Ilinois Institute of Technology jumps on the iPad bandwagon

I think the iPad will help students and faculty to learn the pros and cons of using technology in higher Education. I would be happy to see if after this academic year students were surveyed to learn about bugs, apps they created or things they liked/disliked about the tool. At the end of the day the iPad is just another learning tool so no, I don't see it as a marketing ploy- that's just an added bonus!

It will be interesting to see the use of ipad in universities. here is something related on the use of use of Kindle in colleges.

http://buzzintechnology.com/2010/04/can-ipad-help-colleges-save-trees/

You can let it baffle you if you want. You're not going to this school, you have no intention of going this school, you probably have no interest in the ipad ( apart from making several hundred posts about it on the Internet)

Dont waste your life take up other peoples' causes. You don't know better.

I think it is good for the students and the school. If they have a program of study for mobile development and get even one good app built for the ipad, the entire investment could be paid off with the revenue from the app store. Will all these naysayers be back to post on that story when the IIT has several success stories from students and professors building apps? This distribution of apps make way more sense than the other two schools that are also issuing iPads to students. On the plus side, this should help with lowering costs for students (you could only get the education discount if you bought 10 or more iPads), and it might deter theft if all the campus has one, compared with envy for just a few students getting iPads.

Certainly we've seen cases where issuing technology is not much more than a recruitment incentive but there are a number of schools with higher objectives. Two schools come to mind, Abilene Christian University and Shenandoah University. They have a consensus on clearly articulated goals for the technology that is shared by most students, faculty and administration. They have also invested in developing the infrastructure and specialized applications to meet educational goals where none exist in the commercial sector.

These are the things I look for in deciding whether issuing technology is a gimmick or not.

As for the cost of education, it's all relative. Compared with the cost of ignorance, it can be a really good deal. How good a deal depends upon many factors, not the least of which is what the learner brings to the table in the way of aptitude and attitude. It's definitely not an easily evaluated commodity. YMMV but my education has served me well and not just in material terms.

Sadly I don't know where this misinformation comes from. IPad supports many standard file formats. As to netbooks and laptops I don't believe anybody sees iPad as a replacement for these though an iPad and a desktop might better a better alternative than either. As to keyboards it has been clear for sometime that it works just fine with external keyboards.

As to the University it is its job to expose students to new technology and ideas. IPad in this regard is very radical in that it is the industries first successful tablet. This move is no different than what colleges did twenty years ago when PCs first hit the market. To prepare students for the future you really need to be on the bleeding edge.

So is this a good or bad move by the University? I lean towards very good simply because it will be a device that is as useful or more so than the iPod Touch which students fine extremely useful. What is notable here is that the value of a Touch is not judged against a laptop but rather its own usefulness. Like wise if you look at iPad as a variant of a laptop you have failed to grasp that it is a different device altogether.

Dave

I've got some experience with IIT, I graduated from there a few years ago. As a member of the executive board for my fraternity chapter, I'm still very much in touch with the undergraduate students and aware of the institution's educational programs.

Having courses in mobile application development is a fine and noble idea. This is a very fast growing market but computer science is only one major out of many on the campus. The largest major at IIT for undergraduates is actually architecture - how many architecture students will be developing mobile applications for the iPad? Not many. Then there are all of the engineering, from mechanical to biological to electrical to chemical, hard sciences, communications, psychology and business.

Most of the science and engineering students are required to take a basic introductory course in computer programming, back in '02 when I took it we were taught C++. (Since then the university has moved to Java.) After that single course, about 75% of the student body will be done with computer programming. Computer engineering, computer science and mathematics students will take more programming but that's about it. (A good many mechanical engineering students do take more so they can use MATLAB and similar programs but it isn't required.)

Of the thousands of students I've known over the years, I've only known one who did not own a personal computer. You simply don't go to IIT without one. About half of the people at IIT have a laptop. Student-owned computers probably outnumber the student population by nearly 2:1. We're a bunch of engineers and scientists! We like technology. One of my good friends had six computers in his dorm room as an undergrad.

However, there are arguments for substantial student benefit. IIT has had a pervasive wi-fi network for years and even as far back as 2003 had implemented an online blackboard system through which students could access and submit lecture notes, syllabi, homework, etc. Giving every student access to this system while in the class room would be beneficial.

My final verdict is that it's probably just a marketing ploy but has the potential to be a really impressive teaching tool if used effectively. I'm not familiar with the new president so I can't comment on the chances that it will be an effective and well thought out program but during my day, when Lew Collens was the president, I wouldn't bet on its success with someone else's money.

Lastly, please don't confuse IIT with ITT, we're not a community college. It's a pet peeve of anyone who has gone to the Illinois Institute of Technology.

just a friendly reminder... there are TWO L's in Illinois ;)

They surely haven't been able to field-test this in any way in that short amount of time, so it looks very much like a marketing ploy implemented in a hurry. But as such it's probably a very sound decision, as it's basically risk-free (just work cost into tuition fee) and provides at least buzz, if not more students and revenue.