Drexel catches iPod fever: Drexel University will distribute iPods to select freshmen next fall.

Following the footsteps of Duke University's (N.C.) and Georgia College and State University's experimental iPod projects, Drexel University (Pa.) will also begin distributing Apple's trendy music device. But unlike Duke who distributed it to its freshman class free of charge, or GCSU who merely loans the iPod to students, Drexel will only hand them out to the expected 30 to 50 freshmen who will enroll in the School of Education this fall. "It's a strategically and carefully focused small initiative," says William Lynch, director of Drexel's School of i Education. "The content will be specifically oriented to our education students," he says.

The iPod will provide several educational functions for Drexel students, including advising and orientation information "which helps students become better acquainted with their new environment," he says. It will also serve as a medium for course content information, allowing students to hear lectures and expert interviews "from anywhere--in their car or while they're on a jog," Lynch adds. In addition, Drexel will encourage its upper-class students in the School of Education to come up with novel applications for the iPod via a contest in which the winner will take home an iPod.

While many IHEs have expressed concern that the recreational element of the iPod would be a distraction for students, Lynch believes it is an incentive.

"I think it's healthy that they would use it to access music. In fact, I hope they do. That will only drive access to the educational content. We want them to be able to access both so they won't have to consciously make a decision to carry the 'educational stuff' one day and not the other," he says.

Furthermore, students will be required to access information via their iPods to complete assignments. Lynch is already talking to administrators at other schools within Drexel about implementing the popular device. "It's part of the university's mission to examine how technology can be used to enhance the way we deliver learning," he says.