iTouch requirement became as confused as a game of 'telephone'

by Morgan Ledermann, posted Oct. 23, 2009

News of a requirement of an iPhone or an iPod Touch was passed along like the familiar game of telephone; the same game that turned “I love you” into “olive juice.”  It started with the MU School of Journalism, which then made National News. After that, parents passed on the information to their journalism student.

The idea is to turn the music player into a device for learning.

iTunes University is a Web site that offers downloadable educational podcasts, which give students the option to access lectures when students are absent from a class or have questions concerning the material.

Statistics from this Web site show a significant advantage to hearing a lecture more than once, which Brian Brooks, dean of the school of Journalism acknowledges with his new requirement of the iPhone or iPod Touch for Journalism students.

A study was performed by iTunes Univeristy allowing some students to access these podcasts while restricting others to the traditional in class lecture only. Findings show that students who used the podcast and took notes scored drastically higher than students learning through lecture.
Freshmen directly admitted to the School of Journalism were sent a letter informing them of the change and explaining the option to purchase an iPod touch or iPhone in accordance with the new requirement. According to the Apple Web site, a 16-gigabyte iPhone 3GB sells for $199 and the iPod Touch 16GB for $299.

“When I got that letter in the mail, I was slightly confused if it was a requrement or a recommendation,” said Julie Wisniewski, freshmen Journalism student. “Based on the language of the latter, it seemed necessary for the J-school so I purchased an iPod Touch before coming to school, but I am yet to see its use in any of my classes.”

The iPod Touch is preferred instead of the iPhone. The preference for the iPod Touch is so specific because MU believes no other device on the market provides the opportunity for students to access all the features the School of Journalism intends to implement. These features include audio lectures, supplemental course materials in audio format, ability to record an interview, thousands of productivity applications specific for the device, and portable access to the World Wide Web.

Both the iPod Touch and the iPhone are available in MU’s computer store, Tiger Tech. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of incoming journalism students take advantage of Tiger Tech bundles, according to the MU Web site. The iPhone is available and does fulfill the requirement. However, an iPhone is not required.

“I upgraded to a Blackberry to meet the requirement because it worked better with my plan,” said Beverley Kreul, an agricultural journalism sophomore.

These devices in conjunction with a laptop meet the minimum requirement, but are not as capable as the iPod Touch beyond their use as an audio-video player.

“I don’t know about this requirement,” said Marty Swant, a senior journalism student. “It’s my last year and I use a Dell and an old cell phone, and I’ve never been restricted.” 

However, the journalism school believes the iPod Touch will show better performance academically for the students. 

“The school is excited about this requirement in part because it can help all students, regardless of learning style” according to the Missouri School of Journalism Web site.

The School of Journalism currently has applications in development specifically for MU students. These will help the transition for student journalists to adjust to college in general and will include “building and classroom locations, access to student services, and a response system to assess learning” according to the university’s Web site. Not all of these applications are available now but similar resources can be downloaded right away.  

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