Students in Valerie Hans' "Psychology and the Law" course often divide into small groups and work collaboratively on an original research project in which they collect and analyze data and then prepare a report on their findings to present to the entire class.

Until recently, they did this work outside the classroom, where, Hans says, it was difficult for her to assist groups that ran into problems during the research process and almost impossible to ensure that all students were contributing to their groups' efforts. Today, Hans' students do much of their collaborative research in a specially equipped, wireless classroom in Gore Hall, where they cluster around laptop computers that sit on the hexagonal tables scattered around the room.

The criminal justice professor says she's always tried to integrate her own research into her teaching and to have students work in groups to solve real-life problems. The new technology has enhanced those efforts, she says.

"The students still do work outside of class as well as in the wireless classroom, but this approach equalizes participation and makes the research time much more productive," Hans says. "My teaching assistant and I can walk around the room while they're working and target our instruction to what each group needs, and I also make sure the members of the groups are rotating their roles, so that everybody participates fully."

Hans is one of about 15 UD professors who have been using the two wireless classrooms set up on campus to test out the use of laptop computers in a collaborative, problem-based learning situation. Grants from the University's Center for Teaching Effectiveness' "Advanced and Emerging Technologies in Instructional Contexts" program, IT/User Services and other programs covered the cost of purchasing 16 laptops, which are stored in a locked cabinet and shared by all classes that use the wireless rooms.

Professors and students like the setup, and the only problem has been the occasional depleted battery from the heavy workout the laptops get, according to George Watson, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Unidel Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

"The laptops all have a card for the Internet connection, so you don't have to plug anything in," Watson says. "There's a big demand for use of the classrooms, and I think that will continue to grow as more faculty members become aware of the advantages and as we install more wireless access points on campus. I think this wireless technology will soon be ubiquitous."

Classes working in the wireless laptop rooms represent a variety of disciplines throughout the University, from communication to physical science, consumer studies to accounting.

Araya Debessay, professor of accounting and management information systems, for example, uses the wireless classroom to teach his accounting students how to access the financial statements of companies electronically. Once they have such a statement on their laptops, they work in groups to analyze the report, extract relevant data and compare and contrast the nature and content of the financial statement with others that previously were discussed in class or in their textbooks.

"What once might have been just another lecture has been transformed into an active group work session," Debessay says. "The real-life demonstration of financial statements makes the class lively and interesting and helps students grasp the application of generally accepted accounting principles."

Although Debessay has used such problem-based learning techniques in other classes, he says the wireless technology makes small-group work more efficient and productive. With no wires to tether a computer to a certain spot in the room, the tables can be rearranged to accommodate whatever style or size workgroup the professor has in mind, he says. And, the laptops remain out of sight on days when the class is focused on a lecture or engaged in other activities.

"The computers are neither a focus nor a distraction as they might be in a traditional computer lab," Debessay says. "They are only distributed at strategic points during particular class sessions."

Student reaction also has been positive, faculty members say, with many commenting on the convenience of doing some group work in class instead of having to coordinate schedules with their classmates. They also learn to use the technology, which is a useful skill in itself, Hans notes.

"The laptops were a huge aid for our group work," one of her students commented recently. "Being able to work on PowerPoint and data analysis in class was very beneficial because many of us were not experts with these programs and could learn from others."