Ehmm may I ask why can't they use normal netbooks,laptops, PCs but Iphone or Ipod.

All students today have a PC or a mac to their course papers and this is just ridiculous.

Of course this will be used by those on financial aid at least to get their hands on the Iphones and Ipod touch and also Steve is problably laughing hard at this.

Time to buy some Apple stock guys because if other universities adopt this, profits for Apple are definitely going up.

How was I able to ever get through school without an iPod? This is so lame. A mojority of students are lazy and will normally drop out if they don't pay attention in class. So lets give them an iPhone because I'm sure nobody will play games, text, email or browse the internet during class.

"There's been some research done that shows if a student can hear that lecture a second time, they retain three times as much of that lecture."

What are they going to hear it a second time on there iPod while riding the bus or sitting in there dorm. I though because of the interent this is already possible. I know it was in my school. I bet they will still have to purchase the $130.00 text book as well. Good job at keeping the cost of school down idiots.

so, how much MDF they are earning?

i think its more ipod lessons and less "teacher" lessons etc

after highschool its the "young adult"'s responsibility to learn, it they pay some massive fee for a course they drop out in then thats up to them, i say this is a great idea.

"University offers students financial aid"
That means tax payer money, these Universities are a bunche of leaches and if they had their way you would need a degree to cook a burger at a fast food restaurant. OJT, on the job training and technical schooling is the best. All these States, like mine, Ohio have the lottery. It's for public schools and the "children", we were told. Lies, sure a little gets funneled that way but it goes everywhere else too, including universities that should not be getting tax payer money in the first place! Did my property taxes go down like promised, hell no, just the freaking opposite, damn Democrats anyway.
The old style 2-4-6-8-? year degree for the most part is a pile crap for a sheepskin of crap.

I am personally in favor of digital distribution of uni work.
I'm in my 3rd year and most lecturers have there class presentations online for us to read again.
if i had the lecture online as well that would be great.
not a fan of the apple though but great explanation why they have it set up like that

Most excellent.... the people who actually retain stuff on the 1st pass are usually the less bright ones because of the trade off they get in their memory retention. They are good a regurgitating but not at making broad associations and analysis of the implications of the information they are receiving.

In short, rewarding less drones and enabling more of the creative class is always a good thing.

Because the PC, latptop, netbook, library isn't possible to view that stuff already. Admit it, you're a poor college student and just want a free iPhone.

The Chevy Silverado is now required for Journalism 101.

If we are ripping off financial aid, lets go big and fix another issue at the same time instead of requiring toys.

Spizade,

You forgot that the Tickle me Elmo doll is now required for preschool education degree's.

On top of ripping off financial aid, they're wasting it on crappy Apple products.

Students already get discounts on computer equipment and such. For the price of a iPhone, they could get a Netbook. They could do practically anything they need to do with a Netbook. If my children were in college already, I would give them a Netbook or a small laptop and thumb my nose at the university.

When I got my BSEE, I was only required to have a graphing calculator. It's funny to see these universities flounder with their bad ideas now.

their FAQ is one of the most laugh out loud things i have read in months. Thanks for making my day

Did anyone actually follow the link to the university's site? It's total misinformation and BS. Here's a snippet:

Q. What if I prefer a Windows-based machine?
A. That's an option, but it's one we do not recommend unless you plan to make a career of computer-assisted reporting. By the time you purchase photo, audio and video software for a PC, you probably will have spent more than you would if buying a comparable Apple Computer. Buy a PC if you prefer to do so, but make sure it is wireless and has Microsoft Office. Almost 100 percent of last year's freshmen chose Apple computers.

...I wish I was in school now, just to see what I'd get from Sexual Education degrees :3

I'd sure like to be a student there. If you prefer a Windows-based device, do ahead. They just don't give you aids for that.

Well, I sent them an email if anyone cares to read it..

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Why are you providing complete misinformation to your students like this?

