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University of Western Sydney to distribute 11,000 iPads to students

ipad4gplanThe University of Western Sydney has announced it will rollout 11,000 iPads to teachers and students in 2013 in one of the largest educational deployments in Australia.

The move marks UWS’s long-term strategy to offer students a new way to learn and interact.

Students who enrol at the University of Western Sydney will be presented with a brand new iPad when they start their courses in 2013.

“With digital technology revolutionising how we connect and interact with the world, university study should be no different,” says Professor Kerri-Lee Krause, UWS Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education).

“This initiative will not only readily equip our students and academic staff with mobile tools to enhance learning, it will also help them to engage with an ever-increasing online world.”

The iPad program at UWS is part of a larger planned curriculum renewal which will encourage more flexible study options across all degrees from 2013 onwards.

“Over the next couple of years UWS will challenge some of the traditional lecture-style presentations by including more of the interactive learning that students value so much,” Professor Krause said.

University of Western Sydney students will be given an iPad to assist their learning

“Mobile technologies will be a key part of this strategy. We want to support our academic staff to make the most of iPads and custom-designed apps in class so that, even in the largest lecture theatre, students have access to just-for-me, just-in-time interactive learning experiences.”

The University of Western Sydney has six campuses spread out across Greater Western Sydney with free wireless internet access for students.

The UWS iPad initiative will allow students to be connected at any time of the day.

Students also access the University’s existing e-learning system at all times of the day or night seven days a week.

“Not only do we expect this initiative to be useful for students on campus as part of their university studies, but we expect it will also greatly enable our first-year students to engage with the University and their learning when and where they choose,” Professor Krause said.

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