Some college campuses will start seeing fewer students coming to class with a pen and paper — and more carrying iPads.

At Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, Pa., every fulltime student, no matter what year they are, will be receiving an Apple iPad when they return to campus this fall.

The iPad will be used in classrooms to instantly share work with professors. Students will also use it to take notes and replace traditional textbooks with electronic textbooks.

Alycia Ferrett, a junior political science major who will be transferring to Seton Hill in the fall, said, “I’m ready to immerse my mind with learning and having to carry less of a load with books … e-books here we are.”

Seton Hill students will receive the iPads as part of a new program designed to incorporate more technology into daily campus life.  Each semester students will pay a $500 fee that, in addition to paying for the iPads, provides incoming freshman with a MacBook Pro laptop, and access to wireless Internet anywhere on campus. –-Natalie Podgorsky, ABC 

While the students are very excited about the physical gadgets, another piece of the puzzle is making sure that faculty and staff know how to use the technology effectively, and of course all the IT structure to support the users.

At Seton Hill, where I teach, training the teachers and staff has been a big part of implementing the tech plan (which includes an iPad and MacBook for all incoming full-time undergrads, and more). Simply handing out the gadget won’t amount to much, unless faculty feel comfortable selecting and using eBooks, coming up with assignments that involve the capabilities of the new technology, etc.

Our students at Seton Hill, and I’m sure students at other schools that take the plunge wisely, are are not just getting technology. They are getting an educated faculty that is deeply interested in innovating in order to make good use of the technology.

Our faculty and staff members submitted a proposal as part of a process of requesting an iPad, and a big chunk of faculty went through a couple dozen hours of training on new Mac laptops.

But not every school is ready to commit to that level of retraining.