Technology adds another dimension to classroom

New educational technologies have the ability to energize students and educators alike, but newfound access and capability mean nothing without an engaged leader who can pull these tools together in a practical and meaningful way.  That means the role of the teacher remains ever-important in the high technology learning environment.  But there is one key difference. Perhaps in this new environment, the teacher’s role is becoming less traditional – shifting from that of “orator,” or the sole source for information, to more of a “facilitator/ mediator.”

Teachers facilitate learning through technology

This shift in role and in the teacher/student dialogue itself presents tremendous opportunity to deepen student learning and empowerment.  When teachers become a facilitator to help students vet the most trustworthy pieces of information from electronic sources and in the public domain, and they engage in meaningful discussions about data points students uncover individually, once-challenging subjects can take on a whole new light.

SoundOut and Generation YES are two examples of participatory learning programs following the adage “to teach is to learn twice.”  By encouraging students to leverage educational technology and to present personal research and findings alongside their teachers, today’s educators can give students the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of subjects than they might from note-taking and memorization alone.  But make no mistake; technology plays a supporting role in these learning models as well. It’s still the teacher who brings it all together. Without a doubt, technology is changing how students learn, but it shouldn’t be a replacement for teachers.  Technology can help energize and empower students in exciting new ways, and it can enhance and personalize a child’s learning experience – both in and outside of the classroom.  In my view, that’s a helping hand virtually any teacher can appreciate.

How do you see technology changing the role of teachers? Do you have any inspiring examples of teachers using technology to successfully engage students that you would like to share?

February 6^th is national Digital Learning Day, and today the country is focusing on just how dramatically technology is changing our students’ learning experience. We’re celebrating those teachers and administrators who are not afraid to put down the pencil and paper and to think outside-the-box when it comes to teaching. These educators are reinventing the classroom experience for students across the United States.  The success they’re demonstrating is exciting!

The Alliance for Excellent Education launched the Digital Learning Day campaign to much fanfare in 2012 and presented it as a platform to share innovative teaching techniques that engage students and further personalize their learning experience. The ultimate goal is to make digital learning available to all students, so everyone has the technology skills they need to succeed in school and after graduation, whether in college or professional life.

In the Lake Tahoe USD (LTUSD), every student from 3^rd to 12^th grade receives a netbook computer they get to take home.  The district knew it needed to address the digital divide among its students, where more than 60% are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch. Many do not have a computer or Internet access at home. So, netbooks are enabled with AT&T mobile broadband connectivity so students can complete homework assignments and access the Internet while away from school.  And as another benefit of the netbook program, the district has seen major savings by transitioning to digital textbooks – lightening both the fiscal and physical load of the printed versions that used to fill students’ backpacks.

Technology has also shown that it can help cross cultural boundaries, and the year-over-year success at LTUSD is undeniable.  The districts’ Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores have increased by nearly 6.8% among non-native English language learners at the high school level, and by nearly 2.3% district-wide!

Beyond Lake Tahoe, teachers around the nation are also faced with changing learning environments as more (and increasingly younger) students enter the classroom with experience using technology.  Many young students are already accustomed to using their parents’ tablets or smartphones – and 77% of those ages 12-17 have a cell phone of their own!

Our current generation of students is constantly reinventing how they use everyday technology, as they actively seek ways to integrate the latest tools and devices as a part of their personal learning environment.  And no longer is that learning environment restricted to classroom walls and classmates, or even to traditional school schedules.  Students are beginning to weave learning into the social fabric of their lives – even using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to discuss a school subject at any hour of the day, with friends across town, across the country, and perhaps even across the world.

To learn more and celebrate the progress of the digital classroom, don’t miss the national Digital Learning Day Town Hall webcast, starting at 1 p.m. ET today.

Learn More:  Q & A with Joe Pfeil, technology coordinator at LTUSD

In honor of national Digital Learning Day, Joe Pfeil, technology coordinator at LTUSD, has shared with us some of his experience implementing this digital learning program. Here’s what he had to say:

AT&T: Talk to us about the digital divide among students in your district. What response have you seen from students who without this program wouldn’t have access to the internet at home?

JOE: With our netbook program, we have been able to place a netbook in each student’s hand to create equal computer access for all students. Students are excited to have their own netbook to work on assignments at home and school. Depending on the grade level and teacher, students might be spending anywhere between one or two hours a night using their netbooks. Parents who did not have a computer at home with internet access can now check their child’s grades and missing assignments on their child’s netbook – all in real time.

