As part of a new program with Apple, the University of South Florida is giving each of its 460 student athletes free MacBook Pros to keep up with their studies on the road.
In addition to handing out notebooks to jocks, the university is adding new materials to iTunes U, a page in the iTunes Store hosting educational content, such as video podcasts and digitized lectures.
The university declined to comment on the cost of the program, but a spokesman told Fortune that the cost of the notebooks for the spring semester was in the "six figures" — even after a special Apple discount.
To me, this program seems excessive, and I'd imagine the non-athletes are pissed. Which college student, jock or not, doesn't already own a notebook?
Far more interesting is the pilot program at Abilene University, in which the school is handing out free iPhones to its entire freshman class to transform the classroom experience using web apps.
Press release [USF]
See Also:
- How the iPhone Could Reboot Education
- Apple Stores Offer Field Trips for Schools
- Apple Takes on School in Latest Trademark Battle
- Apple, Stanford Teaching iPhone Development for Free
- Apple Launches iPhone University Program
- From iLightswitch to iBurrito, Stanford Students Concoct iPhone ...
Photo: *.*/Flickr