Q. What if I prefer a Windows-based machine?
A. That's an option, but it's one we do not recommend unless you plan to make a career of computer-assisted reporting. By the time you purchase photo, audio and video software for a PC, you probably will have spent more than you would if buying a comparable Apple Computer. Buy a PC if you prefer to do so, but make sure it is wireless and has Microsoft Office. Almost 100 percent of last year's freshmen chose Apple computers.

It's obvious you have a bias for Apple's products, but you could at least not lie to your students. A modicum of research would show anyone that Apple's products cost far too much. Even Consumer Reports just printed an article that showed that the average Apple computer is 2-3x as much as a comparable Windows based PC. Just as iLife is free on OSX, there are many more free alternatives on Windows. Do you really think the platform with the largest software library, bar-none, would be without comparable free alternatives? When the average price difference between an Apple PC and a Windows PC is ~ $1000, you can buy a LOT of extra software/hardware for the Windows based PC.

Also, your use of tax-payer money (IE financial aid) to provide your students with iPods/iPhones is reprehensible. For the purposes you suggest, any laptop or desktop PC would do the job just fine. Really, any internet-capable device would fit the bill.

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I went to that school and I can tell you that... WHAT THE FUCK!

Higher learning my ass.

Some people simply forgot what shame means, never mind common sense...

Obviously creativex11 is a member of the creative class. See the power of his broad association. If you had to go back and read his post to understand mine, you can thank goodness you're not a regurgitating drone.

Wow! While I'm not a big fan of their pushing Apple products; I can see why considering that they have their own free store on iTunes.

Now for those of you that don't see the point of this at all; then you probably never went to a 2/4 year school:

I totally agree with HobbitCy. Having a Prof. Power Point slides never did much for me and if you have a 3 hour lecture, it's pretty difficult to retain ALL of that information. Having some way to listen to it again would be helpful. While I agree, that making Netbooks required instead of laptops would be the better idea; I also know that Universities can be like most major companies that are slow to change and when they do, they rarely look far ahead. They probably planned to do this iPod Touch program 12 months ago before Netbooks had proven themselves to be a worthy new technology (I know I thought they would be fad). Also, their IT Dept. was probably to lazy to create a list of requirements and instructions for people who aren't all using the same devices or they would just do a crappy job (have you seen the instructions they give for establishing an internet connection in your dorm?)

And for those that say, they could just put them on their laptop; laptops are portable computers but they are still heavy and laborious at times, hence the reason netbooks exist at all.

oh and can we at least give the University credit for doing something different?!?

If you don't care for the idea, take solace in the fact that this is only for ONE major at their university.

My University already has a system in place where course coordinators and professors can distribute online content, power point slides, and lecture videos...and guess what...it's standard. Uses this thing called a web browser to distribute content to any computer than can use one...not requiring a tiny screen to look at, and not requiring you to download iCrap. So now students are expected to purchase books, computers, AND new phones/mp3 players? This is getting a little out of hand.

From their site...
So what happened to normal notebooks and desktop's video capability? What percent of students have a computer that can play video available? This is the best way, you say?

This is ridiculous.

University of Missouri’s journalism department : Breeding the next generation of uptight Apple followers. The semester ends in a suicide pact where everyone drinks iPunch laced with cyanide while Steve Jobs watches from the stage in white robes. That evening, news services worldwide praise iPunch + Cyanide saying it is way more hip and stylish than similarly PC based suicide drinks.

....damn.

Did I come out a little too strong there?

Just a little extreme is all.

Make good textbooks you lazy asses, coming to lectures is about hearing the teachers explaining the books.
And instead of going after apple you should consider other options such as e.g.: the samsung omnia or even better support FOSS-software. And also list the Neo Freerunner.
(Listing not only one vendor doesn't limit students.)
(And of course not add anything which isn't been tested.)
Which is actually a responsibility of institutes.
Or very small pc's that are able to be put in a pocket.

I wonder why they can't just provide the lectures as flash or pdf (or similar) transportable media - that don't require apple tax

True, but I keep getting that feeling from Mac users. It's like they are in a cult and don't realize it. Seems like so many of them just buy into the hype.

Not all Mac users are like this of course...