AT&T: Beyond the improvements you have seen academically, how has the use of netbooks helped develop students’ appetite for learning?

JOE: At the elementary and middle school level, we have introduced powerful Web 2.0 tools and programs that reinforce what is being taught in the classroom. The district purchased fun and interactive online programs to teach math and increase reading fluency and vocabulary.  We also use an online math program that is aligned with the state standards. Teachers have observed many of their top students mastering the content and working ahead on the assignments. As students become more engaged, they are driving teachers to use more Web 2.0 tools in the classroom and for homework.

AT&T: What teaching benefits have you seen in using digital textbooks and 1:1 computing in the classroom?

JOE: We’ve seen students enjoy using digital textbooks because technology is now part of their culture and learning style. The digital textbooks include engaging interactive videos to hold students’ interest.  Our middle school English classrooms are another example of success. Teachers use an interactive program that allows them to assign writing prompts through an online management system. The students can get help through the writing process, get instant feedback on what they have just written, and turn in a well-written paper.

What student or teacher success stories do YOU have to share in honor of national Digital Learning Day?

It’s sometimes hard to believe we were ever truly productive without mobile tablets. Even though tablets only rose to popularity three years ago, they have introduced a completely new way of handling everyday tasks.  Their size and shape have proven to be the perfect balance, giving us more immersive functionality than previously possible on small smartphone screens, without succumbing to the heft of a full-sized laptop.  And because of their extreme portability and embedded wireless access, our productivity and connectedness with others isn’t limited by our location.

This type of tablet-centric revolution is happening in many, if not most, industry segments. For example, photography has not only turned digital as a result of our widespread evolution from film, but now it has now turned mobile as well, as real-time editing can occur virtually anywhere. In a recent New York Times article, one photographer says his new “darkroom” is now his tablet.

The evolution of education

Education is certainly no exception to the impact of technology. Here, we have seen tremendous advancements in how students interact with educators and with each other. In conversations with dozens of school IT leaders and administrators, everyone is excited and recognizes that technology has the power to transform education and positively shape how students view the learning process. And in 2013, we can expect students to be increasingly engaged and motivated, as teachers and administrators embrace technology like never before.

Here are my predictions for top education technology trends this year:

1. Fun and learning will not be mutually exclusive. Game-based learning will play a major role in helping students master difficult subjects. 

A non-profit organization in Los Angeles is already tackling the demand for game-based learning initiatives. GameDesk and AT&T recently announced the creation of a learning laboratory to help designers, researchers, and educators come together to create a new model for learning. GameDesk’s MathMaker game demonstrated great results in helping increase math scores – on average, students’ scores improved by 22% during the course of the program.

 2. Students will continue to use mobile technology to personalize their digital learning environments.

They will combine multiple tools and resources to address their own needs.

Today’s mobile devices make learning so much easier, by providing immediate access to a host of electronic learning resources and data. Students can access and save information, collaborate and participate in discussions with fellow students, and gather additional resources to help them focus on the subjects they may individually need to master.

Mobile technology and applications will continue to evolve in 2013, and I expect more students (and teachers) will embrace the idea of using those tools to assemble their own personalized digital learning (and teaching) environments.

 3. Various flipped learning models, from flipped lessons to fully flipped classrooms, will continue to gain momentum and will strengthen the case for ubiquitous connectivity.

High-resolution tablets and smartphones, combined with higher-speed wireless networks, will make that more appealing. As a result, students will have more opportunities to use and share videos, images and other multimedia learning materials:

• The Project Tomorrow Speak Up 2011 survey shows that 50 percent of high school students (and 40 percent of middle school students) use a smartphone or tablet. Of course those percentages may vary depending on the particular school, but I expect more students will have a smartphone or tablet in 2013.

• Leading-edge devices from manufacturers like Lenovo and Samsung make it exciting for students to watch learning videos and share multimedia content. Schools with Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) programs can really benefit from advanced devices like this, which students might bring from home.

 4. Cloud-based collaborative technology will create interactive learning experiences for one-to-many teaching and learning.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) will inevitably continue to garner attention within the industry and from the public as more recognize the impact of these free online learning opportunities. Who doesn’t like the idea of learning from an Ivy League professor at little or no cost, right?

This year, MOOCs will create a more interactive learning experience for students by using cloud-based collaborative technology. Live white board collaboration and video conferencing among students, combined with real-time feedback functionalities for instructors, will take MOOCs to the next level. Most importantly, this type of cloud-based technology is reliable, secure, and cost-effective for organizations seeking to monetize this learning model.

