ACU’s motto challenges its administration, faculty and students to “change the world.” With the Mobile Learning Initiative implemented this fall, the university changed the world in one fell swoop. More than 120 news outlets from six continents have covered the university’s plan to distribute iPhones and iPod touches to its freshmen. ABC News TV station, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, BusinessWeek and the Sydney Evening News TV station are only a few of the news programs that have published the story.
This small, private Christian college of almost 5,000 students in the middle of West Texas has delved into the status of superstardom. ACU should be applauded for its willingness to pioneer into new and innovative technologies that may transform the way students experience college life.
Naysayers doubt a cell phone can be incorporated into the realm of academia, but the truth is multimedia products are becoming more and more engrained into every successive generation’s lives. ACU realized this fact and jumped on the opportunity to integrate mobile devices into its students’ curriculum.
However, some naysayers’ arguments contain credence. Despite the university’s deserved accolades, challenges still lie ahead that need to be addressed.
First, many students worry about the technical support on campus. Students still will need help registering their computers, connecting to the wireless network and setting up their cable televisions. Those with iPhones should not receive first priority. No student should be ignored.
Nor should professors be ignored. Faculty members need to have the resources available to properly utilize iPhones and iPod touches in their classes. Some classrooms may have to be upgraded, and the administration, faculty and students should acknowledge this and be patient as necessary improvements occur.
Most importantly, everyone at ACU needs to responsibly establish a healthy campus culture that mixes education with technology. Freshmen need to recognize iPhones and iPod touches were not solely meant to be used as toys and should use them appropriately. Upperclassmen ought to recognize the university’s efforts to create a new educational tool and must not become bitter just because they did not receive an iPhone or iPod touch. Faculty need to recognize mobile technology can be an incredible asset in the classroom, and they should decide how to best utilize the iPhone or iPod touch, whether it be sparingly or abundantly. And the administration needs to recognize the significance of its actions when it comes to how it deals with the Mobile Learning Initiative.
The world has its eyes fixated on ACU and waits to see how the school will use mobile technology on its campus. Everyone at ACU now will have his or her opportunity to live up to the university’s motto-change the world one ‘i’ at a time.
