University takes my advice, requires iPods

One year ago this week, I wrote a column arguing for the requirement of iPods and other gadgets in the nations schools ("Are iPod-banning schools cheating our kids?: Why iPods and other electronic gadgets should be required, not banned"). Now, the University of Missouri is taking my advice and "requiring" journalism students to buy an iPhone or an iPod Touch.

OK, they probably didn't even read my column, and the gadgets aren't actually required (there will be no penalty for non-compliance). And if they did read my column, they're weren't persuaded by my central argument, which is that 1) people will always have Internet-connected mobile gadgets, so making kids memorize facts they can easily get online or from storage isn't realistic; 2) using gadgets to store data so humans can do what they do best, which is to think, improves education; and 3) the skill of finding, storing, referencing and utilizing data via a gadget is now a primary job skill necessary to succeed in the world. 

Instead, the University of Missouri's bone-headed reasoning is that including iPhones and iPods as a "requirement" enables students to claim the expense and pad their student financial aid requests. The "lesson" the students are learning is how to lie and cheat in order to get easier access to luxury consumer goods used mainly for passive entertainment. 

When I first saw the headline, I thought some educational institution finally got a clue. But no. The massive educational opportunity of iPods will continue to be ignored. Because, according to the university, the problem that needs to be solved isn't preparing students for journalism careers in the real world -- it's that they don't have enough easy entertainment.