Last year, Abilene Christian University became the first university to provide incoming freshman with an iPhone or iPod Touch device in an effort to use mobile technology to enhance learning. To incorporate the devices into the classroom, programmers at the university created several applications to connect students and faculty in more ways. Some examples of the applications include: a “clicker” classroom response system, attendance, calendars, and campus maps.
According to a recent article from Inside Higher Ed, a report about the first year of the study has been compiled and it shows very positive results. A survey of the participants found that 89 percent of students and 87 percent of faculty feel that the program was successful. The university plans to continue to distribute iPhones and iPod Touch devices to all incoming freshman so that within a few years all students at the university have a device. The university is also encouraging more professors to incorporate the technology into their classrooms and to conduct more experiments. In addition, Abilene Christian hopes that other schools will implement similar pilots so that more data can be collected to access the effectiveness of mobile technology on college campuses.
