Sometimes when expensive technology disappears, a real-time tracking device can significantly improve the situation.
Apple’s iPads—increasingly prevalent on campus and in tester classes—can be easily equipped with an application called “Find My iPad,” which enables users to track their iPad on a map, password protect their device from afar, display a message on the screen and increase its privacy protection with the ability to wipe the iPad’s memory.
“It’s great technology to have that tracking option on,” Duke Police Chief John Dailey said.
Dailey said there were three instances during the past year where an iPad or iPhone was stolen, but Duke Police was able to recover it because of tracking software. The most recent occurrence of this was August 26.
“An individual did steal an iPad from an office [in the Bryan Center],” he said. “The tracking was on on the iPad, and we were able to find the person who stole it on the Main [West] Quad[rangle].”
In one case, Dailey said, the iPad was in a suspect’s car on campus. Another stolen iPhone was tracked to an off-campus address, where Duke Police obtained a search warrant and found the phone.
This tracking software has become all the more relevant with the recent move by Duke to incorporate iPads into teaching and learning. The Duke Digital Initiative and the Center for Instructional Technology collectively purchased 100 iPads last Fall for loan to students and faculty, according to the Duke Digital Initiative 2011 report. The report noted more than 4,000 loans were made in the 2010-2011 academic year, with iPads in a large demand.
CIT also purchased 20 iPad 2 devices for use in undergraduate classes, according to the report.
Professors have incorporated iPads into classes as diverse as the Pratt School of Engineering’s “Machine Shop”, Music 49S: “Bach, Beethoven & Brahms” and Religion 20S: “Muhammed and Prophecy.”
Steve O’Donnell, senior communications strategist for the Office of Information Technology, said there has not been an issue with DDI iPads being stolen.
Duke administrators also have signalled their enthusiasm for iPads.
Mike Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations called himself as an “iPad evangelist,” adding that Provost Peter Lange and President Richard Brodhead are also extensive iPad users.
Schoenfeld said his iPad is more portable and easier to use than a laptop—and more fun.
“I can do email, web, take handwritten notes, listen to music, edit documents and do PowerPoint presentations, as well as play some games,”he said. “I haven’t used a laptop since I got the iPad 2.”
Schoenfeld added that he set up the iPad tracking software when he first got the device, noting that it is useful to be able to track the device if lost or stolen.
A similar version of the iPad tracking software is also available on the iPhone—“Find My iPhone”—and is frequently used by Duke students.
Sophomore Helen Cai said she was able to use this software to track her iPhone’s journey down Anderson Drive after she left it on a C-2 bus.
Sophomore Andy Chu said he and his girlfriend have used Find My iPhone to find where the other is on campus.
“When she was in class, instead of texting and trying to get a surreptitious answer, I could just find her on my iPhone,” he said. “It’s actually been very useful.”
Freshman Bridgette Alanis, an iPad and an iPhone user, said she used the tracking feature on her iPhone shortly before she left for Duke.
“I dropped my iPhone in downtown [Los Angeles] and wanted to see where it was.... I used my mom’s iPhone to track my iPhone and watched it travel through downtown L.A.” Alanis said. “I’m definitely going to use the software at Duke.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of the article did not reflect the article's final edits. The article has since been updated and now reflects what was in print.
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