This afternoon a panel of professors, lecturers and an undergraduate student will discuss challenges associated with teaching and learning in classrooms supported by wireless Internet access.

The UW Catalyst Spark Sessions frequently offer forums for UW faculty to meet with national experts to exchange ideas regarding the use of information technology in the classroom.

Today, the Winter Quarterly Forum on Teaching and Learning is partnering with Catalyst in just such an endeavor.

The forum’s goal is to provide UW faculty and students the chance to exchange thoughts and ideas regarding new technology in classrooms on campus, according to the Catalyst Web site.

The forum is open to everyone.

Scott Mah, assistant vice president of Computing and Communications at UW, and Cara Lane, research scientist for Catalyst Research and Development, will open the forum.

Mah and Lane will provide a briefing on how and where wireless works, as well as a summary of student and faculty attitudes toward this technology in the past.

The forum will conclude with a panel discussion by three UW faculty members, joined by a senior student to present both the benefits and difficulties of working in a wireless-supported classroom.

The panel will include Mike Eisenberg, dean emeritus of the Information School; Taso Lagos , lecturer of communication; and Ana Larson, lecturer of astronomy.

Senior Christopher Blair will sit alongside the faculty to offer a student’s perspective on the use of wireless as a teaching and research aide.

Lagos, who has worked to develop policies to deal with technology in the classroom, said in an e-mail that he is very optimistic about tonight’s meeting.

“The reality is that there is some fear and hesitation on the part of faculty (and students) to deal with classroom technology,” he said. “But I hope this forum helps overcome these doubts.”

The Catalyst Web site explained that classroom management will be a major focus of the panel’s discourse.

Professors on the panel will be asked to detail how they have had to modify their teaching methods to accommodate the newly available technology, and if it has presented any challenging issues.

Lagos said he is looking forward to the opportunity to address these issues tonight.

“We need to look at wireless and other technology as a way to make education relevant again for a new generation of students,” he wrote.

Reach reporter Brittany Rogers at news@thedaily.washington.edu.