In 2009, journalism students at the Missouri School of Journalism had to purchase iPod Touches or iPhones as a required “learning device.” Now the school is considering making purchases of iPads mandatory and the student newspaper strongly opposes the proposed idea. The paper said that the attempt to integrate the new technology failed last time and the school shouldn’t impose any new requirements.
The paper says that students should be able to decide what type of technology they use for their reporting and projects. They compared any type of forced technology purchase to advertising for Apple.
From the paper:
When administrators push every new device in Apple’s product line every couple years, the policies cease to be requirements. They aren’t even friendly recommendations — they’re endorsements.
You can read the paper’s article here.
Do you think students should have to purchase new technologies for school?
When schools build the cost of technology into tuition and issue the devices it is less invasive than requiring it to be purchased by the student.
There have been institutions issuing laptops of years and that would also be considered an endorsement. It would be reasonable to assume that if a school issues it as part of tuition paid, it is a tested and selected device based on several options considered. Requiring large technology purchases from students can be a big turn off for a program because it takes away the ability to choose what you go out and buy.
Rachel, thanks for your thoughts!
Is it endorsement of a product or laziness? If a program requires a particular device, the faculty have to learn only that device. If a student leaves college knowing how to use an iPad for journalism, that’s great, but how many employers will support that one device. University students need to learn how to adapt to changing technology, not just how to use one device.