“The university has given the
student-athlete community a
great deal of support in terms
of academic achievement,
career counseling and physical
wellness.”
“Ohio State is a global laboratory
where amazing things can happen.
It is like no other place on Earth.”
10
2012 Ohio State Football
The Digital First Initiative
at The Ohio State University
By Sarah Marshall, Ohio State Athletics Communications
Contributing writer: Danielle Warner
As students begin or continue their education at The Ohio State University,
many have traded their notepads and pencils for laptops and electronic
tablets. Higher education has become a more digitalized experience than ever
before and Ohio State is on the path as one of the leading universities in the
country in student technology with its Digital First initiative.
With the goal of “Enhancing Teaching, Learning and Research,” Digital
First is a university-wide project dedicated to keeping the campus learning
space current with new and relevant technologies to help boost the learning
experience. Included in the plan is wireless classroom technology and upto-date digital learning content for teachers that will assist in an engaging
digital learning environment.
This fall, Ohio State student-athletes have the opportunity to further
experience the effectiveness of the Digital First initiative. As part of a pilot
program connected to Digital First, 500 student-athletes were loaned iPads
on an issuance and retrieval basis. While Ohio State is the first university
of its kind to implement a program that will lead to all students having the
opportunity to “check out” an iPad in the future, it is not the first to design
a program that allows student-athletes to do so. Louisiana State University
issued iPads to the football team to assist in studying playbooks and the
University of Michigan instituted a similar program to aid student-athletes
in the Office of Disability Services. The University of Georgia created a
comparable initiative as the one constructed by Ohio State University
Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Gene Smith where all
student-athletes have access to the technology.
“When the plan was first brought up, the only way I was going to agree with
it was if we had the opportunity to make it happen for all of our studentathletes,” Smith said. “We had to have the institution’s support behind us.
Another huge component was we wanted to bring in a high level IT staff as
well, because we did not want to overburden out current staff. Luckily, with
the help of our amazing staff and Jim Null of the Fawcett Center IT staff,
everything worked very smoothly and efficiently. ”
After the university signed an agreement with Apple Inc. the athletics
department collaborated with the university to help launch the pilot program
with student-athletes.
“The athletes will be the first managed population of students to use this
campaign to see if this initiative will work successfully,” Dr. David Graham,
Ohio State assistant provost for student athlete success, said. “SASSO
(Student Athlete Support Services) is always looking for ways to keep
students integrated into the university. If we are not engaging technology to
maximize the education of all of our students, not just our student athletes,
we are not doing our job.”
The portability of iPads is ideal for student-athletes who are often traveling
for competition. With the ability to quickly access e-textbooks, Carmen,
the Ohio State library database, and Buckeye Link, a one-stop shop where
students can access their academic information, as well as pre-programmed
SASSO literature, student-athletes are able to maintain their high academic
standards, but now with the latest technology.
Many student-athletes have quickly taken advantage of the services and
opportunities the technology offers.
“The university has given the student-athlete community a great deal of
support in terms of academic achievement, career counseling and physical
wellness,” Julie Dick, a senior varsity rower majoring in political science and
classical literature, said. “The iPads are simply an electronic extension of
all this. What they’re used for and how effectively they’re used as tools to
further our education is ultimately in the hands of the student-athletes.”
Although not every student-athlete was issued an iPad in the initial roll out,
many will receive their iPads for academic use in 2013.
“Splitting the number down the middle was the easiest part at first, until we
had more funding,” Smith said. “Sports Administration was then able to go
through the teams and determine who would receive the first batch of iPads
based on size, gender and who would get the most use out of them for their
sport.”
“I am not really concerned our team did not receive iPads this year because I
know it is a resource and shouldn’t be taken for granted,” Steven Zimmerman,
a sophomore swimmer studying exercise science, said “Of course I want one
and it would help me, but the truth is, it is a useful resource. It is not a perk.”
Only time will tell how successful the initiative will be for students and
athletes alike. However, Graham optimistically sums up the opportunity.
“Ohio State is a global laboratory where amazing things can happen. It is like
no other place on Earth.”
OhioStateBuckeyes.com
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