2008 Woodie Awards
Texas University First to Equip Students with iPhones
www.ACE.edu
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: News
An Apple iPhone or iPod touch will become a central part of Abilene Christian University's learning experience this fall when all freshmen are provided one, said Phil Schubert, ACU executive vice president.
At ACU-the first university in the nation to provide these cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class--freshmen will use an iPhone or iPod touch to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances-among more than 15 other web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
ACU's vision for technology has been captured in a film called 'Connected,' found online-along with information about ACU's other ground-breaking mobile learning efforts-at www.acu.edu/connected.
"We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our incoming students," said Roberts. "We are also providing the web applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the students' learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices."
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, ACU provost, said, "This is exciting to me, not only because we're giving students new tools, but because we are transforming the learning environment.
The extensive research that's been done on campus in the past 10 months has prepared us to launch with freshmen this fall, and research will be ongoing as we expand the program in the future."
For a number of years, ACU's faculty and technology staff have researched strategic opportunities presented by handheld devices in higher education, said Roberts.
However, for the past six months, ACU's research has focused on more than 30 projects exploring pioneering mobile learning strategies for enhancing the campus environment.
The 2008 Horizon Report stated, "As new devices… are released that make content almost as easy to access and view on a mobile as on a computer, the demand for mobile content will continue to grow.
At ACU-the first university in the nation to provide these cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class--freshmen will use an iPhone or iPod touch to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances-among more than 15 other web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
ACU's vision for technology has been captured in a film called 'Connected,' found online-along with information about ACU's other ground-breaking mobile learning efforts-at www.acu.edu/connected.
"We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our incoming students," said Roberts. "We are also providing the web applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the students' learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices."
Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, ACU provost, said, "This is exciting to me, not only because we're giving students new tools, but because we are transforming the learning environment.
The extensive research that's been done on campus in the past 10 months has prepared us to launch with freshmen this fall, and research will be ongoing as we expand the program in the future."
For a number of years, ACU's faculty and technology staff have researched strategic opportunities presented by handheld devices in higher education, said Roberts.
However, for the past six months, ACU's research has focused on more than 30 projects exploring pioneering mobile learning strategies for enhancing the campus environment.
The 2008 Horizon Report stated, "As new devices… are released that make content almost as easy to access and view on a mobile as on a computer, the demand for mobile content will continue to grow.
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