Extending the influence of education

Technology touches each of these trends at various points, all in an attempt to extend the influence and efficacy of education. If the past couple of years are any indication, mobile technology will revolutionize education far beyond what we’ve seen to date. Mobility has the power to excite students and educators alike, and motivate them to feel more passionate about learning.

Beyond 2013, we’ll see just how much mobile technology continues to influence students’ school experience. This is very exciting, and I look forward to witnessing this next wave of revolutions.

Which of the above education technology trends are you most excited about in 2013? What other technology trends do you see emerging among students and educators?

Today’s college students simply review course descriptions online or on their smartphones without thinking twice about it. And once classes have started, customized mobile apps– branded with the university’s name, colors, and logo – make things even easier by incorporating study materials, assignments and grades with interactive collaboration features.

The goal of these custom apps reaches far beyond simply accessing a class syllabus from anywhere. Students using mobile app platforms like AT&T Campus Guide can collaborate with peers or instructors on class assignments by simply opening the course directory.  With a few simple taps to the screen, they are chatting with one another.

Smaller colleges can tap mobile apps, too

It’s hard to deny that students will continue to use mobile technology to connect like this. By the end of 2016, an estimated nine of out 10 undergraduate college students will own a smartphone – compared with 60% of the general population.

I recently blogged about the next generation of IT leaders in higher education. The concepts I discussed aren’t isolated to large institutions. IT leaders at smaller universities and colleges also understand there is an opportunity to engage students through mobile technology. But for many, the idea of customized mobile apps may seem far reaching as they face more limited resources and a considerably smaller IT staff.

Here’s the thing.  Colleges and universities of any size don’t have to make a large investment to create a successful mobile app. With the AT&T Campus Guide platform, campuses can customize and easily integrate a mobile app to their legacy systems without having to develop something from scratch.  Branded, highly functional apps can be up-and-running in a matter of weeks – and for much less than you might expect.

An award-winning platform

University leaders already using this platform are telling others about the low-cost benefits. AT&T Campus Guide was just named a University Business Magazine 2012 Readers’ Choice Top Product!

Nominations were submitted by University Business readers, describing how products like AT&T Campus Guide are contributing to their success in engaging today’s generation of mobile students.

A customized AT&T Campus Guide mobile app can include an array of features:

• Course information, including assignments, grades and class announcements
• Campus events
• Student and faculty/staff directories
• Campus maps with turn-by-turn directions
• Campus warnings & notifications
• Campus news and Twitter feeds
• Class rosters and address books
• A ‘My Card’ feature, to easily share contact information with others

Easy access for engaged students

Rockhurst University in Kansas City has 2,130 undergraduate students, and they began using AT&T Campus Guide last year. Today, the app has been downloaded 1,744 times, and our team recently connected with Rockhurst students and leaders to learn more about their experience.

Here’s what you’ll learn from the video below:

• Rockhurst’s IT team didn’t have flexibility to invest in research and development time for a home-grown app
• The release of Rockhurst’s mobile app coincided with a University rebranding effort, so marketing and IT teams worked together to incorporate the new look and feel
• Rockhurst Campus Guide can be used on multiple device types, regardless of carrier
• Faculty members don’t have to learn a new system to integrate course materials – Campus Guide works with systems already in place
• Student leaders use the campus directory to plan events and teach entering freshman how to access information
• The app is user-friendly. “It’s nice to have something as simple on your phone to check on things,” said Rockhurst sophomore Marcelo Feran II.

AT&T Campus Guide – Rockhurst University

And Rockhurst University’s mobile app is just one example.  I’d love to hear what you think about the use of mobile apps in higher education, in general.

What makes a campus mobile app successful?

What are the greatest concerns for institutions looking to build an app?

What uses for campus mobile apps haven’t yet been commonly explored?

The evolving horizon for CIOs was a major point of conversation at the 2012 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Denver last week, where I had the opportunity to learn from two University leaders working to reinvent the college experience through mobile technology – David Middleton and Dr. Michael Taylor, directors at Seton Hall’s Center for Mobile Research and Innovation (CMRI).

These gentlemen embody key traits held by this new generation of education IT leaders and advisors:

• Informed on the latest technology
• Engaged in exploring and testing emerging trends
• Committed to advancing research in mobile learning and its academic impact
• Vested in helping students transform from technology consumers to professional users
• Skilled at partnering with industry leaders, as Seton Hall did with AT&T, Microsoft and Nokia
• Dedicated to advising and collaborating with other university IT experts on best practices and lessons learned.

