Computer kiosks gaining popularity
Every day, between 10 a.m. to noon, at least one or two students lined up in front of the computer kiosks in the Taggart Student Center.
Through the kiosks the students can check their e-mail, access the Utah State University Home page, get some information on student services, book exchange, campus activities and also register for class.
Jeff Kelly, a senior majoring in forestry, said he liked the kiosks because it was convenient for him to check his e-mail.
Nollie Haws, vice president of Public Relations for the Associated Students of USU, said student government and Information and Technology Services had started a plan to install the computer kiosks on campus two years ago because of the heavy traffic in the computer labs.
She said they noticed many students only need to check their USU e-mail, but because of a shortage of computers, they usually have to wait in the computer labs a long time for only five or 10 minutes of e-mail checking.
In order to meet such a heavy demand of computers, ASUSU, IT Services, Open Access Computer Facilities and the administration department cooperated to carry out this plan, Haws said.
With their efforts, 23 computer kiosks were installed around campus last summer, and 15 of them were in the TSC.
Gary Egbert, supervisor of IT Services, said most students use the kiosks to check e-mail, and their usage statistics indicated that in January the daily average hits of the USU home page on kiosks were 970, and the monthly totals are 9,702. It means the numbers of students using the kiosks are higher than the stats, because many students don’t turn back to the Home page after checking their e-mail, he said.
He said the TSC, the Chase Fine Arts Center and the HPER Building are the top three kiosk groups with the most use. The network gets busy during the noon hours and in the early afternoon, which sometimes resulted in severe network congestion.
Egbert checks the communication of the kiosks online every five minutes, and if the communication fails, they will know and will send people there to fix the machine immediately. If the computer freezes, some students manage to reboot it. If they cannot, they can contact the Helpdesk or tell ASUSU senators who will report the problem to the Helpdesk, Egbert said.
He said, until now, no serious problems have occurred. However, students should make sure they have logged out of their accounts before they leave, otherwise, their e-mail boxes will be easily entered by others.
The improvements to the kiosks are progressing. For instance, a power management device has been installed in the kiosks in Old Main, which enables the IT Services’ technician to fix some problems online, Egbert said.
Haws said ASUSU and IT services are considering installing more kiosks on campus. They plan to place some in the lobbies of the on-campus housing apartments and will seek other appropriate open spaces to build more kiosks in the TSC, the FAC and the HPER.
ASUSU and IT paid attention to the students’ comments about the current kiosks, she said.
Egbert said they will consider making kiosks accessible to other Web sites.