This fall, the hit course on some college campuses might very well be iPad 101, reports the Baltimore Sun. At the University of Maryland, administrators plan to hand out Apple iPads to about 60 students, part of a new two-year program called Digital Culture and Creativity that immerses students in new technologies and focuses on the potential of the iPad to shake up the campus experience. The iPad has experienced early success in the consumer market, with more than 3 million sold since April, and it’s also going back to school. On college campuses across the country this fall semester, some students are getting iPads upon admission, while professors and administrators are trying to determine if this latest digital gadget will have a place in the world of academia. The College Park program “is really aimed at the student who is a so-called digital native, who grew up doing interesting things online,” said Matthew Kirschenbaum, associate English professor and director of the digital cultures program. “The iPad isn’t just a tool or instrument for the classroom. It’s also going to be an artifact, an object of study.” The iPad isn’t even a year old but is expected to popularize tablet computers. Its benefits include a vibrant touch screen and media presentation, long battery life, and mobile internet accessibility. But the device, which starts at $499, does not print, which means college students would need to use another computer to produce hard copies of their college papers. Still, technology experts and college officials expect the iPad—and other electronic readers and tablet computers yet to debut—will help reshape higher education…
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IT officials: Only one in 10 campuses have ‘cutting edge’ technology
Most college students say their schools understand how to use education technology in the lecture hall, but only 9 percent of campus IT officials describe their institution’s technology adoption as “cutting edge,” according to a survey released July 19.
The survey of more than 1,000 IT staff members, faculty, and college students, conducted by CDW Government Inc. (CDW-G), shows that three out of four students surveyed approved of their college’s use of technology, while highlighting two findings that concerned some technologists: only a sliver of respondents defined their campus technology as “cutting edge,” and far more IT staffers push for education technology than do instructors.
According to CDW-G’s report, 47 percent of respondents said their college campus uses hardware that is “no more than three years old,” and 38 percent said their campus’s technology infrastructure is “adequate, but could be refreshed.” Only 9 percent said their education technology is “cutting edge,” and 5 percent described their computer systems as “aging.”…Read More
Are today’s students addicted to social media?
University of Maryland students who went 24 hours without TV, cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops during a recent study reported symptoms you might expect from someone struggling with substance abuse, including an “unbearable” need for electronic communication, persistent anxiety, and a frantic “craving for some technology.” The study’s findings have prompted some observers to ask: Are today’s students addicted to technology—and if so, what implications might this have for education?
The university’s International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA) on April 21 released the findings of its study, “24 Hours: Unplugged,” which had 200 undergraduates go without access to any form of media for one day, even requiring study participants to leave their dormitory if a roommate was watching TV.
The students blogged about their technology detox afterward and compiled more than 100,000 words on the study’s web site, roughly the length of a 400-page novel. Responses varied from aggravation to frustration to isolation, which was especially keen for students without access to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, or the ability to send dozens of text messages throughout the day.…Read More
Developers seek to link iPad with education
Technology experts say Apple’s latest gizmo, the iPad, won’t replace students’ laptops, but a menu of applications could help teach the periodic table, a range of languages, and a host of other K-12 and higher-education subjects.…Read More