First off, you’re correct that you could have used an Acer (or other inexpensive laptop) to satisfy your minimum course requirements. We’ve always said that the minimum requirement for students is a laptop with wireless capability. Given that our school has about 90 percent Mac workstations, it makes sense to get a Mac, but any laptop with wireless capability is fine.

A lot of students seem to be swayed by what our campus bookstore tells them, rather than what the actual J-school requirement is. My advice to entering students is to take their cues from the school, not the store. Given the lifecycle of laptops, I tend to tell freshmen with questions to get something very inexpensive for their first couple years, or keep using whatever they have from home. Once they enter the J-school, they may well want to upgrade.

As to your second point — only using video editing for one assignment — I have to say, that’s on you. Not being in convergence certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to do video or audio editing. At least one multimedia project is a requirement for my reporting students, and those who are serious about the business are finding that it’s very useful to have more than one under their belts. As Stephanie says above, you have to learn the technology. Even at the stodgy old Missourian, we’re teaching people to edit in all media.

To quote http://www.journalism.missouri.edu/undergraduate/computer-requirements.html#ipod:
“Q. Will this computer suffice for all four years?
A. It will… ”
The original iBook I bought freshman year died after 2 1/2 years. In total, I have spent $2,400 on “required” Apple computers that I now feel I did not need.

“Yes, the device is a music player, but it is much, much more. TigerTech estimates that 90 percent of Missouri students have iPods.”
But, like 3 of my 7 past roommates, I have never owned an iPod.

Technology is important, but in 4 years at the J-school I have only used video editing for one assignment and have never done photo or audio work because I am not in the convergence sequence. So why require the toys if we don’t have an opportunity to play?

Look, here is the thing with journalism these days: if you want to be successful, if you want a chance at a journalism job someday, if you want to find a job once you get laid off from said journalism job — you MUST KNOW this technology. You MUST be familiar with or fluent in things like facebook, twitter, etc. It sounds trivial, but the only reason I’m getting job interviews right now is because I can a) write, edit, design, etc. and b) because I am up to date with the latest technology. Knowing these things and being able to bust out your iPod Touch or iPhone during the interview to show that old fogey interviewing you what Twitter is — it makes a HUGE difference. (it’s how I got my freelance job at a marketing firm!)

And quit getting hung up on the iPhone data plan with AT&T. You can get the iPod Touch instead (data plan & AT&T free). And half these kids are dying for an iPhone anyway if they don’t already have one, so some will probably jump at the chance to tell their parents they HAVE to have one now. (or at least, I would have been!)

I think it’s an extremely good idea to require laptops and smart phones. At the University of Memphis, we don’t have this requirement, and relatively few of my students have laptops; quite a few don’t even have their own computers of any kind. Yes, we have labs on campus for that, but honestly, for a journalism student, you need to be able to write and report and maybe even more importantly, read news all of the time, not just at the lab, if you want to put yourself ahead. In fact, I’d put a laptop and broadband access second only to food on my hierarchy of needs, and I just graduated from round three of schooling myself so I know what it’s like to be poor. You need to be able to connect, to stay on top of things, to gather and write at all times, and it needs to become second nature to do so. And at a time when most textbooks cost $100 or more (which I’ll agree is really annoying), it’s actually not per se a massive percentage of your expenses.

Personally, while I don’t believe the journalism school had in any way nefarious motives, I do think it would have been preferable to be less Apple-centric. To the students that are concerned, I might suggest – hee hee – doing some reporting. Don’t make assumptions. Ask questions. Price it out and find out what kind of deal you are getting from Apple vs. getting a PC and, say, a Google Android. Find out what kind of cash Apple is making via deals like this, and weigh that against the educational value. I’d sure read your story. After all, this is what you’ve been trained so well to do