This fall, 133 University of Maryland freshmen in the Banneker/Key Scholarship and Maryland Incentive Awards programs are taking part in a pilot program to explore the academic usefulness of mobile technology as part of their university experience. They received their choice of either an iPhone or an iPod touch device during move-in on August 28 and 29.

When high-level discussions about exploring mobile technology for students and faculty began at Maryland, a steering committee was formed to plan the pilot program and guide the direction of the project. This committee is composed of faculty and students.

The students in the pilot, plus faculty members on or chosen by the committee, will explore some of the ways that these mobile devices can be academically useful. The planned uses of these devices are wide-ranging and vary from configuring them as clickers that provide real-time feedback to professors to using them as tools for performing Web-enabled research and exploration. Faculty involved in the pilot will modify existing instructional activities or create new ones to explore whether the mobile devices increase students’ engagement in their learning. One proposed activity is a scavenger hunt that would require students to use the devices to complete research through several different databases and other resources on campus. Another instructional activity will introduce students to the issue of “iPodiquette.” Pilot participants will complete many of these activities outside of their regular classes.

University community members have developed specialized university resources for these devices, including a mobile version of the MyUM portal, which enables participants to access parts of ELMS (powered by Blackboard) and other useful campus Web sites through a screen display optimized for the mobile devices. Additional resources being developed include tools to allow students to integrate the functionality of their university telephone and voice mail service with their iPhones; an application, MyeVyu, that would use GPS technology to provide directions and real-time Shuttle-UM and Metrobus schedules and estimated arrival times; and public safety features such as a one-touch button that would immediately summon the Department of Public Safety in the event of an emergency.

While there is much debate in the media about whether mobile devices really add to a student’s academic experience, the University of Maryland is truly interested in exploring this issue. According to Barbara Gill, Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Admission and Enrollment Planning and facilitator for the Mobility Initiative steering committee, “If a mobile device can enhance the student and faculty experience, we want to deliver that. Only through the pilot project will we know for sure if the devices indeed enhance engagement.” For more information about the Mobility Initiative, visit www.mobility.umd.edu.