

Items

Below are the items making up the current proposal. The asterisk (*) beside items signify that they were approved by the committee. This however was not implemented correctly for our database before 2005, so earlier years may not show this.

Click an item's title to view details on that item, or show all item details.