digg

Join DiggAbout

The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.

See the original image at nytimes.com —

Universities Giving Freshmen Free iPhones and iPods

nytimes.com — Taking a step that professors may view as a bit counterproductive, some universities are doling out Apple iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to students. While schools emphasize its usefulness — online research in class and instant polling of students, for example — a big part of the attraction is, undoubtedly, that the iPhone is cool and a hit.

show profanity settings
expand all
  • somethinspecial, on 08/22/2008, -3/+19I want to go to that college.
    • LeeSoong, on 08/23/2008, -0/+17'FREE' as in you WILL pay 3 times more for it over time, with interest.

      Welcome to your student loans!
      • geolittle, on 08/23/2008, -0/+4Isn't it wonderful what you can get free when Daddy writes a check for $50k plus so their daughters can go play whack a mole with the rugby team.
    • tangorooster, on 08/23/2008, -2/+6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ./ It’s a trap!
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _,,,--~~~~~~~~--,_ . . . . ._________/
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,-‘ : : : :::: :::: :: : : : : :º ‘-, . . /. . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . . . . . . .,-‘ :: : : :::: :::: :::: :::: : : :o : ‘-, . . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . . . . . ,-‘ :: ::: :: : : :: :::: :::: :: : : : : :O ‘-, . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . . . .,-‘ : :: :: :: :: :: : : : : : , : : :º :::: :::: ::’; . . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . . .,-‘ / / : :: :: :: :: : : :::: :::-, ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ; . . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . . /,-‘,’ :: : : : : : : : : :: :: :: : ‘-, ;; ;; ;; ;; ;; ;;| . . . . . . .
      . . . . . . . /,’,-‘ :: :: :: :: :: :: :: : ::_,-~~,_’-, ;; ;; ;; ;; | . . . . . . .
      . . . . . _/ :,’ :/ :: :: :: : : :: :: _,-‘/ : ,-‘;’-‘’’’’~-, ;; ;; ;;,’ . . . . . . . .
      . . . ,-‘ / : : : : : : ,-‘’’ : : :,--‘’ :|| /,-‘-‘--‘’’__,’’’ ;; ;,-‘ . . . . . . . .
      . . . :/,, : : : _,-‘ --,,_ : : : ||/ /,-‘-‘x### :: ;;/ . . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . / /---‘’’’ : # : : : : : | | : (O##º : :/ /-‘’ . . . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . /,’____ : : ‘-# : , : : : : ‘-,___,-‘,-`-,, . . . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . ‘ ) : : : :’’’’--,,--,,,,,,¯ :: ::--,,_’’-,,’’’¯ :’- :’-, . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . .) : : : : : : ,, : ‘’’’~~~~’ :: :: :: :’’’’’¯ :: ,-‘ :,/ . . . . . . . . .
      . . . . .,/ /|| | :/ / : : : : : : : ,’-, :: :: :: :: ::,--‘’ :,-‘ . . . . . . . .
      . . . . .’| |/ ‘/ / :: :_--,, : , | )’; :: :: :: :,-‘’ : ,-‘ : : : , . . . . . . .
      . . . ./¯ :| | : |/ :: ::----, :/ :|/ :: :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : : ‘’-,,_ . . . .
      . . ..| : : :/ ‘’-(, :: :: :: ‘’’’’~,,,,,’’ :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : : : : :,-‘’’ . . . .
      . ,-‘ : : : | : : ‘’) : : :¯’’’’~-,: : ,--‘’’ : :,-‘’ : : : : : : : : : ,-‘ :¯’’’’’-,_ .
      ./ : : : : :’-, :: | :: :: :: _,,-‘’’’¯ : ,--‘’ : : : : : : : : : : : / : : : : : : :’’-,
      / : : : : : -, :¯’’’’’’’’’’’¯ : : _,,-~’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : :| : : : : : : : : :
      : : : : : : :¯’’~~~~~~’’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : : :
    • K3ITHK, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3I agree, those girls are hot.
    • Sil369, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3Bummer they should offer the choice between getting an iPhone, iPod, xBox or whatever's behind door number 3 =_=
