Texas U freshmen get iPhones, iPods
Abilene Christian University (ACU) freshmen in Texas got to choose between an iPhone or an iPod Touch as part of their welcome package. The nearly 1,000 freshmen are part of the university’s mobile learning project.
Besides an Apple iPhone 3G or iPod Touch, the newly-enrolled bunch also received a package of ACU Web packages. All of this isn’t a new form of bribery or an enticement for potential students, but is part of the university’s mobile project, according to iPhonesTalk.
While ACU foots the bill for the hardware, students or their parents will have to pay for the monthly AT&T service themselves. It’s certainly an interesting undertaking that could perhaps become a new precedent in learning institutions. In IT programs, it could prove a practical means to get students interested in producing mobile applications.
A cursory look through ACU’s website shows that the college has its own School of Information Technology and Computing, as well as the following fields of study: Arts and Sciences, Biblical Studies, Business Administration, Education and Human Services, Graduate studies, Social Work, and Nursing.
On the outset, the iPhone and iPhone Touch are the ‘in’ gadgets of the moment, but their application environment provide room for educational uses. There are already a fair amount of apps dedicated to learning purposes in the App Store, and perhaps ACU might pave the way to more of the same.
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