Undergrads: You’ve Got Mail and an iPad

This fall, all undergraduate students will have an iPad, Apple pencil, and keyboard for use in their classes as part of iFisher: Next Generation Learning Initiative.

Over the next several weeks, returning undergraduates will receive an email with information about scheduling an appointment to come to campus and receive the iPad. First-year undergraduates received their iPad during Great Beginnings.

Returning student appointments will take place in Lavery Library and will last no more than 10 minutes. According to Katie Sabourin, director of the DePeters Family Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, due to the volume of iPads being distributed, the distribution will be staggered and targeted, so it is important that students keep an eye on their email to ensure they schedule an appointment on the correct day. Some appointments will begin as early as Tuesday, Aug. 17 with a plan to have all iPads distributed by the end of the first week of classes.

Fisher is the first college in Upstate New York to implement an Apple 1:1 (one device for every student) program for all undergraduate students. The program is a key feature of iFisher and will be complemented by enhanced support for engaging and active learning pedagogies as well as a re-envisioning of campus learning spaces.

The program is run through the DePeters Family Center, thanks to a $2 million joint gift from Jack ’73 and Donna DePeters and Wegmans Food Markets. A recently announced $350,000 gift from Randy M. ’75 and Susan White also helped fund the purchase of technology and the Apple Academy 1:1 training for faculty. In all, 235 faculty have completed the first level of Fisher Apple Academy training and 189 have received the recognition of Apple Certified Teacher from Apple. An additional 66 faculty have completed the second level of Fisher Apple Academy training, with another 60 currently enrolled in the training aiming to complete by the start of the fall semester.