Roger Fidler has been a new media pioneer since the 1970s. In 2004, be became the Reynolds Journalism Institute’s first fellow. He’s now RJI’s program director for digital publishing.Fidler was a journalist and newspaper designer for 34 years. He served as director of new media for Knight-Ridder in the early 1990s. In 1991, he created the first e-reader prototype while he was a Freedom Forum Media Studies Fellow at Columbia University.
Fidler went on to teach at Kent State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 1996-2004.
Read his full bio.
J school faculty, students consider possible uses for iPad
Jan. 27, 2010
School of Journalism faculty members see many uses for Apple's new iPad in higher education, though they have no plans to require it for students. Digital textbooks, news delivery and note taking are some of the most likely uses for the device among college students, said Keith Politte, manager of the Reynolds Journalism Institute Technology Testing Center.
"It gives a more multimedia idea of delivering information and sharing information," KOMU/Channel 8 New Media Director Jen Reeves said. "It's expanded the iTouch into a much larger format."
Apple is advertising the device's 9.7-inch screen as perfect for reading, browsing the Internet, watching videos or using applications.
"The iPad is the intersection between a notebook computer and a phone," Politte said. "It does have Wi-Fi and possible 3G connectivity, depending on the model."
The iPad could also be a very interesting news delivery device or e-reader, RJI Futures Lab Director Mike McKean said.
Apple is offering iPad buyers a free application called iBooks, which downloads books from the iBookstore and stores them on a digital Bookcase.
Politte said educational publishing is a viable implication of the iPad in higher education.