The Study of Students Perceptions of On-campus ... - Research Bank

5.5 Impacts on students from using on-campus
WLANs
The on-campus WLANs are provided and cover most buildings and areas in
both campuses of the UNITEC New Zealand. This coverage of the WLANs
allows students to choose the right place for each of them. For example,
participant BC stated that he liked to enjoy the wireless networks at the
campus near his home even though his classes were all held on the other
campus.
As mentioned previously, almost half of the participants had at least one
alternative Internet connection at home, library, computer lab or Internet
café. Those participants had clear reasons for using the on-campus WLANs,
for example learning with friends. However, the provision of WLANs on
campus means that students could attend to all their internet requirements,
both study and personal on campus. As a result students are spending more
time on campus.
Using on-campus WLANs definitely has an impact on students. The research
showed that the users of on-campus WLANs usually included the wireless
connection on campus as one activity in their lives. They liked to spend hours
on campus after class, squeeze in time between classes, use their lunch time,
change their schedules and spend money on hiring a swipe card in order to
get into the graduate centre. All these decisions to create space in their
normal lives were in order to get onto the on-campus WLANs. Before the
on-campus WLANs were provided, students would never surf the Internet
during lunch or download lecture notes during class by using their own
laptops. The convenience of using on-campus WLANs made many students
consider the on-campus WLANs as essential for their learning.
According to the statistical data in “Tech Check” (2007), 63% of college
students owned laptops and 93% owned a cell phone. Portable electronic
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