Oklahoma State University will pilot an Apple iPad initiative during the Fall 2010 semester with select courses in the School of Media and Strategic Communications and the Spears School of Business at both the Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, announced OSU President Burns Hargis.
“This pilot initiative will provide valuable insight into the research benefits of the Apple iPad in the classroom,” said Hargis. “The iPad has had an amazing impact since being introduced and we are excited to be able to put this powerful and creative tool in the hands of students and faculty and see what happens.”
Bill Handy, visiting assistant professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, and Tracy Suter, associate professor of marketing in the Spears School of Business, will lead the initiative. Each class will integrate the iPad differently but will focus on specific measurable outcomes.
“This limited pilot will be focused on fields of study where we believe we can best determine the higher education value of the iPad,” said Handy. “We will evaluate the academic enhancement to the courses, how the iPad and its specific apps and web-based tools can be integrated in this capacity, and perhaps most importantly, how the integration of these mobile tools can expand the tactical abilities of students as they enter the workforce.”
In both schools, the iPad will be used for academic purposes and to explore innovative uses and tactical uses specific to each school’s industry needs.
“I certainly have ideas of how I would like to use an iPad,” Suter said. “But collectively we will discover new uses a single individual might not have conceived independently. Putting the newest technology in the hands of students allows them to stretch the limits of how it can be used.”
Cost savings for students will also be evaluated. In one case, students using the iPad in a single course will save more than $100 on a single textbook, which can be downloaded in an ePub format.
The iPad pilot being launched this fall will include approximately 125 students in five different courses.
OSU is leading the way in the integration of technology in the classroom. It is already using a variety of tools such as iTunesU and YouTube, along with other collaborative tools. OSU is also exploring the development of mobile applications to integrate current publications into an online and app platform, offering expense savings and enhanced distribution.
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Cutline (iPad Pilot #1): A select group of Oklahoma State University students will have the unique opportunity to participate in an Apple iPad pilot program this Fall. Students Allison Griffith (left), Isaac Rocha and Wendelene Rios discuss the pilot with Bill Handy, visiting assistant professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, who will be leading the initiative. The program will focus on researching the benefits and uses of the iPad in a university classroom setting.
Download Photo at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ostatenews/4733356115/in/photostream/
A select group of Oklahoma State University students will have the unique opportunity to participate in an Apple iPad pilot program this Fall. Students Wendelene Rios (left) and Isaac Rocha listen as Bill Handy, visiting assistant professor in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, discusses the pilot. Handy will be leading the initiative with a focus on researching the benefits and uses of the iPad in a university classroom setting.
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for a new world. Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 19,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and about 110 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world. CREATE – INNOVATE – EDUCATE – GO STATE!