During their break out presentation at the EDUCAUSE conference, Middleton and Taylor shared the value of corporate/academic collaboration, and what can happen when all parties look beyond short-term roadblocks and drivers (such as new product timelines and sales objectives) to uncover the bigger picture.  By helping on- and off-campus stakeholders explore the “art of the possible,” CMRI leaders were able to take from ideation to deployment their proposed expansion of the University’s mobile device program in a very short time.

And by bucking the frequently discussed bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend in favor of more traditional deployment models, the University was able to standardize on a single smartphone and operating system platform.  By leveraging Windows 8 for all mobile devices on campus (laptops, tablets, and smartphones), Seton Hall has simplified faculty training requirements while ensuring a consistent user experience for students no matter which device they have in hand.

Mobile technology meets the real world

Beyond his efforts to provide Nokia Lumia 900 smartphones to every freshman on campus, Dr. Taylor also leads a group of senior environmental science students as they use Nokia Lumia 900 smartphones to gather research at Duke Farms, a public environmental center 30~miles from the South Orange, NJ campus.

For their capstone project, these seniors are creating a proposal to recommend mobile technology tools (i.e. apps, digital scavenger hunts, etc.) the Farm can use to improve the educational experience for visitors. The goal of the project is to provide students with an opportunity to apply the benefits of mobile technology in a real world setting.

With smartphones in hand, students rely on the AT&T network to survey visitors about the purpose of their visit to Duke Farms, their participation in activities, and feedback on suggested changes.  Learning is taking place miles away from the University – in a real-world setting where Dr. Taylor can still have a real-time view into students’ work and data collected at the center – all because of mobile technology.

Sharing insight into the value of this learning experience, Dr. Taylor remarked, “

Having used smartphones as a teaching and learning tool since 2008, the conventional wisdom of incoming students as expert or proficient users of mobile technology is not always correct. While students tend to be dynamic consumers of Internet content and social media, these skills do not automatically translate into academic and professional use.”

Toward innovative thinking

This type of mobile learning experience can influence students greatly, as 80 percent have expressed interest in teaching at a K-12 level following graduation in May 2013. Teaching approaches as seen in Dr. Taylor’s capstone project are what will help future teachers think innovatively when guiding their own students.

And stories such as this show why it is increasingly important for IT leaders to be at the forefront – implementing mobile technology initiatives that can create memorable and engaging learning experiences for future professionals.

Seton Hall University is one example of how universities are using mobile technology.

How has your IT team implemented mobile learning initiatives to engage students in and outside the classroom?

Political discourse could be heard on campus well before the candidates arrived at the Boca Raton campus for the debate on October 22, 2012. For the fall semester, Lynn University created a special debate-specific curriculum, wherein a group of students set out to prove the importance of mobile technology in today’s political environment.

As part of an undergraduate course on campaigns in the 21^st century – and under the guidance of Stephanie Jackson, Assistant Professor of communication, media and politics in Lynn’s College of International Communication – students conducted the AT&T 2012 Survey: Mobile America’s Student Vote. The survey polled 272 students, mostly undergraduate (92%) between the ages of 18-23 years old (88%) on their electoral preferences and experience.

The results are in – social and mobile win students over

Not surprisingly, social media and mobile Internet access were shown to play an essential role in engaging America’s college students in the electoral process, and the survey reveals that:

• 79% of Lynn University students are more likely to vote in November because they actively follow a presidential candidate on Twitter or Facebook.
• 58% of their peers would use smartphones to cast a “mobile vote” this November, if the option were available.
• 87% of students polled believe it is either “Somewhat important” or “Very important” to discuss political or public issues via social media.

• 93% of the students surveyed said it is important for candidates to use social media to connect with the public.

View the infographic

Beyond the basics: Embracing the mobile learning experience

As we all know, college students are not only tech-savvy, but mobile technology is also an innate aspect of their lives. Smartphone use is an everyday, every-hour experience. This class tapped into a larger community of students by bringing mobile technology into the curriculum.

Beyond traditional lectures and in-class discussion, students were able to gain deeper insight into what their peers believe to be important about social media and politics. By using tablets over the local AT&T 4G network, students had the flexibility to leave their desks and confirm in real-time the political theories they were learning in the classroom.

With AT&T-provided Samsung Galaxy tablets in hand, the class was able to survey more than 10 percent of the Lynn student population live, and face-to-face.

