Mizzou Makes iPod Touch/iPhones in Class a Requirement
Starting this fall, The University of Missouri will be requiring all journalism majors to own an iPod Touch or iPhone. The idea is that, by making these devices mandatory and posting class lectures and other course materials online, students will absorb the information better. The flimsy pretext for this claim? According to Fox News, Associate Dean Brian S. Brooks told the Missourian, "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." Brooks failed to mention which "some research" he was referencing.
Still, there's some merit to what Brooks said -- like when you watch a movie for the second time and notice details you missed before -- but whether the plan will actually work is up in the air. Thankfully, because the gadgets are required supplies, students will be able to claim them in their financial aid estimates. Students who don't rely on financial aid are kind of left out in the cold on this one, and may be left digging into student loans to cover the cost of such high-tech educational gadgetry.
In order to discount the devices, the university will be taking advantage of iTunes U -- Apple's educational version of its iTunes Store that offers discounted products to students and educators. The fact that 99.5-percent of the journalism school's incoming students bought or already own an Apple laptop doesn't hurt, though both iTunes and the iPod Touch/iPhone are Windows compatible. If you're currently a college student, let us know what you think about the University of Missouri's plan... How would you feel if your school required you to buy an iPhone or iPod Touch? [From: Fox News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nate said 3:42AM on 6-24-2009
I go to mizzou, and I can honestly say this is atrocious. The school of journalism is doing this only because they are in bed with apple. Incoming freshmen are required to buy an iPod touch or an iPhone for a class called Career Explorations in Journalism (and then not required to have it for any other class EVER), and let me tell you a little about the class:
Career Explorations in Journalism (J1010) is a lecture class that students go to twice a week for half of a semester. Each class, a different professor comes in, reads the words straight off a PowerPoint document that they didn't create, and tells you how that in order to be a certain type of journalist (professors come from Radio Journalism, broadcast, newspaper, advertising, etc.), you have to be creative, good at writing, have good people skills, etc. All the professors give the exact same speech every time. I believe that J1010 was designed in an attempt to "de-saturate" the J-School, to make people hate being a journalism major so much that they switch majors and the J-School doesn't have to worry about as many students as originally want to participate. When I took this class, my roommate and I would take turns going so that neither of us had to sit through that horror twice a week. There were few assignments in the class - most were turned in through an online program that the student has to buy that scans for key words and grades based on whether or not the student typed in those words. I got away with writing essays in only one sentence because of this. As if this class weren't already a joke, Brian Brooks adds the requirement of more Apple products (the J-School basically tells you to buy a Mac: I prefer PC computers but I have an Apple laptop because I felt pressured to buy one since the J-School all but required that, too). The School of Journalism at Missouri is a complete sellout and anybody considering attending should take this matter into account. It is a dark day when universities become little more than puppets for a corporation like Apple
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