Bowdoin to Equip All Students with Apple Tools

Bowdoin College has announced it will provide every student with a suite of Apple technology as well as access to course-specific software in an initiative it's calling the Digital Excellence Commitment. The goal: to advance learning, inspire innovative teaching, and create digital equity across the student body in the use of tools essential for success in the twenty-first century," according to a press release.

Beginning in fall 2022, all current and future students will receive a 13-inch MacBook Pro, iPad mini and Apple Pencil, all paid for by the college. The rollout is an expansion of Bowdoin's summer 2020 iPad Initiative, which provided iPads to all students in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Among the benefits: Students will have consistent access to digital tools, dependable tech support, a shared learning experience and the ability to collaborate and innovate in a digital world, the college said. Students will have the option to pay $1 to keep their equipment when they graduate.

"During the pandemic we witnessed firsthand the power of a common technology platform for teaching and learning, along with the substantial and differential benefits that come with the combination of a MacBook Pro and an iPad with an Apple Pencil," explained Clayton Rose, president of the college, in a statement. "Our Digital Excellence Commitment allows us to level the playing field so that every student has the opportunity to fully benefit from the technology that plays an essential and growing role in the learning experience at Bowdoin. Our central mission is to deliver an exceptional liberal arts education along with the knowledge and skills students need to lead in our increasingly digital world."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at rkelly@1105media.com.

Featured

  • abstract geometric pattern of glowing interconnected triangles, hexagons, and circles in blue, gold, and white, spread across a dark navy-to-black gradient background

    OpenAI Unveils 'Operator' AI for Performing Web Tasks

    OpenAI has launched "Operator," an AI agent designed to perform web-based tasks autonomously using its own browser. Currently available as a research preview for Pro users in the United States, the tool aims to automate everyday activities such as filling out forms, ordering groceries, and even creating memes.

  • computer with a red warning icon on its screen, surrounded by digital grids, glowing neural network patterns, and a holographic brain

    Report Highlights Security Risks of Open Source AI

    In these days of rampant ransomware and other cybersecurity exploits, security is paramount to both proprietary and open source AI approaches — and here the open source movement might be susceptible to some inherent drawbacks, such as use of possibly insecure code from unknown sources.

  • two abstract humanoid figures made of interconnected lines and polygons, glowing slightly against a dark gradient background

    Microsoft Introduces Copilot Chat Agents for Education

    Microsoft recently announced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a new pay-as-you-go offering that adds AI agents to its existing free chat tool for Microsoft 365 education customers.

  • glowing shield hovers above a digital cloud platform with abstract data streams and cloud icons in the background

    Google to Acquire Cloud Security Firm Wiz

    Google has announced it will acquire cloud security startup Wiz. If completed, the acquisition — an all-cash deal valued at $32 billion — would mark the largest in Google's history.