Gosh, they grow up so fast, don't they? Our little
iPad, who's birth was witnessed by the entire tech world way back in April, is about to head off into the wide-world of academia. That's right guys, the iPad is heading off to college.
Oklahoma State University,
among others, has grand plans to debut what
CNN describes as a "pilot iPad program" this fall, with students of the School of Media and Strategic Communications and the Spears School of Business being eligible to receive a free iPad, to be used alongside their studies.
The program forms part of an investigation into the effectiveness of the iPad as a study-companion. My personal experience with the iPad hasn't yet translated over to my university work: I bought it just before the end of term when it was released here in the UK, and then kept it hidden because the iPad-hype was too much to deal with. After being accosted by a couple of fanboys in Starbucks, I resolved to wait until fall before using my iPad in the lecture hall.
Since then, I've kept my eyes open for a series of apps that are designed to help college students. We've got a great AppList (
Make Your iPhone College Ready) which is iPhone-specific, however some of the apps listed are universal - such as the $2.99
iStudiez Pro.
Perhaps what I find most interesting about this study is the way Oklahoma State University justifies the purchase of an iPad-per-student: it's possible to makeup the cost through textbook savings, in that buying an iPad to be filled with ePub files is cheaper than buying five, ten, maybe fifteen new textbooks for each student.
My own college course involves a large amount of "required reading" each week, which last year resulted in students either spending their student loan on paper and ink, or missing seminars due to migraines inflicted by computer-screen-reading. Hopefully my iPad will help out there. I can appreciate the concept behind this study, and can expect the results to be positive - though we'll have to wait a while before anything is announced.
It's undoubtedly an interesting scheme, and one I wish my university would adopt. However, many Microsoft-obsessed UK residents are still referring to the iPad as a "big iPod touch." So I guess it would be a one step forward, two steps back type situation.
You can find out more about the other colleges adopting the iPad in
CNN's article. And be sure to let us know whether you're involved in one of these schemes in the comments box below!
