Such a debate scenario is a common one as fall classes commence, but there's one obvious difference between the Abilene Christian University (ACU) freshmen and the thousands of gen-Y-ers filling colleges throughout the rest of the United States: All of the ACU students carry university-issued Apple iPhones or iPod touch devices, as do their professors. Instead of a simple show of hands, which could be biased because students may be hesitant to go against popular opinion, votes on the debate could be collected and instantly displayed using ACU's custom iPhone application and website.

That's just one possibility of iPhone-enhanced learning at ACU, where professors and staff are using the Apple devices in innovative ways inside the classroom and out.

For the first time, all of ACU's 2008 freshmen were given the choice between an iPhone 3G and an iPod touch---650 went with the 8GB iPhone while the remaining 300 chose 16GB iPod touches, says ACU's CIO, Kevin Roberts. (They weren't given a choice on storage capacity, and though the devices are paid for by the university, students are responsible for cellular plans.)

ACU Mobile on iPhone

The star app for the gadgets: the university's in-house-developed, Web-based ACU Mobile application. Students use this app to check their university mail and calendars--both of which are Google Web-based services--look up course information, check student account balances, and even share files with classmates and professors. It's as robust and unique as any software available in Apple's App Store.

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