Moravian College To Deploy iPads, MacBooks Campus-wide

• By Kanoe Namahoe
• 09/11/13

Moravian College, a small, private liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, PA, has launched a new initiative that will put MacBook Pro laptops and iPads into the hands of all undergraduates and faculty, beginning fall 2014. The program aims to give all students equal access to technology and practical experience with the applications that they will be using when they enter the workforce.

"Our goal is to provide students with the best in technology and collaborative learning tools to prepare them for their futures," said Bryon L. Grigsby , president of Moravian College, in a prepared statement. "We are developing an integrated mobile learning program that will transform the way students learn and professors teach."

Faculty will also receive MacBooks and iPads. "iPads enable faculty to develop their own courseware, e-books, and apps for pedagogical use, significantly lowering the cost of books for students and increasing student engagement through interactive materials," noted Grigsby. He went on to explain that the Apple initiative is an opportunity to foster collaboration and enhance the individual learning experience.

"Ultimately, we’ll be creating a personalized learning environment where access to information through multiple modalities is more closely aligned to the learning styles of our students," said Grigsby. "The standardization of technology across the campus will facilitate even greater collaboration between faculty members and students and between peers of both groups."

The college chose the Apple devices for their "format versatility, hardware reliability, and software creativity." "The Apple platform can run Linux, Windows, or iOS, giving faculty and students flexibility to work in the operating system that is best suited for their discipline," explained Moravian College Chief Information Officer Scott Hughes. "Commonality across the campus will make for greater efficiencies in maintaining and servicing the fleet of devices and reducing our IT ecological footprint."

Moravian recently overhauled its wireless network and increased its bandwidth, in preparation for the campus-wide deployment. "Our goal is to become fully mesh-compliant and to provide a continuous link connecting our north (Main Street) and south (Hurd) campuses," said Hughes. "This will allow access to information and informal learning to occur anywhere on campus."

"This initiative will benefit our students by enabling them to better understand and effectively utilize information technology to gain the knowledge necessary for 21st century careers," concluded Grigsby. "All Moravian students will be uniquely prepared for the careers they choose -- even those that have not yet been created -- by learning the technological skills they’ll need in the modern workforce."