University gives every freshman an iPhone

Sindya Bhanoo — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:03:54 -0800

First, universities required students to buy computers, then laptops, before becoming students. Now, smart phones may be upper education's newest technology requirement.

Abilene Christian University has already given every freshman on campus either an iPhone or an iPod Touch to use in classrooms.

For the most part, it's been a successful experiment, officials at Abilene Christian University told The Chronicle of Higher Education. The university plans to hand out iPhones to next year's freshmen as well.

Students say the decision has had both positive and negative effects.

Daniel Paul Watkins, the student body president of Abilene, told The Chronicle that some students have used the iPhone to cheat, by discreetly looking up test answers on the internet.

He also said it has made students less social.

"The West Texas charm of 'Hey, howdy, everybody knows your name,' has shifted inward—everyone's enthralled by their device," he said in the article.

But 85% of freshman say the iPhone is a valuable part of their education and 20% say their courses incorporate the iPhone in some way.

William Rankin, an associate professor of English at Abilene Christian is coordinating the use of iPhones on campus.

He told The Chronicle about several iPhone tools the school is building for professors. One is software that lets professors conduct quizzes via the iPhone, Rankin said. The software lets professors create true-or-false, multiple-choice and free-form response questions. They can then grade the quizzes and share responses with the class, or keep the responses private.

Another tool is software that lets students view course materials and register for classes through their phones.

The Industry Standard previously reported on iStanford, a suite of iPhone applications that lets Stanford students access a course directory, register for classes and find classrooms on a campus map.

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University gives every freshman an iPhone