The Alpert Medical School will decide this month whether to provide all first- and second-year medical students with iPads or laptops.
But the details of the plan are still awaiting finalization, said Richard Dollase, director of curriculum affairs in the Division of Biology and Medicine. Though the department is "committed to going electronic," further investigation into laptop and tablet models is necessary, as is coordination to ensure that a standardized model does not burden students, he said.
In addition to the benefits of up-to-date technology, moving to an electronic system would save paper and printing costs, Dollase said. Providing students with electronic devices would make access to course materials easier, wrote Associate Dean of Medicine Philip Gruppuso in an e-mail to The Herald.
But the school is also weighing the drawbacks — namely the high cost of the devices and the loss of paper class materials. A final decision is expected within the next two or three weeks, Dollase said.
Penn's Wharton School of Business will be giving iPads to its executive M.B.A. students starting next year.
