In a darkened art studio on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, 14 students are hunched over glowing screens. But instead of scrolling or texting, they’re sketching — carefully building animations frame by frame, shaping light and shadow with a digital pencil. At the front of the room, Ivy Guild, teaching assistant professor and head of Visual Foundations in the Department of Art, glances over shoulders and offers quiet encouragement.

“Students are learning how to take observational drawing skills by hand and then translating those skills to work on the iPad,” Guild said. 

Guild teaches ART 103A, 103B and 103C — introductory courses that feed into digital media, graphic design and photography emphases. When Guild joined the University, she was tasked with rebuilding the visual foundations curriculum and saw an opportunity to bring digital art into the program. “I’ve had to push my own skills to get better at digital artwork and to be able to teach. It makes me a stronger professor having to expand my skill set and pass those skills to students.”

Now in its fourth year, the Digital Wolf Pack Initiative (DWPI) continues to equip faculty like Guild—and thousands of students each year—with the tools needed for an accessible classroom experience. Launched in 2021 as a partnership with Apple, the initiative provides incoming first-year and transfer students with an iPad, Apple Pencil and keyboard. Through the Office of Digital Learning, DWPI also offers training during NevadaFIT and ongoing support throughout the year. Faculty who opt in also receive devices and participate in an annual retreat to build teaching communities and share best practices.

“The Digital Wolf Pack Initiative has been instrumental in establishing a common learning platform for students and promoting technology equity on campus,” said John Butler, assistant director of the program. “But it’s always exciting to see how students and faculty use the iPads in unique and innovative ways to facilitate learning, creativity, and instruction.”

DWPI was created to give students equal access to technology and encourage new ways of teaching and learning, whether in chemistry labs, lecture halls or animation studios.

Guild says she has watched students embrace the format. The final project in her class allows students to choose their medium from a list of themes, and “at least half of them are doing their projects in a digital illustration or animation format.” 

Examples of student projects created on an iPad. 

A large role in students' academic success

For Tommy Smith, a senior majoring in computer science and engineering, the iPad has been a constant companion throughout his college experience. He uses it for notes, labs and as a second screen for coding.

“The process of getting ready for class is simple: I just take my iPad off the charger and walk to school, and that's made it not a lot more motivating to go,” Smith said. 

“The iPads come preloaded with all the things that you need for campus, like Canvas, or other University-specific apps. The fact that it's all right in front of me has been just an absolute blessing.”

Smith attributes the iPad he received through DWPI as a tool that’s helped him make the Dean’s List and maintain a strong GPA. “I do believe I would have gotten substantially worse grades if I didn't have such an easy tool to do all my work on,” he said. 

Technology easing the transition to college

Marissa Peterson, a first-year student majoring in graphic design and Spanish, was new to digital art before college; now she’s using her iPad for sketching, drawing and organizing her design projects.

“The iPad is really helpful because you could have everything in one place instead of having a notebook with tons of pages,” Peterson said. She first learned to use the iPad during NevadaFIT, where she attended a workshop on Goodnotes. 

The iPad also helped Peterson with her overall transition into college. “I took a lot of notes in high school in a notebook,” she said. “Coming to college, I was worried about having a million notebooks in my backpack for a bunch of different classes. Taking notes on the iPad has been really nice.”

Peterson, who hopes to become a graphic designer, knows the skills she’s developing now will help her in the long run. 

Using iPads to educate future educators

Faculty are also leveraging the technology to prepare the next generation of Nevada teachers. Mandi Collins, a teaching associate professor and NevadaTeach master teacher, uses iPads to enhance her own teaching and her students’ practicum experience.

In her courses, Collin’s students connect their iPads to larger screens installed at each table so they can collaborate in real time. “In the ‘good old days’, students saved things on flash drives,” Collins said. “And now with our iPads, students can just automatically link to the screen so that there's not that awkward lull and loss of instructional minutes.”

Collins also uses her iPad to provide live feedback during observations. “When the students teach lessons, I'm out there giving them support. I've got a template on my iPad to give them immediate feedback, in terms of, what went well? How could they improve?”

The Digital Wolf Pack Initiative, Collins said, is about more than convenience, it’s about setting the bar higher for future teachers. “We need to teach our pre-service teachers how to use technology, to actually support the learning that students do. As an institution, I think we have a responsibility to be putting the best out there, and I don't think we can do it if they don't have the technology.”

“The Digital Wolfpack Initiative not only strengthens our academic curriculum and our impact in closing the digital divide as a University,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Jeff Thompson. “The program continues to prepare students to compete in the workforce by having the necessary skills with digital tools.” 

If you are interested in receiving a device as a current teaching faculty member, you can fill out the DWPI iPad Request Form and someone from the team will reach out regarding your request. Devices are distributed based on available inventory. If you are interested in being a DWPI Faculty Ambassador, email DWPI at dwpi@unr.edu.