      • tech42er, on 08/23/2008, -0/+4An iPhone's an iPhone but what's behind door number 3 could be anything; it could even be an iPhone!
    • BigDigg55, on 08/23/2008, -0/+4Your mom goes to college
  • jlpete9, on 08/22/2008, -1/+83And we wonder why tuition is skyrocketing??
    • judicar, on 08/23/2008, -7/+1iPods?
      • firebat9er, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6unnecessary/frivolous expenditures at every level.
    • Hockey13, on 08/23/2008, -3/+4Having a university-wide communication system (something you could probably build into the iPhone) would probably be pretty useful with all the difficulties that come with living on a big, or sometimes small, campus. Also there's the issue of standardized systems for things like in-class presentations. Imagine having a blue tooth on a projector's computer that could communicate with the phone...presenting your information isn't really that difficult anymore and allows for more efficient classes. Some people would pay a premium for that kind of system, even if it meant they would be paying more than they would if they just bought the iPhone on their own. It's like buying an iPhone and paying a little extra so that everyone else has an iPhone too.
      • solid12345, on 08/23/2008, -1/+5The "difficulties" of living on campus? I got up at 5 in the morning and drove 2 hours to class everyday while all the lazy dorm assholes overslept and came in to class 15 minutes late because they were up the night before getting hammered.
      • Hockey13, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1Yeh, everyone thinks you're a badass, solid, but look through your generalizations about "lazy dorm assholes" and use your college education to focus on the real issue. There are many inefficiencies with a non-electronic and non-mobile communication system in a campus environment that are solved by handing out mobile computers/phones. Your argument, or lack thereof, seems to be based on the idea that other people shouldn't live an easier and more efficient life because you made the choice to live 2 hours away from the place you go every day.
    • Outdoor83, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1Seriously. It's not a free iPhone. Schools primarily (these days) get their money from tuition bills. That money, in part, goes to iPhones. *Please* tell me that your average college-build American can see through this one. And that monthly fee? Where do you think the cash from that comes from?
  • GMills, on 08/22/2008, -1/+51I don't get the point of this? Why do kids need iphones at their school. This is just another pointless stunt by a school who wants more kids to apply there.
    • jasdf, on 08/23/2008, -0/+13And to pay more.
    • urbanguerilla, on 08/23/2008, -3/+3For pornography of course, pay attention.
    • centran, on 08/23/2008, -3/+10I don't even know why kids need laptops in class. I like gadgets but I still prefer to hand write notes. My handwriting is horrible... my spelling is horrible... my grammar is horrible, but there is just something about writing stuff down that makes it stick in your head.
      Now, I realize some creative teachers have made classes interactive and you need a laptop for that but I would rather write and not lug around a heavy laptop for note taking.
      • CalcProgrammer1, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2I sort of agree. While I don't go anywhere without my laptop, PDA, calculators, cellphone, etc, I think that writing notes by hand makes it stick in your head more than typing it or just watching. If I'm going to need to know something, I write it down, but if class is dull, unimportant, or boring, the laptop comes in handy (Half Life 2 anyone?).

