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CIO Predicament: What To Do About the iPad

There seem to be two camps when it comes to supporting Apple's iPad on campus: thoserushing to adopt the device on a massive scale and those who want nothing to do with it.Timothy M. Chester, CIO and vice provost for academic administration at PepperdineUniversity, suggests a third possible approach, one that may benefit to students withoutcutting into limited resources.

By Timothy M. Chester05/05/10

Steve Jobs has done it to us once again. With the release of the iPad, Apple has unleashedanother revolutionary device upon information technology organizations in highereducation. Within hours of its release, the iPad began showing up on campuses as facultyand students attempted to use the device to access library, portal, and other servicesthrough our campus networks. How should we respond to this latest encroachment ofconsumer technology? Do we have a responsibility to quickly support the device and adaptour technology services for consumption on the iPad, or should iPad support fall at thebottom of a very long and under-resourced list of priorities?

Over the last several weeks, there has been a flurry of discussions on this topic in forumssuch as the Educause CIO listserv. Many of my colleagues have also responded with posts ontheir blogs. Based on these conversations, there appear to be two very different approachesto supporting the iPad on campus.

The first camp, the early adopters, is rushing to adopt the device on a massive scale.Many are considering whether to provide an iPad to every student and faculty member.

At least two institutions, Seton Hill University[1] (not to be confused with Seton Hall) and

George Fox University[2], plan to provide an iPad to every student later this year.

The second camp, the skeptics, wants nothing to do with the device. Some institutions,

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1. http://www.setonhill.edu/ipad/

2. http://www.georgefox.edu/

3. http://www.princeton.edu/main/

4. http://www.gwu.edu/

5. http://campustechnology.com/articles/2010/04/20/ipad-users-face-blockout-on-princeton-

network.aspx?sc_lang=en

including Princeton University[3] and George Washington University[4], are banning[5] orlimiting the use of the device on their campus networks until Apple provides fixes topossible connectivity and security bugs.

The two camps could not be more diametrically opposed. One camp sees institution-wideadoption of the iPad as a precursor for innovation; the other views the device as anunwelcome disruption introducing new security and operational risks. Which camp is takingthe right approach? If increasing the effectiveness of teaching, learning, and scholarship isthe goal, perhaps both approaches leave something to be desired.