LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Technology in the classroom is a must for most students pursuing degrees at colleges and universities across the country. At the University of Kentucky, the school spent this week helping their new students get moved in.
That also included setting them up for success in the classroom.
“They'll be getting their iPad kit which includes an iPad, a(n Apple) pencil and a(n Apple) keyboard,” said Rosa De La Rosa, who works at UK under the Smart Campus.
It’s a three-day event known as Tech Takeover. First-year students line up at The Cornerstone on campus, waiting to go inside, check in, and pick up their new supplies.
“We ended up getting to the very back of the line way back there, like around the entire building,” said freshman Noah Taylor, who plans to study neuroscience.”
“We had to wait on the line all the way around, but it went pretty quick and I'm super excited,” said another freshman, Bella Ori, who is going to study chemical engineering.
Tech Takeover started at UK in 2019 with the goal of lessening the digital divide by equipping students with the same items. Each iPad is pre-loaded with academic apps and materials to help students in the classroom.
“This is our seventh year doing it, and we've deployed over 40,000 iPads over the last seven years,” De La Rosa said.
“I was super excited for it because you know some people, they don't have their own laptops,” said Taylor. “Knowing that these iPads are meant for our classes and they do work, you know, it was a big help.”
This Tech Takeover is unique in that UK is the only school doing this type of program at this scale. New students are eligible, and these tools last well beyond the first few years.
“They do get to keep it over the course of four years and then they get to take it with them after they graduate,” shared De La Rosa.
“For me it means that my school is actually invested in me,” Taylor said. “We even have UK Invest in all these different programs that will help you succeed in life.”
The mass-pickup aspect of Tech Takeover started Tuesday and ran through Thursday. Students who were unable to stop by then will still have their own tech waiting for them.
