Seton Hill University has been named “eCampus of the Month” for October by eCampus News, an online news source providing current information, resources and reports on the applications of technology to improve learning.

Seton Hill took a bold step into the future 18 months ago, becoming the first university in the nation to provide the iPad to all full-time faculty members and students. Since then, the University has seen energizing change in the way faculty think about their syllabi, the way learning is evaluated and the way students get involved in what they are learning.

“It was Seton Hill’s vision for transforming education through the use of technology and its focus on staff development to achieve this goal that led to its selection as our ‘eCampus of the Month’ for October,” noted eCampus News staff.

“With no models to work from, our faculty had to explore, practice and discover the iPad's potential for expanding learning,” said Mary Spataro, director, Center for Innovative Teaching. “The most enthusiastic faculty report deep satisfaction from the critical reexamination of their course syllabi and excitement about the discovery of new resources available wherever they or their students happened to be.”

“Faculty have determined that students are more highly engaged,” said Phil Komarny, vice president for Information Technology. “The use of the iPad and applications we have implemented have resulted in more active participation and more meaningful discussion around issues. We have seen a significant increase in contact between faculty and students as a result of the new channels available for communication.”

According to eCampus News, “Using technology effectively in higher education is essential to providing high-quality education and preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century.

When looking toward the future at Seton Hill, Komarny noted, “We’re also just beginning to implement Enterasys issac, a new technology that gives our information technology personnel the ability to use Twitter to troubleshoot and make quick and easy network changes. For example, to troubleshoot a problem with an iPad, information technology personnel can query the hardware via Twitter on their mobile device without having to be at their desks. They have access to the information no matter their physical location.”

View an article about Seton Hill's mobile learning in education initiative by clicking here.