Almost 3,000 Bradley University students are returning to campus this week with a new tenth generation iPad in hand, free of charge.
The devices, and a Bradley-branded keyboard attachment, are on loan from the school as part of a grant-funded partnership with cell phone carrier T-Mobile. The students sign a lease agreement, keep the iPad until they graduate or leave the school and get access to an unlimited 5G data plan.
“I’ve heard from a lot of students prior to this program, they were using their phones to try to do their schoolwork and submit their assignments,” said Bradley Chief Information Officer Barbara Kearns. “Can you imagine typing a term paper on a cell phone?”
Kearns says this program helps every student stay prepared and equipped, without worrying about digital divides and reliable access to technology. If a student’s iPad ends up damaged, they can take it to Bradley’s technology department for support or get it replaced for a “small fee.”
Students can load their own apps on the device and log in with their own Apple ID. However, they do come preloaded with a suite of apps that could be useful, like the Microsoft 365 and Google Apps programs, email, Canvas Learning and an app for the University’s safety cruiser transportation service.
Kearns says the initiative, called the “Digitally Connected Campus,” initially started last year by rolling out iPads to faculty for classroom use.
“We had a number of new and innovative ways of teaching that came out of that,” she said. “One of which was, a biology class used augmented reality and gave their students the opportunity to tour through a molecule in 3D. Another biology class took their students to Jubilee State Park and they all took their iPads. They used it to record data and collect samples and collect content there and continue doing their research in the field.”
The school is handling distribution by having students come to the Markin Recreation Center during Welcome Week and wait in line to get their iPad. Information Technology staff walks each student through getting their device activated and ready to go.
While the university is looking to spark innovation and new modes of learning with the program, students are generally staying very practical.
“It’s a bit easier, because you can use your hands instead of like, just typing all the time and using a mouse,” said sophomore Nathaniel Isom. “So it’s a bit quicker and definitely more convenient.”
Other students see value in the unlimited 5G data.
“You can bring it kind of anywhere,” said sophomore Cohen Musschoot. “So definitely good for studying and like, road trips and stuff. I think it’ll be good, yeah.”
The iPad program became a point of contention between students and the school last year during protests that followed the announcement of sweeping academic cuts. A shout of “we want teachers, not iPads” drew cheers from a crowd of students at one of those demonstrations.
Bradley administrators pointed out at the time that the program is funded by grants.
“Everyone’s pretty excited on campus to get their hands on an iPad,” Isom said. “So it’s nice.”
