The iPad is being given to students at campuses all over the United States. Framed as "magical and revolutionary," the iPad is certainly an amazing device. I started wondering if any student affairs practitioners were going to be using the iPad within their functional area.

I remembered seeing a tweet from Becca Fick, Assistant Director, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, that mentioned that her office was getting a "fleet" of iPads. I decided to see what Becca and her colleagues were up to at UNCP. According to Becca, they had to draft a proposal in order to justify the purchase of 4 iPads. Their proposal was successful and they plan on using the iPad in the following ways:

• Student Voice Assessment: Polling students at events as a way of assessing programs.
• Conferences: Presenting via the Keynote application. And, typing up notes sans the click-clack of laptop keys.
• iKindle: Professional development via eBooks.
• Evernote: Information sharing and syncing.
• Social Media Management: Tweeting on Twitter and posting to Facebook during events. Also, monitoring tweet stream at events as a means of monitoring a program or quickly addressing anything that comes up.

While I'm still not an iPad owner, I definitely have iPad envy. Anything that enhances our practice, and makes us more efficient, intrigues me. Everyone I know who has one for work or play says only positive things about it. It's not magic. It's just a brilliant piece of technology.

The iPad + Velcro video is a bit tongue in cheek, but it does showcase just how different the iPad is compared to other devices... Do you have an iPad? Do you use it for work? Do you use it within your student affairs job?

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