iPhone/iPod Touch Required for Incoming Freshmen

The University of Missouri is requiring their students to have an iPhone or iPod Touch. While many classrooms are going the opposite ways and banning these devices from the classroom, good ol' Mizzou is trying to get more students to bring them in. Is this Apple's plan for taking over the world, one university at a time? Not quite.



Not all students need to have one, just those in the journalism program. The school thinks that by having the students record their lectures and then listen to them again they'll be able to retain the information better. I see two problems there: 1) no student really wants to listen to the lecture again and 2) they're journalism students, odds are even if they do retain the knowledge better, it's not like most of these students will be able to use it in the real world. It's harsh but it's true.

I liked school and I liked my journalism classes. But way back in the day when all my phone could do was text and call, I was distracted. How can students pay attention when they've got a gadget full of apps that can be accessed with just the swipe of a finger? While we admire the school's desire to help students get these devices (by making it "required" for class, students can use financial aid to purchase it), we don't think it's really going to work quite like they say.

There will probably be many Mizzou Tigers who don't qualify for financial aid that won't be willing to pony up a semester's worth of pizza money just to get a double dose of lectures. But then again, it is an Apple product. To find other devices that will be better suited to in-class distractions, we mean tools, check out our side-by-side comparison of the top MP3 players. For more on the latest tech news check out these other blog posts:

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