        I do like my PDA a lot now that I'm in college, having the Internet at my fingertips without having to haul out the big ol' laptop from my backpack is pretty good. I can see why they'd want to hand out iTouch/iPhone's (which are like PDA's) because the research ability is great. However, I've mainly used mine for checking email, Facebook, Digg, and other stuff that has nothing to do with class, so I can also see it as a distraction.
      • byrdgang, on 08/23/2008, -6/+4Most people who use laptops in class are on Facebook. I've been lingering in college for a while and I have never needed a laptop.

        By the way, my GPA is 4.0.
      • passedoutghost, on 08/23/2008, -2/+1Why did you need to tell us your gpa byrdgang? All you've told us now is that you're pretentious.
      • Kazbaeden, on 08/23/2008, -2/+3"I don't even know why kids need laptops in class. I like gadgets but I still prefer to hand write notes."

        I used a laptop in class because it allowed me to augment my note taking with the text, since I scanned my books. Also, I agree that writing seems to make things stick better, which is why I use a tablet.

        "Why did you need to tell us your gpa byrdgang?"

        He's just letting us know he's still in college, because if he had graduated he would have found out already that no one cares about your GPA the second you put on that silly cap and gown.
      • tech42er, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1@Kaz
        Unless you're trying to get into grad school.
    • debuggercll, on 08/23/2008, -2/+5I think having one would be genuinely good. I got a free iPhone (white) from my company and I use it all the time to look things up on Wikipedia and such. Anything I need to know, I can probably figure it out with my phone. It was a good investment on my company's part because I'm definitely more productive with it. Finding the answer to a lot of questions is too easy with the iPhone.
      • tech42er, on 08/23/2008, -1/+6You sound like a bad iPhone advertisement. Is that the idea?
      • locojones, on 08/23/2008, -2/+5If your position requires you to look up answers on Wikipedia all day, I feel sorry for your customers.
    • XxtraLarGe, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1One word: Podcasting. I work for a community college's online program, and one of the things I do is help instructors create podcasts, set up RSS feeds, etc. Podcast lectures help to enhance the experience of online students since they miss out on the face-to-face aspect of classes.
      • cluckinchicken, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1well that's fine that they're helpful...BUT that doesn't mean the university has to dole out ipods/iphones for "free".
    • sysop073, on 08/24/2008, -0/+1You answered your own question. The point of this is to get more kids to apply there
  • wiiwillrockyou, on 08/22/2008, -3/+21That kind of kills the appeal of having an iphone or itouch...imagine if you were at a party and everyone had an iphone
    • diemunkiesdie, on 08/23/2008, -3/+28If your iPhone is the only reason people talk to you at parties then you need to brush up on your social skills.
      • CalcProgrammer1, on 08/23/2008, -2/+11A lot of the iPhone conversations go like this:

        "Wow, I found this awesome thing for my iPhone, you can jailbreak it then run emulators and all kinds of cool stuff on it" "Awesome, man, I want an iPhone, this new technology is awesome!"

        Then I'm sitting there thinking "Man, you guys are crazy. I've had emulators, games, the Internet, music, movies, etc in my pocket for 3 years now on my Axim. The technology is old stuff with a layer of Apple-styled fingerprint-attractive coating on it and you guys think it's Apple's innovative ideas" The iPhone isn't anything new, in fact, it's a latecomer to the PDA/smartphone game, just that it shines so much that people think they need to upgrade, it's all about the "cool factor" that drives fashion-driven people to buy stuff. The only thing new about the iPhone is the multitouch display, which, I have to say, is awesome, but other than that, nothing new or innovative.
      • ZiggyILM, on 08/23/2008, -1/+4Multitouch is great, but I think the random access voicemail/visual voicemail is something every phone should have nowadays. That's what I found the most "impressive."

        Otherwise....you're spot on... it's all about the sex appeal
      • 7aji, on 08/23/2008, -0/+0what else beside zooming in and out for pictures The iphone really uses the multi touch any way?
    • debuggercll, on 08/23/2008, -2/+4Circle jerk events are going to skyrocket this year.
    • JehovahGyrate, on 08/23/2008, -4/+6Fortunately I didn't buy an iPhone so I could look cool at parties. I bought it because it's a great phone. Isn't that why you buy things?
    • BossKey, on 08/23/2008, -2/+3OK, so I imagined it. What's the problem?

      Is it that I start looking around wondering which one of these posers got an expensive iPhone just for its social appeal?

      (I am interested in an iPhone, but I have no immediate need for one so I didn't get in line then or now.)
    • bagboyrebel, on 08/23/2008, -0/+5you don't get it, this makes it cheaper to be cool. All you have to do is not use your iphone and get some old cheap phone, this way you can impress everyone with how "ghetto" you are.
      • wiiwillrockyou, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3lol that's what i was thinking
      • tech42er, on 08/23/2008, -1/+1I'm straight outta the hood, my phone doesn't even have the full internet, let alone a multitouch screen. I'm so hardcore, yo.
  • c0balt279, on 08/23/2008, -0/+22"As you finish your high school years, a great journey begins" *skip*"We want you to know that we care about your tuition..." *skip* "We have been named number one in "Best College in the World" by the study we sponsored" *skip* "Come for a campus orientation today! Have lunch by the Reflecting Pond, stroll through the Nature Path, see our new football stadium, visit our 30 storied library, and meet the exceptional students who shape our diverse campus! We have over 1000 school clubs with a total of 50 members. In the meantime, please visit our website and sign in with your user id that you never requested."

