There are many factors to
consider when whether to make the transition to a paperless intramural
department. The method of keeping scores and registration forms on paper is slowly,
but surely, disappearing. More and more campus recreation facilities are attempting
to go paperless. The technological advances give colleges every opportunity to
do so, as the iPad and android tablets are perfect for campus recreation. Andy
Laughlin, the assistant coordinator for Iowa State University, stated that “it
does everything we want” (2013) when referring to the iPad.
In an article found in Athletic
Business, Laughlin states that they are
able to transfer all of their forms to their iPads. There are many other
reasons iPads can be used other than merely maintaining certain forms. In the Intramural
department, supervisors can keep score on an iPad and it then can be input into
IMLeagues, or whatever methods
used by your college to keep track of schedules. Another way the Intramural department
can use iPads is by giving the students the opportunity to create accounts on IMLeagues
at the Intramural fields. Tarleton State
University does not allow students to play an Intramural sport unless they are
on their team’s roster via IMLeagues. If a student needs to create an account, providing
iPads on site would give the supervisors the opportunity to let that student
make an account so they could play that night. Without an iPad at the facility,
that student would not have that opportunity. Also, having an iPad would allow
a supervisor to pull up any rules or regulations, changes to the schedule, or
any other changes that may occur.
iPads can also create a new way
of marketing for Intramural departments. Being able to take videos of the Intramural
events and streamlining them to Facebook, Twitter, Vine, or whatever social
media your campus uses, gives students a visual and live feedback of what’s
happening. Also an iPad at each field enables staff to keep and provide live
stats and scores in real time.
iPads and tablets not only cut the
cost of paper, but are more convenient for Intramurals programs. Being able to
have access to forms, social media, and updating scores are just a few ways that
Intramural programs can benefit from the use of technology.
It is crazy how technology is changing everything! I am just an intramural player, and I would have never thought of how beneficial it would be for the recreation sports staff to have some sort of tablet.
ReplyDeleteThere has been times when a teammate of mine could not play because of registration errors. Because games are out on the fields and nowhere near a computer, those teammates could not play. It would have been nice to have some sort of internet connection to take care of that.
On another note, schedules, sign-ins, and rules and regulations fill binders up with paper. Bringing iPads into the recreation sports world would be very "green"!
This topic is really good. Being a student who has played intramurals at two different universities, I see the benefit of having the use of technology like an iPad or android tablet. The school I went to first did not have the computer system called IMLeagues. We had to go up to the gym every week and see when we had to play. That was a big in convince because some students lived out of town, and they were unable to make it there to the gym when they would post the times of changes or of the games. It was very confusing with having to go to the gym to look on the board to see when you play, because when they made changes you would not know until you came to your game expecting to play. That was a big problem. Had they had the computer system Tarleton uses, they would have been able to post the changes of the game time, and you wouldn’t have to drive up to the gym at the wrong time.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is constantly changing and it has positive effects on anything from businesses to the daily life of everyday people. The improving technology improves life, saves time, and keeps people up to date on many matters. I have noticed that throughout my college career sport teams have been able to update statistics, plays, scores, video, and analysis every second. This gives a fan, who can not make it to the game, an in-depth look at his or her favorite team. Now that intramurals is doing this I think it will make it a lot easier to keep track of when teams are playing and create a hassle free registration process.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is changing this world in a good way! Its making things easier to maintain on a day to day basis. I think this was a great idea for schools to do. Students are already on all of the social medias so it makes it so easy for the students to see schedules on facebook and have it every where they go, rather than have to go look at a schedule posted on a wall somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of using technology in this way is brilliant! I have been to meetings that involve D1 school's fitness coordinators and they talked about how they use iPads for their fitness programs. Similar to the way it is used for intramurals, fitness instructors could use it to stream classes and events but also use it for class counts and an easier way to swipe people into their classes with their student id. Technology is constantly changing though, so I wonder what's next..
ReplyDeleteTablets at intramural games could be extremely beneficial. Not only does going online provide less paper work for staff members it allows for a more convenient way of documenting games. My outlook on the tablets goes farther than administrative work. If each field were supplied with a tablet, the field supervisor could also film games being played. These games could then be posted to social media sites for students to view. Videos could also be compiled to make a "highlight film" for RecSports that could be used to market the department to incoming freshman during orientation and transition week.
ReplyDelete