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Great Beginnings
Great Beginnings
The first set of students to receive iPads were incoming first-year students for the fall of 2021. St. John Fisher University offers a special event, called Great Beginnings, for these students in the summer prior to their arrival to campus to help orient them and get them prepared for the start of their first year. iPad kits were deployed to first-year students at this event in June. Students received their device and accessories, were walked through the basic setup, and enrolled in our mobile management system. They also received an orientation session to help them get started with the software and the tools they would need to connect with their advisors during the remainder of the summer.
Over 600 iPads were deployed in the four days in June 2021 that Great Beginnings was offered. Getting iPads to these students prior to their first year allowed them to strengthen their bond with their classmates, their advisors, and the University overall.
Returning Student Deployment
Returning Student Deployment
Once incoming first-year students received their iPad kits at Great Beginnings, the focus shifted to deploying iPads to all of the returning undergraduate students. This deployment took place in a phased approach. Students who returned to campus earlier than the start of the semester, like student-athletes, RAs, orientation teams, and tutors, received their iPads upon their return in mid-to-late August. The remainder of students received their iPad kits during the first week of the fall semester. Twelve students at a time signed up for a 10-minute appointment. Students were taken through a four-step deployment process:
Check-In: Students scanned a QR code, verified their eligibility, and completed an ownership agreement form.
Get Your Equipment: Students showed their screen from step 1 to an OIT staff member which indicated the right iPad kit for them based on their remaining years left at Fisher.
Set-Up: Students made their way into the Library and sat down with a staff member to help them turn their device on, connect to Wifi, and complete enrollment in our mobile management system.
Get Your Swag: Last, students stopped to have their iPad checked for proper enrollment in our mobile management system. Once verified, they received a screen wipe and Apple Pencil cap holder for their device.
Over 2000 iPad kits were deployed during this phase of deployment. On the busiest days of deployment, over 500 iPads were deployed in one day, with students on average working through all four steps of the process in 7 minutes or less.
Student Support Resources
Student Support Resources
As iPads were deployed, students received an orientation session helping them get started with their iPads. In addition, all students were enrolled in an organization on Blackboard with self-service resources, tools, links, and other information to support their ongoing use of their iPad over time.
In addition, weekly videos were sent to students and faculty that featured short, helpful tips. During the fall semester, the videos focused on getting students up and running with their iPad, while the spring semester encouraged students to explore the full capabilities with a special focus on digital literacy skill development. The video topics included Utilizing Reader View on Safari (shown to the right), Do Not Disturb, Common Gestures, Privacy Report, and Notability Advanced. The full playlist of iPad Tips videos can be found on the DePeters Family Center YouTube channel.
Fall 2021 Faculty and Student Feedback Highlights
Fall 2021 Faculty and Student Feedback Highlights
Faculty and students were surveyed at the end of the fall 2021 semester to gather their feedback on the iFisher initiative overall and the impact it was having on the teaching and learning environments across campus. These are some of the highlights:
of faculty respondents reported being either somewhat or extremely satisfied with the iFisher Next Generation Learning Initiative overall.
of student respondents reported that they strongly agreed or agreed that they felt more engaged during class time when the iPads were used.
of student respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that they took more notes with the iPad and Apple Pencil than they would have without them.
"I was not expecting to use [the iPad] that much, but I used it a great amount and actually found it really helpful for note taking and for working on my papers with being able to mark up pages. I am very thankful for the access to the iPad."
-Anonymous student survey response
In our next section, we'll discuss What's Next for the iFisher Next Generation Learning Initiative.
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