Assistant Professor Jackson shared her insight about this experience during a video interview:

“It’s one thing to stand in front of the classroom and say, ‘Yes, this is important.’ It’s an entirely other thing for these students to look at the numbers of their peers, and their peers saying, ‘This is significant. This is how I’m using social media.’”

This story is another example of how mobile access is transforming the college experience – allowing teaching and learning to take place from virtually anywhere.

Tell us about your own experiences with mobile learning in higher education. Do you see breaking through the physical “barrier” of classroom walls becoming increasingly prevalent on college campuses? Are you using social media in your personal electoral process this November? If mobile voting were an option, would you opt in?”

AT&T is proud to be a bronze partner of this year’s conference, and we too will be focusing on ways we can help mobilize and virtualize education.  Join us in booth #915, as we share our approaches for:

• Unifying campus communications and collaboration for administrators, faculty, & students
• Cloud-based computing, storage, and applications
• Mobile learning and mobile device management
• Campus safety and alerting
• On-campus wireless network enhancement

On Wednesday afternoon, join me as I visit with leaders from the Seton Hall Center for Mobile Research and Innovation to learn how the University recently collaborated with corporations such as AT&T, Microsoft, and Nokia to expand their existing m-learning program – bucking the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend to bring a smartphone to every freshman on campus.

Join our discussion:

We also plan to have a little hands-on action during the show to encourage “hands off” mobile devices while driving…

Stop by and take part in our interactive texting-while-driving simulator.  Hear first-hand the stories behind AT&T’s Texting and Driving: It Can Wait campaign.

Take the pledge, and help us spread the message at EDUCAUSE and on your campus!

Better yet: download the AT&T DriveMode™ application to your Android or BlackBerry mobile device to help curb the urge to text while driving.

I wish everyone safe travels on their journey to the Mile High City, and look forward to visiting with many of you during this year’s event!

What topics are you most interested in exploring at EDUCAUSE this year?

Personalized learning through multiple devices

Recently, I heard a unique perspective about how one student was using her mobile devices to maximize productivity.  That’s right, I said mobile devices – plural.

This student talked of the productivity boost she realizes from using her laptop, her iPhone, and her iPad – at the same time.  While building a presentation on her laptop, the student explained that she can quickly grab her phone to call or IM a classmate to clarify points covered during a recent class lecture.  And while chatting with classmates, she often reaches for her iPad to tap in a quick Web search for an important quote or statistic.

For students like her, the benefits of a mobile device can be great – but the most significant gains come from the ability to freely select whichever device accomplishes a task most quickly, with the fewest keystrokes.  Multiple devices allow her to move swiftly and accomplish several tasks in parallel, without the limitation of having to suspend one app and then open another, as is often required when using a single device.

It’s personal — BYOD for students and faculty

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are an economical way institutions can support  end users’ desire to use multiple mobile devices.  Even on campuses where an official device model or form factor has been provided by the institution as part of a broad-scale m-learning program, BYOD programs can still play a supporting role.

Allowing students and employees to supplement an officially-provided device with one or more from their personal portfolio can ensure maximum productivity at an individualized level.   And today’s flexible, per-user pricing models for mobile device management applications provide institutions with an effective and affordable way to maintain network security while supporting personal choice and individual productivity demands.

Bundling for flexibility

Mobile devices in education aren’t just about enabling students and educators to work while they’re on the go.  They’re about working smarter, making it easier to accomplish more within a fixed amount of time – and making sure everyone has access to the best tool for the job along the way.

Mobile carriers are responding to the needs of multiple device customers, with the introduction of rate plans offering shared bundles of data which follow all of a user’s devices – no matter which  is preferred for any given task.  These new plans support the notion that building the best mobile program isn’t a device-centric, one time effort. Rather, it’s about developing a platform that provides the flexibility to use all your devices, when and how you need them.

Do you use more than one mobile device at the same time? Do you think BYOD policies or shared data plans will change the way students or employees use mobile devices – perhaps carrying more than one to become more productive?

However, the evolving set of UC platforms and functionalities has an opportunity to play a much broader role in education. There is an opportunity for UC to enhance student learning outcomes by introducing a rich subset of outreach and collaboration resources to the concepts of immediacy and open sharing students have so widely adopted  via platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This concept of social-networking-becomes-social-learning embodies the pure definition of collaboration as students seek ways to easily engage their peers as additional sources of knowledge, input, and validation.

