eSchool News Online reports that Duke is scaling back on its iPod deployment for the 2005-2006 academic year. No longer will all incoming freshmen receive an iPod; instead, iPods will go to students and faculty who are making specific use of the devices.

The eSchool article details the good and bad outcomes of the year-long iPod experiment, most of which are predictable, although that doesn’t mean the experiment wasn’t worth doing. What’s more interesting, however, is that Duke is repositioning the iPod experiment as a “jump-start” for the new Duke Digital Initiative. Provost Peter Lange’s memo to Duke faculty specifies rich media authoring, alternative input devices such as tablets, and social networking applications as areas the DDI will investigate. I applaud this plan and look forward to learning from Duke’s experience as it moves forward.