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 [email protected].

Featured

  • stacks of glowing digital documents with circuit patterns and data streams

    Mistral AI Introduces AI-Powered OCR

    French AI startup Mistral AI has launched Mistral OCR, an advanced optical character recognition (OCR) API designed to convert printed and scanned documents into digital files with "unprecedented accuracy."

  • open laptop in a college classroom with holographic AI icons like a brain and data charts rising from the screen

    4 Ways Universities Are Using Google AI Tools for Learning and Administration

    In a recent blog post, Google shared an array of education customer stories, showcasing ways institutions are using AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM to transform both learning and administrative tasks.

  • a professional worker in business casual attire interacting with a large screen displaying a generative AI interface in a modern office

    Study: Generative AI Could Inhibit Critical Thinking

    A new study on how knowledge workers engage in critical thinking found that workers with higher confidence in generative AI technology tend to employ less critical thinking to AI-generated outputs than workers with higher confidence in personal skills.

  • 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.