President Joseph I. Castro launched the Fresno State Tablet Program with the investiture of 40 Faculty Fellows on Jan. 13, 2014. The Fellows were nominated by the deans from all campus divisions and volunteered to participate in the inaugural cohort.

They will participate in focused professional development activities this spring and intensive summer training. Their courses offered in the fall will be delivered to a diverse, multi-disciplinary group of more than 1,000 students – from freshmen to graduate students.

Their training will culminate in the creation of re-imagined educational experiences and courses that will advance the transformative potential of technology in our classrooms.

“I’ve been asked many times why I am so interested in introducing tablets,” said Castro. “I explain that I am keenly interested in making sure our students have the tools they need to succeed and that they are well prepared for careers that are become increasingly dependent upon technology.”

“We have chosen Apple for our initial cohort, primarily because of accessibility. We also have a CSU model from Northridge in a partnership with Apple. We are building our program to be nimble and agnostic, that is, not platform specific. That way, we will remain open to technology as it emerges.”

Castro noted that elementary, junior high and high school students throughout the Valley, state and nation are using iPads and other tablets in their schools.

“We must be prepared to serve these students well when they arrive at Fresno State. We are also seeing tablets used in a wide variety of occupations,” he said.

faculty-fellows-tablet

Faculty Fellows

Chaired by Associate Provost Lynnette Zelezny, the Fresno State Tablet Program Taskforce investigated successful tablet initiatives at higher education institutions, met with industry and technology partners and defined the institutional infrastructure necessary to create successful implementation in fall 2014.

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