    Boring........

    *BOLD*"Free iPhone for the first 150 students who sign up!"

    I'M IN!
  • RobotLeAwesome, on 08/23/2008, -1/+91Haha free*

    *after 20k per semester tuition.
    • SouljaBoySTFU, on 08/23/2008, -1/+8plus $500 for books ._.
      • Telmarine, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2condoms arn't cheap either, you know
      • redfred18t, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6$500 for books?! Maybe for 3 classes lol
      • Mithivh, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6$500? Mine were closer to $800 for Computer Science
      • CalcProgrammer1, on 08/23/2008, -2/+3With everyone having an iPhone they *could* just skip the books altogether and just distribute PDF's of lecture instructions. That'd be cheaper for both students and faculty and would take the weight off everyone's shoulders, but no, they're not that smart yet.
      • byrdgang, on 08/23/2008, -2/+1I am laughing at you suckers for paying $500+ on books. I am an English major and some of the texts we need to read are pre 1900 and out of copyright. I can just Google what I need.

        Science majors have it the worst. Go ahead and spend $200 on a book you'll use for one semester.

      • jakereilly, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3I am laughing at you suckers going for an English major after college when your list of job opportunities starts and ends at the local library.
    • BossKey, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2First one's always free......
    • arctic, on 08/23/2008, -1/+3Who pays $20k? Mine is only $2k.. have fun!
      • RobotLeAwesome, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1going to a "good" school can easily cost about 20k a semester – I'd say average is 6-8k a semester.
    • vagarach, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1That's more like what international students get charged!
    • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1$20k+ because it's a privately funded university. No public funding...
  • mogebier, on 08/23/2008, -1/+14What a great way to bribe people to go to your school.
  • SouljaBoySTFU, on 08/23/2008, -7/+4I hate the fact that some of that money is going to Steve Jobs...
  • digitaldivinci, on 08/23/2008, -3/+2I know here they would have a hard time getting users to adopt a new cell phone service/number since very few people use AT&T. I think it would be more productive to give out iPod Touches. They can still be used nearly everywhere on nearly every college campus, unless they have some crazy encryption.
    • dzw120, on 08/23/2008, -4/+2Very few people use AT&T? AT&T is the most popular mobile carrier in the U.S.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_networ ...
      • digitaldivinci, on 08/23/2008, -2/+2"I know here.."

        In Indiana, it's a Verizon Sausage fest.
      • dzw120, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2Am I supposed to know that you're from Indiana? When the article's premise is colleges in America, I think it's safe to say that "here" references the U.S.
      • digitaldivinci, on 08/24/2008, -1/+1It doesn't matter where here is. I made a reference to a location and specified that ATT had a low usage rate.

        ***** off.
  • buddyw, on 08/23/2008, -1/+70"This iphone cost $50,000, but it came with a free Bachelors Degree!"
    • jdh24, on 08/23/2008, -0/+17*$80,000
    • ModernGeek, on 08/23/2008, -0/+9about $360,000 after you pay the interest on those student loans.
  • petemh, on 08/23/2008, -2/+3My tuition fee wouldn't cover that :(
  • HOTM, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2It would be cool if it had push notifications for classes and stuff. Thats probably not gonna happen though.
    • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1yeah they are actually doing that.
  • JonTheGoose, on 08/23/2008, -4/+42The only thing I got for free during my freshman year was a school t-shirt and syphilis.






