iPhones become uPhones as colleges distribute technology to students
by Megan Pesch | Tufts Daily (Tufts University)
Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: News
(U-WIRE) — As brand new college freshmen flooded university campuses earlier this month, some were greeted with more than just a Nalgene bottle and a class of 2012 shirt. In an effort to bring the latest technology into the classroom, several universities decided to give every student a new iPhone or iPod touch.
The University of Maryland, Abilene Christian University, Oklahoma Christian Univeristy and Freed-Hardeman University are among the schools that gave out the devices to some or all of their students this year. By doing so, the schools hope that students will take advantage of the technology to connect to academia in the same way that they would connect with friends.
George Saltsman, director of educational technology at Abilene Christian, hopes that now students will be able to more easily immerse themselves in their academics.
"Students take their cell phones everywhere; it's the way they interact with the world," Saltsman said. "We want them to be that way in their academics. We want students to have the same opportunity to engage in academics as they do socially."
The iPhones and iPods the students receive from their schools are the same as those available to the public, but include special applications that are specific to the students' schools. The Abilene Christian University iPhones have an interactive map feature that can track the phone and give directions to the student's next class. The phones can also be used to poll the class, giving the professor instant feedback from the students.
"They are a way to interact with students," Saltsman said. "Instead of everyone having a clicker, [the] phone is the clicker. It becomes a way to have a response system. It gives the professor a formative way of taking the pulse of the class."
The phones also have a mobile form of a program similar to Blackboard, where professors can share documents with students.
"Teachers can also put documents and pretty much all other forms of media up on the server for students to access from their iPhones," Saltsman said, "so the system is paperless and, for the most part, green."
The University of Maryland, Abilene Christian University, Oklahoma Christian Univeristy and Freed-Hardeman University are among the schools that gave out the devices to some or all of their students this year. By doing so, the schools hope that students will take advantage of the technology to connect to academia in the same way that they would connect with friends.
George Saltsman, director of educational technology at Abilene Christian, hopes that now students will be able to more easily immerse themselves in their academics.
"Students take their cell phones everywhere; it's the way they interact with the world," Saltsman said. "We want them to be that way in their academics. We want students to have the same opportunity to engage in academics as they do socially."
The iPhones and iPods the students receive from their schools are the same as those available to the public, but include special applications that are specific to the students' schools. The Abilene Christian University iPhones have an interactive map feature that can track the phone and give directions to the student's next class. The phones can also be used to poll the class, giving the professor instant feedback from the students.
"They are a way to interact with students," Saltsman said. "Instead of everyone having a clicker, [the] phone is the clicker. It becomes a way to have a response system. It gives the professor a formative way of taking the pulse of the class."
The phones also have a mobile form of a program similar to Blackboard, where professors can share documents with students.
"Teachers can also put documents and pretty much all other forms of media up on the server for students to access from their iPhones," Saltsman said, "so the system is paperless and, for the most part, green."
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