Technology Resources
Over the years, the department of landscape architecture seeks to instill within students most up-to-date and hands-on technical knowledge and computer skills necessary for landscape design, planning, construction, and professional practice at all scales of concern, as well as an understanding and awareness of innovations in information technology and their implication for planning and design process and product. To achieve such objectives, the department provides a wide range of technical equipment and sophisticated information systems for its faculty and students with support from the university, college, department, and external resources.
Cal Poly Pomona's Learning-Centered Technology Initiative
All faculty members and students on campus benefit from the university's Learning-Centered Technology (LCT) Initiative launched in 2005. Through the initiative, a large number of classrooms on campus including those ones frequently used by the department in building 2, 3, and 7 are equipped with the latest presentation and media technology, which include but not limit to PC, Laptop or MacPro or MacBook Pro, network and internet connections, ceiling-mounted data projector, document camera, DVD and VCR players, amplifier and speaker system, and podium with automated control system. The University's Instructional and Information Technology (I & IT) Division provides technical service, support and training for faculty members in the use of LCTI classrooms and their computers.
The LCTI classrooms that are frequently used by the program include:
- Building 2 - Rooms 111, 112, 113, 126, 201, 202, 206, 214, 217 and 218
- Building 3 - Rooms 1006, 1008, 1009, 1019, 1020, 1032, 1033, 1048, 1122, 1616, 1619, 1623, 1629, 1632, 1637, 1639, 1640, 2004, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2029, 2030, 2044, 2122, 2137, 2615, 2618, 2623, 2628, 2634, 2636, 2643, 2870
- Building 7 - Rooms 111, 113, 201, 202, 203, 217 and 235
Moreover, the university also has built multiple open-access general computing labs, such as the Computing Commons Lab in building 98-C5-13 and the general computer lab and 24-hour computer lab in the library to serve all faculty and students on campus. These computer labs are equipped with a number of powerful desktop computers installed with fundamental application software such as Microsoft Office, as well as equipment such as printers and scanners. Some of them are specially designed as multimedia labs to offer graphic design application programs such as Adobe Suite.
In addition to hardware equipments, the I & IT division of the University acquires a wide variety of operational systems and software licenses for the use of faculty, staff and students on campus. Currently operation systems available on campus include most windows operation systems from Windows xp to Windows 8 (including Windows NT servers), MAC operation systems from MAC 8.1 to MAC Snow Leopard (including MAX OS X Server). Application software available for faculty and students to download and install on their campus or personal computers include but not limit to the following:
- anti-virus programs, e.g., McAfee and Norton,
- database programs, e.g., Oracle,
- graphic media programs, e.g., Adobe Suite,
- office products, e.g., Microsoft Office Professional,
- SFTP software, e.g., Fugu and PuTTY,
- statistical programs, e.g., Mathematica, SAS and SPSS,
- utility programs, e.g., Winzip, Eraser, Ghost, Retrospective.
Most of these applications are also installed in the open access computer labs on campus. However, multimedia applications such as Adobe Suite are only available in the Computing Commons, and the 24-hour computer lab in the University Library.
The Center for Geographic Information Science Research (CGISR)
The Center for Geographic Information Science Research (CGISR) is the geospatial technology and information hub serving the Cal Poly Pomona campus. It is open from 8AM to 5PM Monday through Friday. The CGISR has two computer labs equipped with power desktop computers and up-to-date geospatial software platforms. The teaching lab consists of 28 desktop stations and an 8 x 11 inch laser printer and digital projector, while the research lab has 10 workstations, an 11x13 inch color printer, and two large format plotters, which can plot three-feet wide and five feet-wide outputs respectively. Additionally, the center also has central servers and other geospatial equipments such as GPS handhelds available to faculty and students on campus by request. Other than hardware and software, the CGISR also maintains its geospatial database, which contains rich landscape inventory data about the Southern California and beyond. Technical support and assistance from staff of the center are also available to faculty and students.
Other than providing computer and geospatial hardware and technical support, one other important mission of the CGISR is to manage and maintain campus-wide site licenses of GIS platforms such as ESRI ARCGIS desktop, ARCGIS server and ARC IMS. Faculty members on campus including those of the Landscape Architecture Department can install the software on their office or personal computer and use it through campus intranet or Virtual Private Network (VPN) if they are working off campus. Students can use the GIS software in the computer labs in the CGISR, in other college and department computer labs, or obtain a free student version of ARCGIS desktop provided by ESRI to universities with a site license and install it on their own desktop or laptop computers. In addition to ESRI products, the CGISR also runs other GIS and remote sensing software such as ERDAS Imagines, and Google Earth.
CED's Central Media Service Bureau and Computer Labs
In addition to campus wide information systems and computer equipment, the College of Environmental Design has been continually updating and improving its computer labs and multimedia services to address the computation and digital design needs of faculty and students from different departments. Currently the College of Environmental Design has its major computer facility in building 3. The facility includes four new computer labs and a media service bureau. The four computer labs are located in room 1046, 1122, 1632 and 1640 in building 3. Two of these four labs have 25 powerful desktop computers in each of them, while the other two labs have 13 desktop computers plus 12 monitor stations that can be connected to laptop computers. The media service bureau (room 1644) has two large format plotters, two laser cutters, two laser printers, two cutting edge 3D printers and a large format scanner. It provides printing, scanning, cutting and 3D modeling services to faculty and students in the college. Faculty and students in the college can use this equipment to produce design outputs.
The Landscape Architecture Department's Studio Technical Equipment
In addition to university and college facilities and equipments, the department of landscape architecture also seeks funding from the university, college, outside donors and projects to maintain and update its own technical equipments, such as computers, printers, scanners, digital projectors, and phones. The goal is to provide both undergraduate and graduate students handy equipment to support their studio practice and improve the efficiency of studio teaching and learning experiences. The department's technical equipment is mainly located in faculty's offices and the major studio classrooms, including those in building 2 and 3.
With departmental funding, the department also provides basic technical equipment such as printers, scanners and plotters in the undergraduate and graduate studios in building2,3 and 7. The undergraduate and graduate coordinators/advisors oversee and monitor these equipments.
In addition to laptop and flat panel computers offered by the university, faculty members in the department with extra need of computer hardware and software support for their scholarly activities have received powerful desktop computers, printers, and geospatial analysis software packages from the college, department, or outside donors and external funding sources.