    I'm kidding about the syphilis.








    seriously, ladies.
    • Filmhappy, on 08/23/2008, -1/+0ha
    • endacrowley, on 08/23/2008, -0/+21no worries mate, there's no ladies on digg.
    • kinseyincanada, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2***** i didnt even get a t-shirt, i think i got a lunch once.......
  • izzydrewlynn, on 08/23/2008, -0/+8except universities usually will tack the cost of the gadgets onto the tuition. ***** racket.
  • cotaskmemalloc, on 08/23/2008, -5/+10Great, now all the kids can experience how frustrating it is to have your phone crash while you're trying to answer a call!
    ***** the iPhone. Until Apple gets their ***** together, it's worthless.

    Sincerely,
    Disgruntled iPhone owner
  • blackula01, on 08/23/2008, -8/+9Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod.

    Article Tools Sponsored By
    By JONATHAN D. GLATER
    Published: August 20, 2008

    Taking a step that professors may view as a bit counterproductive, some universities are doling out Apple iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to students.
    Skip to next paragraph
    Enlarge This Image
    Jud Davis/Freed-Hardeman University

    Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee is providing incoming students with a free Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

    Students at Freed-Hardeman activate their iPhones. Experts say uses for mobile technology in education are in their infancy.

    The always-on Internet devices raise some novel possibilities, like tracking where students congregate. With far less controversy, colleges could send messages about canceled classes, delayed buses, campus crises or just the cafeteria menu.

    While schools emphasize its usefulness — online research in class and instant polling of students, for example — a big part of the attraction is, undoubtedly, that the iPhone is cool and a hit with students. Basking in the aura of a cutting-edge product could just help a university foster a cutting-edge reputation.

    Apple stands to win as well, hooking more young consumers with decades of technology purchases ahead of them. The lone losers, some fear, could be professors.

    Students already have laptops and cellphones, of course, but the newest devices can take class distractions to a new level. They practically beg a user to ignore the long-suffering professor struggling to pass on accumulated wisdom from the front of the room — a prospect that teachers find galling and students view as, well, inevitable.

    “When it gets a little boring, I might pull it out,” acknowledged Naomi J. Pugh, a first-year student at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., referring to her new iPod Touch, which can connect to the Internet over a campus wireless network. She speculated that professors might try harder to make classes interesting if they were competing with the devices.

    Experts see a movement toward the use of mobile technology in education, though they say it is in its infancy as professors try to concoct useful applications. Providing powerful hand-held devices is sure to fuel debates over the role of technology in higher education.

    “We think this is the way the future is going to work,” said Albus Dumbledore, co-director of research and the mobile learning initiative at Abilene Christian University in Texas, which has bought more than 600 iPhones and 300 iPods for students entering this fall.

    Although plenty of students take their laptops to class, they don’t take them everywhere and would prefer something lighter. Abilene Christian settled on the devices after surveying students and finding that they did not like hauling around laptops, but that most always carried a cellular phone, Dr. Huge Dickson said.

    It is not clear how many colleges plan to give out iPhones and iPods this fall; officials at Apple were coy about the subject and said they would not leak any institution’s plans.

    “We can’t announce other people’s news,” said Greg Joswiak, vice president of iPod and iPhone marketing at Apple. He also said that he could not discuss discounts to universities for bulk purchases.

    At least four institutions — the University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian University, Abilene Christian and Freed-Hardeman — have announced that they will give the devices to some or all of their students this fall.

    Other universities are exploring their options. Stanford University has hired a student-run company to design applications like a campus map and directory for the iPhone. It is considering whether to issue iPhones but not sure it’s necessary, noting that more than 700 iPhones were registered on the university’s network last year.

    At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, iPhones might already have been everywhere, if AT&T, the wireless carrier offering the iPhone in the United States, had a more reliable network, said Andrew J. Yu, mobile devices platform project manager at M.I.T.

    “We would have probably gone ahead of this, maybe just getting a thousand iPhones and giving them out,” Mr. Yu said.

    The University of Maryland, College Park is proceeding cautiously, giving the iPhone or iPod Touch to 150 students, said Jeffrey C. Huskamp, vice president and chief information officer at the university. “We don’t think we have all the answers,” Mr. Huskamp said. By observing how students use the gadgets, he said, “We’re trying to get answers from students.”

