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 have chosen to give out the devices to some or all of their students this year. By doing so, 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."
Although advanced technology in the classroom is by no means a new phenomenon, the introduction of the iPhone to the classroom meant that many teachers were forced into new ways of teaching. The faculty at Abilene Christian was required to attend several training sessions to familiarize themselves with the technologies. The school has introduced the program slowly, so teachers can adjust their syllabi and teaching style.
"We started with just the incoming freshmen this year, and since not all of our classes are ubiquitous — we don't have any all-freshman classes — it gives the faculty time to get used to the technology," Satsman said. "The inaugural faculty agreed to two training courses, the first of which was basic iPhone use, like syncing it with your computer, and the second session was more about how to use it in a classroom setting."
While Abilene Christian has decided to integrate the technology slowly, starting with only the incoming freshmen and roughly half the faculty, other schools have offered the phone to the entire student body. At the University of Maryland, any student can receive the phone on the condition that they participate in a feedback seminar. Stanford University also offers the iPhone to all students, but they must be willing to pay the costs of the phone.
In the past, schools like Duke University have given out phones to students who don't already own them as a tool to use in case of campus emergencies. While Tufts has not given out phones, the university has taken action against emergency events.
"We chose to do that using ‘Send Word Now,' which reaches out to students automatically in case of an emergency via text message, e-mail or a phone call," Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman said.
While Tufts doesn't offer "smart" phones like the iPhone, most Jumbos said they aren't missing out on much.
Freshman Jory Hanselman feels that giving every student an iPhone is unnecessary. "I think that besides just wanting an iPhone, it's a little extravagant," Hanselman said. "Students don't really need that around a college campus."
Senior Christina Kelly also feels that although technology is an important part of the modern education process, it is excessive to provide every student with an expensive phone. "Especially now, we expect technology to be that convenient and that accessible," Kelly said. "But, my immediate reaction is that we don't all need iPhones."
While the iPhones students have received allow them to give instant feedback and have a tighter connection around campus, they also provide students with Internet access from any seat in the classroom, the ability to text friends around campus and the power to download hundreds of games.
Hanselman feels that having a phone with Internet access would distract her in class. "It would definitely be a distraction," she said. "I would use it to check the weather all the time."
But Sophomore Dan Slate, who owns a first generation iPhone, said that the phone does not regularly interrupt his learning.
"Other than the occasional ‘cowabunga' or ‘anacondafix,' it's not much of a distraction, since I put it on silent during classes," he said.
But Slate does not believe that an iPhone in class is necessarily helpful in academia either.
"I think [the added technology in class] would be cool, but you get to the point where the technology is a hindrance. You have to wonder if it truly is functional, or practical for a classroom."
