ACU to Pioneer New Learning Strategies Using Apple iPhone, iPod Touch

First University in Nation to Provide These Devices to Incoming
Freshmen
ABILENE, Texas--(Business Wire)--
An Apple iPhone or iPod touch will become a central part of
Abilene Christian University's innovative learning experience this
fall when all freshmen are provided one of these converged media
devices, said Phil Schubert, ACU executive vice president.

At ACU - the first university in the nation to provide these
cutting-edge media devices to its incoming class - freshmen will use
an iPhone or iPod touch to receive homework alerts, answer in-class
surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and
check their meal and account balances - among more than 15 other
useful web applications already developed, said ACU Chief Information
Officer Kevin Roberts. ACU's vision for technology has been captured
in a forward-looking film called "Connected," found online - along
with information about ACU's other ground-breaking mobile learning
efforts - at www.acu.edu/connected.

"We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our
incoming students," said Roberts. "We are also providing the web
applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the
students' learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students
bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to
take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices."

Dr. Dwayne VanRheenen, ACU provost, said, "This is exciting to me,
not only because we're giving students new tools, but because we are
transforming the learning environment. The extensive research that's
been done on campus in the past 10 months has prepared us to launch
with freshmen this fall, and research will be ongoing as we expand the
program in the future."

For a number of years, ACU's faculty and technology staff have
researched strategic opportunities presented by handheld devices in
higher education, said Roberts. However, for the past six months,
ACU's intensive research has focused on more than 30 projects
exploring pioneering mobile learning strategies for enhancing the
campus environment.

The 2008 Horizon Report stated, "As new devices ... are released
that make content almost as easy to access and view on a mobile as on
a computer, the demand for mobile content will continue to grow. This
is more than merely an expectation to provide content: this is an
opportunity for higher education to reach its constituents wherever
they may be."

The Horizon Report, produced annually as a collaboration between
the New Media Consortium (of which ACU is a member) and the EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative (ELI), also described the explosion of converged
media technology. "More than a billion new mobile devices are being
manufactured - a new phone for every six people on the planet. In this
market, innovation is unfolding at an unprecedented pace ... mobiles
are quickly becoming the most affordable portable platform for staying
networked on the go."

Using innovative technology to enhance learning is not new at ACU.
In fact, ACU was one of the first universities to use mobile devices
as a learning tool in its graduate distance education programs.
"Expanding to undergraduate, residential students is a natural
progression for us," Roberts said.

"We enjoy great relationships with many technological leaders such
as Apple, AT&T and Amdocs," Schubert said. "These relationships help
us as we continue to be a university on the leading edge of
technology, a central component of our 21st Century Vision."

About Abilene Christian University

ACU's innovative, diverse learning environment attracts about
4,700 students from nearly every state and 60 nations to its beautiful
200-acre Texas campus. Strong academic programs include business,
pre-med, theatre, physics, psychology, education and information
technology.

Abilene Christian University
Bage Anderson, 254-772-5909
Media Relations
bage.anderson@acu.edu
or
Lynne Bruton, 325-665-3206
Director of Public Relations
lynne.bruton@acu.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2008