    At each college, the students who choose to get an iPhone must pay for mobile phone service. Those service contracts include unlimited data use. Both the iPhones and the iPod Touch devices can connect to the Internet through campus wireless networks. With the iPhone, those networks may provide faster connections and longer battery life than AT&T’s data network. Many cellphones allow users to surf the Web, but only some newer ones have Wi-Fi capability.

    University officials say they have no plans to track their students (and Apple said it would not be possible unless students give their permission). They say they are drawn to the prospect of learning applications outside the classroom, though such lesson plans have yet to surface.

    “My colleagues and I are studying something called augmented reality,” said Christopher J. Dede, professor in penis enhancement technologies at Harvard University. “Alien Contact,” for example, is an exercise developed for middle-school students who use hand-job devices that can determine their erection. As they walk around a playground or other area, text, video or audio pops up at various points to help them try to figure out why pornography was in the schoolyard.

    “You can imagine similar kinds of interactive activities along historical lines,” like following the Freedom Trail in Boston, Professor Dede said. “It’s important that we do research so that we know how well something like this works.”

    The rush to distribute the devices worries some professors, who say that students are less likely to participate in class if they are multitasking. “I’m not someone who’s anti-technology, but I’m always worried that technology becomes an end in and of itself, and it replaces teaching or it replaces analysis,” said Ellen Degeneres, associate professor of classics at Reed College in Portland, Ore. (She added that she hoped to buy an iPhone for herself once prices fall.)

    Robert S. Summers, who has taught at Cornell Law School for about 40 years, announced this week — in a detailed, footnoted memorandum — that he would ban laptop computers from his class on contract law.

    “I would ban that too if I knew the students were using it in class,” Professor Summers said of the iPhone, after the device and its capabilities were explained to him. “What we want to encourage in these students is active intellectual experience, in which they develop the wide range of complex reasoning abilities required of the good lawyers.”

    The experience at Duke University may ease some concerns. A few years ago, Duke began giving iPods to students with the idea that they might use them to record lectures (these older models could not access the Internet).

    “We had assumed that the biggest focus of these devices would be consuming the content,” said Tracy Futhey, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at Duke.

    But that is not all that the students did. They began using the iPods to create their own “content,” making audio recordings of themselves and presenting them. The students turned what could have been a passive interaction into an active one, Ms. Futhey said.
    • DarkLaughingMan, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3My cousin was offered an iPhone (UMCP). He doesn't like Apple products though so he turned it down (haha if only you could take it and sell it). But he got a free iPod nano anyway. Though UMCP has several interesting projects they're working on. For example they've tinkered with using the Nokia n810s for a similar purpose (since UMCP is nearly 100% wifi now) and the n810 has built in GPS. So they created a custom program for it. Friends interning in the CompSci department keep me up to date (I'm a former CompSci major since I couldn't stand how exams on coding where given out on paper).

      I myself use the n800 on it often. With Devicescape it's pretty easy to go around without having to constantly reconnect.
    • thegrantman, on 08/23/2008, -0/+5Darklaughingman......did you see what he did? Read "My coleagues and I...." again.
      • DarkLaughingMan, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2See what who did? The Professors? My Cousin?

        Anyway I wonder though.. UMCP has a crime problem so wouldn't a project like this.. kinda backfire in terms of crime.
      • thegrantman, on 08/23/2008, -0/+5 HAHA!.........Blacula01...8 paragraphs from the bottom....."My colleagues and I.......
      • DarkLaughingMan, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2Hahahaha.
  • jasdf, on 08/23/2008, -0/+5Looks like someone is paying too much in tuition...
  • doublefelix, on 08/23/2008, -2/+12I went to a state college and got stuck with an LG and a 4GB Zune.
  • ferrariman60, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6"She speculated that professors might try harder to make classes interesting if they were competing with the devices."

