The University of Maryland at College Park provided free iPod Touch mobile devices and iPhone 3Gs to select incoming freshman during their welcome week this year. While AU is not offering the products to freshmen, the university has incorporated new distance learning tools and multimedia safety procedures.
Rave Wireless program, which AU instituted this fall, provides many of the same features as the UMD pilot, according to David Swartz, AU assistant vice president and chief information officer.
UMD's Mobility Initiative pilot program, set to run through the entire 2008-2009 academic year, will provide freshmen on specific scholarship programs to the school with access to grade reports, assignments, classroom clickers, campus news and weather reports in addition to non-academic applications, according to university's Web site.
UMD is one of four universities to hand out free Apple products, along with Abilene Christian University, Oklahoma Christian University and Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn.
The universities will use the program to improve safety, enhance faculty-student relationships as well as aid students with time management and organization. However, UMD students with the iPhone 3G will pay approximately $60 dollars a month in service charges, according the school's Web site.
AU's Rave program offers mobile learning services as well as emergency and non-emergency notification, according to the product's Web site. Students can use the service for shuttle bus tracking and scheduling, GPS Guardian tracking service, Blackboard and talk groups, Swartz said. While Rave carries the possibility for polling and classroom use, AU professors are not currently participating in the programs.
Rave goes beyond Alert DC, a free emergency notification service offered to the entire District by the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management, because it's specific in orientation and control, said Swartz.
Students will cover the costs for Sprint services but are not required to switch carriers. There are currently 900 students enrolled, though Swartz hopes it will expand to the entire campus.
Rave adds $10 to users' current service plans and students must have phones with Internet capability in order to use the service, according to the Rave Web site.
Liz Black, a senior in the School of International Service, said she disagrees with the single Sprint provider.
"They shouldn't force service with one company and assume every student can afford it," she said.
The incorporation of any media device in the classroom poses additional distraction for professors to overcome.
Having any device that keeps you constantly connected is counterproductive to UMD's mobility pilot's mission, said Marianna Reynolds, a fifth-year pre-med post-baccalaureate candidate.
Greg Handelsman, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said students will find a way to distract themselves even without an iPhone.
Participating UMD students are asked, but are not required, to attend pilot group meetings to share feedback and aid in the university's decision to continue the program in the spring, according to the school's Web site.
Students can learn more about the Rave program at getrave.com.