Today’s capabilities for UC give students access to tools that allow them to contact and engage instructors or other students easily, jointly sharing information resources and other work-in-progress via anywhere/anytime mobile access. Enhanced mobility features such as presence capability and single number reach allow students to see which of their friends or classmates are currently available and to contact them by dialing one number – reaching them no matter where they are, across campus or across town.

UC Makes It to Class on Time

Imagine a pair of students in a class study group engaging in an instant messaging (IM) session on their mobile devices about an upcoming class assignment. After a series of back-and-forth exchanges, the students expand the conversation to a full-featured Web conference over their same mobile devices.  During the course of the conference session, another student becomes able to join after getting off work.  After cooperatively whiteboarding an outline for their project, the students realize they need clarification on a key concept.  One student uses presence capability (again via their mobile device) to check the availability of their instructor – whom they can instantly add to the conference by voice or Web to gain the clarification they need, as well as feedback on the approach they are taking.

Rather than waiting days or a week until the next class session, and rather than wasting time hunting down classmates and their instructor by email or multiple phone numbers, this study group was able to quickly and efficiently come together and gather input from all members, gain clarification and positive feedback from their instructor, and advance their project to completion without delay.

Such productivity enhancements at the individual project level can be leveraged in overall curriculum planning as well. Instructors are now able to reduce the time allotted per assignment – potentially fitting more learning projects into the same semester timeframe. This can facilitate opportunities for deeper and broader learning by fitting more content into each course.

One  More Tool in the Pencil Box

Cell phones and mobile devices are quickly making their way onto the required materials list for many courses and institutions. Perhaps it’s time that educators think the same of student licenses on their campus UC platform. Just as institutions are adopting and developing mobile learning apps to enhance learning outcomes and leverage the devices students carry every day, perhaps a UC license is one more valuable tool we should be adding to each student’s pencil box.

What are your thoughts on the value of UC in education? Do you see the collaboration and social tools we use changing the way we learn?

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on the Networking Exchange Blog on July 20, 2012. We are republishing this education-focused post during the Labor Day holiday, which for many also coincides closely with the start of a new school year.

However, the evolving set of UC platforms and functionalities has an opportunity to play a much broader role in education. There is an opportunity for UC to enhance student learning outcomes by introducing a rich subset of outreach and collaboration resources to the concepts of immediacy and open sharing students have so widely adopted  via platforms like Twitter and Facebook. This concept of social-networking-becomes-social-learning embodies the pure definition of collaboration as students seek ways to easily engage their peers as additional sources of knowledge, input, and validation.

Today’s capabilities for UC give students access to tools that allow them to contact and engage instructors or other students easily, jointly sharing information resources and other work-in-progress via anywhere/anytime mobile access. Enhanced mobility features such as presence capability and single number reach allow students to see which of their friends or classmates are currently available and to contact them by dialing one number – reaching them no matter where they are, across campus or across town.

UC Makes It to Class on Time

Imagine a pair of students in a class study group engaging in an instant messaging (IM) session on their mobile devices about an upcoming class assignment. After a series of back-and-forth exchanges, the students expand the conversation to a full-featured Web conference over their same mobile devices.  During the course of the conference session, another student becomes able to join after getting off work.  After cooperatively whiteboarding an outline for their project, the students realize they need clarification on a key concept.  One student uses presence capability (again via their mobile device) to check the availability of their instructor – whom they can instantly add to the conference by voice or Web to gain the clarification they need, as well as feedback on the approach they are taking.

Rather than waiting days or a week until the next class session, and rather than wasting time hunting down classmates and their instructor by email or multiple phone numbers, this study group was able to quickly and efficiently come together and gather input from all members, gain clarification and positive feedback from their instructor, and advance their project to completion without delay.

Such productivity enhancements at the individual project level can be leveraged in overall curriculum planning as well. Instructors are now able to reduce the time allotted per assignment – potentially fitting more learning projects into the same semester timeframe. This can facilitate opportunities for deeper and broader learning by fitting more content into each course.

One  More Tool in the Pencil Box

Cell phones and mobile devices are quickly making their way onto the required materials list for many courses and institutions. Perhaps it’s time that educators think the same of student licenses on their campus UC platform. Just as institutions are adopting and developing mobile learning apps to enhance learning outcomes and leverage the devices students carry every day, perhaps a UC license is one more valuable tool we should be adding to each student’s pencil box.

What are your thoughts on the value of UC in education? Do you see the collaboration and social tools we use changing the way we learn?