NCSU lending iPads for free

A new iPad starts at $499, but at N.C. State University it’s available to students free of charge — at least for a few hours.

NCSU Libraries are now lending iPads to students for four-hour increments to make sure students are familiar with the latest technology.

Within the first 48 hours of becoming available, the libraries loaned out their 37 iPads 350 times, said David Hiscoe, director of communications for the NCSU Libraries.

The iPads were purchased with a combination of student fees and money from the Digital Library Initiative Department, Hiscoe said.

It would have cost the university at least $18,500.

Hiscoe said that the library’s lending service also loans other digital technologies such as laptops, SLR cameras, GPS devices, eBook Readers and calculators.

Last month, the library loaned out 8,526 laptops, 350 calculators, almost 1,500 headphones and over 100 SLR cameras, Hiscoe said.

When the iPads first came in, five students were given the opportunity to take one around for a couple of days and blog about their experiences.

Daniel Marcus, one of the bloggers and a junior engineering major at N.C. State, said that the iPad was not a good resource for academic purposes, but was useful for checking e-mail, writing quick messages and general entertainment.

“I still can’t see the iPad as much of a business tool. … That said, right now, the iPad is serving as a welcome distraction and, for the first time, I’m actually rather enjoying the device,” Marcus wrote in his blog.

Some bloggers also gave their views on the device’s physical appearance.

“The aluminum backing, although sleek, is very slick to the touch. The screen — just like any other touch screen — is glossy,” wrote Amber Kenney, a sophomore communications major at N.C. State.

Three years ago, UNC launched a similar trial program with Tablet PCs. A pilot program was introduced to allow students and faculty to use Tablet PCs to assess their usefulness in an academic setting, said Charles Green, assistant vice chancellor for ITS teaching and learning at UNC.

The positive results of the study led to Carolina Computing Initiative adding the Tablet PC to the roster of available purchases, Green said.

But UNC is not considering adding the iPad to its existing technology rental programs on campus, Green said.

Loaning out iPads is not the only way N.C. State is using and encouraging Apple Inc. products. Earlier this year, they also started a program to develop and distribute applications through Apple’s App Store for people who use iPhones, iPod touches and iPads.



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