Brad McDiarmid's List: Mobile Computing

Speakers at a recent education technology industry summit had a key piece of advice for the company executives who make and sell products for schools: Go mobile.

When the Apple tablet went on sale to the public last spring, Woodbury ordered 30 for the libraries at North Carolina State University in Raleigh to be available for checkout by students and faculty. Demand was immediate and widespread.

Collection of mLearning sites

Many middle school and high school students use Twitter every day. But what about teachers?

Schools and universities right around Australia had jumped headfirst into trials of Apple’s hyped iPad tablet as they rush to discover exactly what the device’s use will be in the educational field — sometimes with the support of their overarching education departments, and sometimes without.

Out-of-class communication makes student-teacher relationships more personal and contributes to student learning. It is also the wellspring for continued academic exchange and mentoring. Unfortunately, electronic consultations via email have diminished the use of in-person office hours. Although students and faculty favor email contact because it’s so efficient, interpersonal exchanges still play an important role in the learning process—much research verifies this. As teachers we have a responsibility to encourage, indeed entice, our students to meet with us face-to-face.

Twitter use might be more than an extracurricular activity for college students, according to researchers from three universities whose work suggests that using the popular microblogging service to discuss academics could help bolster student engagement and success.

The Army wants to issue every soldier an iPhone or Android cell phone — it could be a soldier’s choice.

A survey of more than 1,000 students shows that many don’t believe texting should be allowed during class and almost half feel guilty about doing so when they’re not supposed to.