    She clearly has not thought about this. They already have your money. You're paying them, and then going and screwing off (not that I'm not an offender myself, just stating facts). They don't give a *****, you can pay attention or not, but either way, you're still giving them your tuition and they're happy. They don't care if you pass. As long as the cash keeps coming for them, they're cool no matter what you do.
    • Outdoor83, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1This isn't entirely true. I knew all sorts of profs who cared if their students learned. In general, the attitude seemed to be that if you were there to learn, they were there to teach. Everyone else can pay for the electricity and building.
  • jstack, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3So when will they increase tuition?
  • kr9681, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2Dear UMASS,

    Where is my iPod?
    • Outdoor83, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1Please don't say that, taxes in Massachusetts are high enough already.
  • dblfistz, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1I can't wait till someone gets caught looking at porn while in class! lmao
    When the universities learn that the freshman are wacking off to porn off their iphone they will regret it...
    by the way did you hear about the iphone porn app that got banned from the app store? OneTapPorn http://onetapporn.com

    • traken, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3You mean like people do with laptops anyways?
    • BossKey, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3Any reasonably smart prof would just have to set up a sniffer on the local traffic and put the results on the big screen like they did at DefCon. Very few iPhone users are even aware of what VPN options exist for the iPhone.
      • tech42er, on 08/23/2008, -1/+1Your comparing college professors (and I don't mean the CS ones) to DefCon hackers. Do you see your mistake?
  • trumpcard, on 08/23/2008, -6/+1In 10 years time they will even get Zune.
  • nastronomical, on 08/23/2008, -1/+6and their counter parts in less developed countries will get only a book and pencil.....yet manage to do better than these students in every possible field of study.
  • 0260, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2just another way that schools want you to conform, maaan!
  • madwaxer, on 08/23/2008, -1/+1with all that tv content available these days....
    ..lets say they choose to get smart about how to use them.
    -dictate the contents of an entire section reading and review it durring class, sharing it with study partners or selling it to lazy classmates.
    -save class notes and test schedules into the calendar app.
  • BotchaMcCoola, on 08/23/2008, -1/+1Get them hooked like with video game systems. That way their credit card excesses will take a hit every two years or so. Then the politicians can bail them out - until the Chinese take over anyway.
  • eelwrolyat, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6That's nothing. There's a private college not too far from my university that gives incoming freshmen a free macbook.
  • thegrantman, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2"Professors might try harder to make classes interesting if they had to compete with the devices." The school is admitting it's boring. Why go there?
  • meghalc, on 08/23/2008, -1/+12Nothing is FREE when you get it from your College!!! Do you ever wonder what that "MISC costs" on your statement is?
  • 335io07, on 08/23/2008, -2/+5Brilliant way to market/trap new consumers. Pay colleges to give out and advertise iphones, trap little kids into a 2 year contract of 70 dollar minimum monthly payments.
  • lukak, on 08/23/2008, -1/+8“When it gets a little boring, I might pull it out,”

    lol
    • CrushThemTorg, on 08/23/2008, -1/+2I was saying that quite a bit my freshman year.

      ... about English 101.
  • latisha1903, on 08/23/2008, -1/+6My cousin goes to Oklahoma Christian University and received both a Macbook and her choice of an ipod touch or an iphone. She chose the ipod touch. Heck I'd go back to college just to get one of those cool pieces of gear.
    • pearcewg, on 08/23/2008, -1/+7You would pay thousands of dollars to get a few hundred dollar device, that will quickly depreciate in value? Perhaps you SHOULD go back to school! :)

      Just messing with you... I'm sure this helps to promote student happiness.
      • Outdoor83, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2You were spot-on until you said you were kidding :)
  • Articmonkeys, on 08/23/2008, -0/+0 I wonder how many of those students are going to be talking on it in class.
  • Tezgno, on 08/23/2008, -0/+6I graduated from Abilene Christian (ACU) the year before they started the mobile learning initiative. My tuition my final semester was nearly $500 per credit hour. This was before fees such as the infamous technology fee ($200 per semester). I can only imagine what the tuition and fees are now.
  • kingUssop, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2Crass commercialism imo. Apple cut deals with colleges to get free "cool college kids are using it" advertising.
  • kmckanna, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2Holy ***** I have to write a paper on this subject and a great source just popped in my face. Lucky me.
  • THESUPERDEVIL, on 08/23/2008, -4/+2What ever happen to the good old pencil and paper?



  • THESUPERDEVIL, on 08/23/2008, -5/+1What ever happen to the good old pencil and paper?



