Exciting changes are in store for 2015 at Maryville University, among one of the largest being the new iPad pilot, Digital World, to take place next fall! Maryville is working with Apple on a pilot initiative in which all freshmen and selected sophomores will use iPads as an academic resource. Each student participating in this pilot will receive an iPad Air 2 with resources selected by the faculty for the courses pre-loaded, including the Maryville Reads selection for University Seminar.
In addition to students receiving iPads, all full-time faculty and faculty and staff teaching students in USEM sections, freshmen, and select sophomore education students will also receive iPads. These individuals will also receive extensive professional development training on how to integrate the iPad into the classroom.
To implement such an initiative, several staff members at Maryville University have taken on a new job title: that of an iPad Superhero!
On December 3 and 17, individuals from the Help Desk, School of Adult and Online Education, and other areas distributed iPads and staffed professional development tables where they worked one-on-one with faculty and staff on getting to know their devices and preparing them for exploration. Over 150 individuals received their iPads and visited the professional development tables. Each table focused on a different aspect of the device, including iPad 101, entertainment apps, productivity apps, education apps, hardware, and Canvas tools.
2015 will bring more professional development training and cohorts of staff and faculty designed for learning how to utilize the iPad. There’s excitement in the air, and we cannot wait to delve into the Digital World during 2015!