ADP Fall 2012 Cohort trades textbooks for pre-loaded iPads T hanks to opportunities for more interaction with their professors, and the ease of having everything in one place, students in Corban’s Adult Degree Programs (ADP) are happy. So is the ADP staff.
This fall, two cohorts of ADP students from across the country received iPads preloaded with all of their syllabi, textbooks and a direct link to Corban’s Converge online education portal. The 10-inch iPads offer significant long-term savings to the university. Digital textbooks cost less than printed ones. Faculty can more easily use Corban-developed curriculum as well. For Organizational Leadership Chairman Bruce Merritt, one of the biggest advantages is FaceTime, an Apple-developed app that allows students and faculty to connect to each other through live video chats. “This really has the potential to make face-toface interactions between faculty and students much easier than it has ever been in the past,” Merritt said. Coast Guard Second Class Petty Officer Brian Greig is stationed in North Carolina, but he said he’s able to keep connected with Corban week in and week out. “The iPad is one of the best tools a school has ever given me to use,” he said. “It is a portable school campus for me. All the resources are in one 16
easy convenient location. I don’t have to lug around several books, papers, and then a computer when I travel for work, which is a lot in my case.”
In the past, textbooks and curriculum were mailed to students. International students often had trouble receiving the packages or returning the books once the semester was complete. Now, iPads make education easier for everyone. More importantly, according to ADP Dean Nancy Martyn, stronger relationships are fostered. “I think this personalizes the experience,” she said. “It’s a work in progress, but it will be very interesting to see how this will continue to develop.”