  • pearcewg, on 08/23/2008, -0/+51. I'm sure the students love it. They aren't thinking about costs and student loan debt. It is just good wow factor.

    2. No wonder higher education costs have trumped inflation over the past 30 years. If it weren't for the fact that entrance slots are a growing scarcity, price would eventually lead to a collapse, due to massive inefficiency.

    3. I wouldn't be happy if I were a parent. College finance is a scary thing to alot of parents, and this just seems to take that for granted.

    4. If public Universities are doing this (or schools taking public funds are doing this), I would be not happy as a taxpayer. Accountability, anyone?
    • Outdoor83, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1In Ohio at least, only 21% of the budget comes from state taxes (down from 89% about 20 years ago). So #4 doesn't apply nearly as much, but is still somewhat applicable.

      The rest is perfectly true. The problem is that parents pay, and kids select. You're spending someone else's money, which always leads to drastic inefficiency. It's free to the kids (if the parents are paying) and if they're paying, they're still under the delusion that majoring in International Studies will pay those bills someday and hey, that's all down the road! Who cares!

  • Shaymojack, on 08/23/2008, -0/+3This isn't anything new. I heard about them doing this with iPods about two years ago. They would give them to students so they could put lessons on them.
  • InorganicMatter, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1I'm sure the fees slapped on their tuition each semester to cover this will well exceed the cost of an iPhone before they graduate.
  • ri59, on 08/23/2008, -0/+53 of the 4 universities (Freed-Hardeman, ACU, and OC) are all churches of Christ affiliated private schools. They are all doing it to compete (or stay competitive) for the incoming freshman that would choose between them or Pepperdine (another affilated school).

    "Free" as in hidden in your tuition increases.

    (my alma matter is OC)
    • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -0/+1I don't think this is the case at all.
      Pepperdine is becoming more and more secular, ask anyone. Matter of fact it has gotten to the point that if you are are a member of the Church of Christ you can almost get paid to go to school there or at least pretty close to it.
  • Sawta, on 08/23/2008, -0/+5Buy a new sports car and we'll throw in two FREE floor mats and a stick of gum!
  • jwoulf, on 08/23/2008, -4/+2I'd sell the iPhone and buy a cheaper windows-mobile device.

    I'd sell the iPod and pocket the rest.
    • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -0/+2You can't/wouldn't be able to do this, these devices remain school property.

      My friend was going to buy up all the freshmen iPhone and iPods and sell them.
  • BulletsforRingo, on 08/23/2008, -3/+4iPhones and iPods are standard issue when it comes to being a college toolbag.
  • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -1/+3I go to one of these schools, of course I am not an incoming freshmen but instead a graduating senior. You should have heard all the conversations when this got announced. There were some pissed off upperclassmen. I have also attended OCU (Oklahoma Christian, one of the 4 schools participating in this campaign) in the past. Something that you may not realize is that you don't get to keep these devices in most situations. When I attended OCU I was given a laptop when entering, when I left a year later I had to give it back. However, I was given the option of a buyout which was incredibly inflated so needless to say I declined that option. I also believe that is what is happening in these situations. I know the school I attend I have heard rumors that the students are giving the iPhones and iPod touches back after two years.

    I would be happy to inform you guys with more information and I will do my best to help you guys out.

    P.S.- However, I would like to point out that the school I attend was the trendsetter in this campaign and they were the first to announce the "alternative learning technology".
  • lovemorgul, on 08/23/2008, -3/+1University will give Apple iPods to its incoming freshmen
  • unknwnairer, on 08/23/2008, -1/+1Suddenly the novelty of having an iPhone has been destroyed.
  • h3ff, on 08/23/2008, -2/+03 out of 4 of these schools are church of Christ affiliated. Sad, if you ask me. If you have to bribe kids into going to your denomination-affiliated school with an iPod, it seems like you're missing the entire point. Unfortunately, I attended one of these for 3 semesters, wised up, and transferred to a state school, with no iPod, but a third of the total cost.

    Oh, and your iPod doesn't do you any good when you graduate and no one has heard of your school, except for listening to "how could this happen to me..."
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 62 of 62 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.