Mobile Learning: The Vision
ACU is one of at least four pilot schools this year giving every incoming freshman a choice of either an iPhone or iPod Touch (see Reuters). The Mobile Learning section of ACU’s website includes great resources and inspiring visions for 21st Century Learning and is worth exploring.
Also, Apple has posted a QuickTime stream of the iPhone Roadmap March 6th Event which — about 2/3 of the way through — demos some pretty amazing applications and possibilities for the future.
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Geo said,
Wrote on March 14, 2008 @ 3:19 pm
From the Chronicle of Higher Ed.
Giving Away Gadgets — Like iPhones — May Not Be the Best Way to Spur Innovation
Administrators at Abilene Christian University say they have a vision to use iPhones, which allow Web access in the palm of users’ hands, to revolutionize campus life. But is giving away the devices to all incoming freshmen the best way to spur innovation? A look at past technology giveaways at other campuses suggests that it might not be.
Click here to read the full article.
http://chronicle.com/free/2008/03/1936n.htm
mbolser said,
Wrote on March 14, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
Finally, a comment!
I agree that giving away gadgets does not necessarily spur innovation, and as the article suggests, not all students appreciate the gadget anyway (or want it as part of their tuition cost).
I think this particular case will be an interesting one to watch, in the same way we’ve learned about podcasting in higher education from Duke over the years. They have a compelling vision at ACU for this new technology; I do hope they continue to research and publish their findings, as I look forward to reading them.
No doubt ACU will attract lots of attention from this, like Duke did in ‘04 with the iPod “giveaway” for incoming students. We all know the iPhone is the hottest and “most googled” gadget to date. I’m sure they don’t mind the publicity.. well, most of it!
For institutions that choose to give new technologies to their students, it’s not the “giveaway” part that matters to me. It’s seeing what happens around it, with faculty and students (the true innovators) and how that impacts teaching and learning (both inside and outside of the classroom), that I find most interesting. I think what these institutions learn and share in the process can be valuable to the rest of us.
To read what Duke University learned from its ‘04-’05 Academic iPod Project, download the report at the link below:
http://www.duke.edu/web/ddi/about/reports/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf
Gregoryko said,
Wrote on March 24, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
thanks much, guy