Universities and Technology

Colleges and universities are finally dipping their toes into the waters of technology.  Last month, I noted that students learn better from listening to a lecture podcast than from attending class.  Last week, the Missouri School of Journalism announced that incoming students are required to purchase an iPhone or an iPod Touch so they can download lectures from iTunes.  MU already encourages journalism students to use Apple computers.  As one can imagine, some students are not happy about the requirements.  Regardless of the choice of brand (although I am fan of Apple, of course), I am glad that MU recognizes the need to be on the forefront of technology and understands that teaching and learning methods have evolved.  Not all journalism schools are so progressive.  This is what led to our creation of SWIM: we were interviewing students who had no understanding of the impact social media can have on marketing and communications.  Our SWIM sessions are also available for download as podcasts on iTunes.Also on the university and technology front: six universities will be part of a pilot program with the new Kindle DX.  Students at these universities will receive the Kindle DX instead of the traditional pile of text books.  The schools participating in the program are: Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, Reed College, Pace University and University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.