On of the things that has really bugged me over the last couple of years is the lack of Apple support on campuses across North America. Students are constantly being told that online quizzes or exams aren’t formatted for Apple based systems, and that failure to complete an exam because a lack of compatibility would still result in a failed grade.
Nazi IT policies just took a hit today
A friend of mine attending law school at the University of Michigan was actually given a “specification” listing so he could find the most compatible laptop that would fit “seamlessly” into their infrastructure. I immediately threw up in my mouth a little bit. Somehow, in today’s world, IT departments fail to create a network that can’t handle the diversity found on campus. It always perplexed me that an institution, such as a University, that often boasts of their “understanding” and diversity culturally, can’t put together an “online” quiz that adheres to standards and uses technologies that would allow students to choose their platform of choice.
Students will be getting hands on with OS X
Anyway, given the recent success of the Get A Mac campaigns and the increased use of Apple machines on campus, most institutions are being forced to adopt new policies. News has rolled in today that a Canadian University, Nipissing, is going to be the first Canadian institution to offer Bachelor of Education students Macbooks with both Windows and OS X. It’s long been understood that the first step in changing the past is altering educational curriculum to coincide with the new goals of a nation or institution, so getting OS X in the hands of educators at Nipissing will only help Apple in the future, as teachers show students OS X over their careers. While that’s an exciting proposition for any Mac fan, it’s certainly an huge sigh of relief for students who are Mac users. The tide is turning, and pretty soon, we won’t have to have “active x” to write our exams, or Internet Explorer to get our course notes.
Can I get three cheers for Nipissing?
