Computer Use at Thomas College
At Thomas College, the computer has become an important tool in education. Since its first use, the computer has been incorporated into much of the academic curriculum, as well as into many administrative, research, and extra-curricular activities.
Thomas College primarily uses one computing platform; Microsoft Windows, but we also support Mac OSX and Linux systems. Almost all faculty and staff at Thomas College use a Windows-based networked personal computer on a daily basis. After personal contact, e-mail is the primary method of communication for many of our students, faculty, and staff.
Computer access has become so important in the curriculum that all students should seriously consider purchasing a portable computer (examples include a laptop, netbook, notebook, handheld, tablet, and PDA). Portable computers are recommended over desktop computers because of their ability to be taken to the classroom, library, and student center as well as used at your place of residence. Campus-wide 802.11a/g/n wireless network ports are available for student computer use and wired network ports are available in many locations including student rooms. 5Ghz wireless is strongly recommended over 2.4Ghz wireless due to much better experiences and less interference. Computer purchases, however, are not required of our students. The College maintains two computer labs and several computer clusters with over 140 PCs and windows-based terminals for students.
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the computing environment at Thomas College.
Thomas College's Academic Computer Facilities
The College has several dozen servers running the Windows 2008 R2 operating systems and one server running Linux. Students have access to the servers from over 140 networked personal computers and terminals on campus, personal computers in dormitory rooms, college modems, or through any Internet provider. The Windows servers each have terabytes of on-line storage. Software available on the servers includes MS Office on our remote desktop servers, MS Exchange for e-mail, contacts, and calendar use, MS SQL Server for database use, MS Internet Information Server (IIS) for web server use, MS Lync for secure IM and telephony, and System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) for application updates.
Each student is assigned an account on our server with access to e-mail, the Internet, the Intranet, the InfoNet, and Moodle. A second computer account is assigned on our Google Apps for Education e-portfolio system. A web-based student information system (InfoNet) provides access to class schedules, student grades, student bills, and other information. Internet and Internet2 access is provided through a 200M connection. Students have access to laser and color inkjet printers in our academic and res. hall buildings. Other lab hardware includes presentation projectors, a scanner, video cameras, DVD-RW and multimedia equipment, and networking equipment. Software available involves many MS Windows 7 based packages including Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint), and many programming languages.
Computer facilities are staffed by 3 full-time staff, and 12 work-study students. These facilities are generally open Monday through Thursday from 7:30am to 11:00pm, Friday 7:30am to 4:30pm, Saturday 1:00pm to 5:00pm and Sunday 5:00pm to 11:00pm. Student access from off-campus is currently handled via any Internet Service Provider (ISP). The GPH, Bartlett, and Townhouse computer labs and clusters are accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
Computer Recommendations
We recommend a notebook/laptop computer with Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate* with specifications below. Thomas College purchases Dell Latitude E5420 laptops for its faculty, staff, and student sign-out computers with the following specifications:
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Intel i5 2.60Ghz, 3M Cache or higher
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802.11a/g/n WiFi/WPA2 wireless 802.11a/g/n WiFi/WPA2 wireless with 5Ghz connection
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14.0 inch wide screen WXGA (1366x768) LCD display
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Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator
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4Gb RAM or higher (1 DIMM)
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320Gb or larger 7200RPM hard drive
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Webcam w/ microphone
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DVD-ROM drive (for loading some software)
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Wired network (built-in)
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9 cell battery
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Nylon Backpack Case
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4 year 7x24, on-site next business day 5 year warranty with accident insurance
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(for theft insurance, please add this to your homeowners policy and/or purchase Absolute Computrace for $40+ per year)
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Available "extras": wide screen, DVD-RW, Solid State Drives, AT&T/Verizon/Sprint broadband cards, fingerprint reader
We recommend you install the following software. Please see your purchase options at http://www.thomas.edu/content/4899/Software/.
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Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate (not Home editions since they will not upgrade with our software, you must use Windows Anytime Upgrade)
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Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2010 (Word, Excel, Outlook,PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, Office Web Apps)
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Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010
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Adobe Reader
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Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager for automatic application updates
For special Dell pricing for Thomas College students, faculty, and staff, go to http://www.dell.com/thomas (Member ID:US55282181).
Compare Dell Latitude notebooks to other models.
Also note: Windows 7/Vista/XP Home editions will provide limited functionality on our network. Home editions users can upgrade using Windows Anytime Upgrade only. FMI: [Win7] [Vista] [XP]
Once you have purchased your computer, please visit our update site to set it up.
* We strongly recommend Elementary Education students purchase an Apple MacBook Pro computer to run both Windows and OS X software since many elementary schools use Apple computers. All Maine families can purchase Apple products at a discount through the Maine Parent Online store that is supported by out Maine Learning Technology Initiative Agreement with Apple. Also try the Apple Store for Education.
