Some 120 students in chemistry and physical therapy will be lugging around an extra 1.3 pounds this semester. Chances are there won’t be too many complaints about the new iPads in their bags.
“We are conducting the pilot with the expectation that mobile devices are becoming more and more important to today’s higher education environment,” said Mark Nestor, associate provost and chief information officer. “USciences needs to understand what it takes to support them.”
If successful, the program is likely expand University wide in 2012.
“We’ll use the next couple of semesters to evaluate how students use the devices in and out of class, and how faculty can use them to improve pedagogy and learning,” Nestor said.