Back to School: What's in Your Students' Backpacks?

RECENT ARTICLE IN USA TODAY (MARKLEIN, 2010) ASKS: Can college students learn as well on iPads, e-books? The question got me thinking. Am I prepared for the challenges of the new school year? Are faculty in bricks-and-mortar and online classrooms prepared for the arrival of incoming students? In particular, what new tools and technologies will students be bringing to campus or to the educational experience? How must we, as faculty, prepare for the newest demands by our incoming students? If we scan the web, we will find a host of blogs and articles about back-to-school technologies. Dan Millman's blog on Computerworld (http://blogs .computerworld.com/16697/tips_for_ back to school_technology_shopping) mentions that many students are deciding on whether or not to purchase an iPad or, perhaps, a netbook. On the Helium website (www.helium.com/items/1916028back-to-school-technology-tools-for- 2010), Jefe Nubarron reports that 2010 was a record year for technology gadgets: "Apple has been dominating device news in 2010, first with the launch of their iPad in April, and again with their iPhone 4 in June. Both devices are worthy of consideration." Nubarron adds that the tech-savvy student will select a smartphone as an alternative to a laptop. Smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android, will become more common. Let's look at the numbers. Apple reported that, as of April 2010 (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/08/ apple-has-sold-450000-ipads-50-millioniphones-to-date/), 450,000 iPads had been sold, along with 50 million iPhones and 35 million iPod Touches. As for the rest of the smartphone market, sales were up, with a total of 61.6 million units sold (Cheng, 2010). Now that we have the overall market numbers, what can we say about college students and their computer ownership? To answer this question, let's examine findings from the ECAR study of undergraduates for 2009 (Smith, Salaway, & Caruso, 2009). Although this study is a year old, the data will aid in our predictions for 2010. First, some 98 percent of undergraduates owned some type of computer. Second, over 50 percent owned Internet mobile devices, with more than half of these users accessing the Internet on a daily basis. Third, social networking increased across all age groups. Given students' use of social networking sites, greater use of mobile devices is clearly a trend for the upcoming academic year. In a 2009 study (Schaffhauser, 2010), 76 percent of college students stated that having wireless networks on campus (needed for the use of mobile devices or m-learning) was extremely important, compared with 50 percent the previous year. How can we translate these trends for nursing students? A quick trip to the ITunes Store demonstrated to my satisfaction that there are well over 2,500 medical applications (apps) available for the iPhone. There are probably more, but I got tired reading the 150 apps per page and gave up at the 15th page. About 300 apps are directly labeled for nursing, but the topic of health uncovered thousands. Many of these were also available on the iPad. Through Google, I found that the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has two medical apps available at ITunes. One is connected with the student version of BMJ, and the other is for differential diagnosis. This year, the Stanford University School of Medicine will give each incoming medical student an iPad. Nurse practitioner apps are also available for the iPad (http://onlinenursepractitionerschools.com/ 20-incredible-ipad-apps-that-will-revolutionize-nursing/), and Unbound Medicine also provides a long list of nursing and medical apps. A quick Google search of iPhone or iPad use in the clinical arena brings forward many clinical agencies and clinicians describing their current and potential practices. There is no doubt that smartphones and iPads are making their way into the health care arena, and that smartphones and iPads will be entering the classroom. …