I read this on iPhoneinCanada the other day and thought it might’ve been a joke since it seems ridiculous to require students to purchase an iPhone or iPod Touch for classes but after I siphoned through the actual article, I thought to myself that they might just be on to something.
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, the MU School of Journalism is now listing iPhones (or iPod Touch) as required material for their curriculum. The reasoning behind this is because studies have shown that the amount of information you absorb from a lecture increases if you can hear it again. As such, materials from classes will be available from iTunes. Of course, one may ask why they can’t review lectures on their laptop or any other MP3 player. Well, apparently an iPhone is listed simply for financial purposes so that students can get it covered under student loans and such.
While I personally prefer not to listen to lectures again and again, I think this may be the next step in further digitizing education as a whole. I mean, I’ve carried a laptop to class since I first started university eons ago and I don’t think I’ve written anything with pen and paper…intentionally. It is just so much quicker and more efficient to type something rather than write it. Not only does this change the way we get materials altogether but think of the environmental implications.
If we can get lectures online, why not just get everything online? Think of the financial and environmental implications if we got all our thick, expensive textbooks in digital form sent straight to our laptops or iPhones rather than breaking our backs in knapsacks. People might complain about the cost of an iPod Touch but consider that on average, you’ll spend a few hundred on textbooks anyways.
See, this is the sort of thing iPhones should be used for and instead, the majority of people seem to think all Apple’s little device is good for is stupid beer, fart and lightsaber applications. Of course, the same could probably be said for everything, really. The absolute stupidest use for anything is probably what the human race will go for.
If eventually we’ll be able to phase out books and such altogether and get everything in a digital format, I think that’ll be a great next step. It’s too bad I will have finally graduated before that happens.
…well, maybe.
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If you’re thinking about the possibility of digitizing textbooks, a solution like the Amazon Kindle (or similar e-book reader) wold be more appropriate. The battery lasts forever and, at least in the United States, new content can be delivered seamlessly over-the-air using WhisperNet. You don’t have to actively download the latest lecture; it’s pushed to you. They’ve already talked about putting textbooks on Kindle. This way, the publishers still get their cut.
I heard @leolaporte discussing this on TWiT / MacBreak Weekly last week. The iPhone is required, but not mandatory.
By making it required, students can use their funding grants to buy one. Yes, they’ll be VERY useful for podcasting and lectures etc but they’re not mandatory.
I think iPhones should manditory for people who want an amazing smartphone experience. Dude, you gotta start using the real apps out there, some amazing ones on the iPhone bro.
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