Online Learning Update

By Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

If I worked for any of the open online learning platforms – EdX or Coursera or NovoEd or OpenLearn – I’d create a dedicated mobile only team. I’d send the team to China (or India) and have them design an open app learning platform from scratch. I would accept that the future of higher education is in the emerging countries of East and South Asia, Africa, and South America. If the future of learning is digital, and the digital future of learning is mobile, will that future unfold on the mobile web or the app? Do learning platform providers have the bandwidth to code for both the mobile web and the app? Is trying to do both mobile web and apps for education limiting the quality and reach of both?

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/mobile-learning-apps-vs-web

by Ryan Craig, Venture Beat

Smartphone users’ sessions are currently 3x longer when they’re using apps vs. browsing websites. Apps are also visited much more frequently than websites. Total time spent on apps is currently growing at an annual rate of over 20 percent, and according to comScore, for smartphone users, apps now account for over 50 percent of total time spent with digital media. 18-24-year-olds are the heaviest app users. Apps are purpose-built. So it’s not a stretch to imagine one app for Economics 101 and another for Psychology 110. Apps are ideal for simulations and gamified learning experiences. They’re also perfect for incorporating real-world inputs (such as location of the student) into learning.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/17/why-online-learning-needs-to-get-serious-about-apps/

By Grace Lyden, InForum

At MSUM, the desire to create an app came from the ground up. Members of the student senate brought it up about a year ago, said Chief Information Officer Dan Heckaman. The university then began working with Myriad Mobile. About 20-25 students participated in three meetings this past semester to brainstorm features. Students named which functions would be most useful to them: a campus map, dining hall menus, the academic calendar. They also wanted personal features: grades, class schedules and a list of courses they still need to take. Not all of the student suggestions will make it into the final version, Heckaman said, but they will be considered. Some might be added in later versions.

http://www.inforum.com/news/education/3653317-mobile-apps-put-higher-ed-students-fingertips

By Meris Stansbury, eCampus News

One of the biggest perks to including mobile devices in the classroom is also one of the most basic—conducting research with the touch of a finger. And outside of downloading Google’s search app, many apps cater intuitively to finding articles and annotation sources, which is helpful for any student, educator or librarian. From showing examples of how to cite multimedia sources to being able to annotate any kind of document on a mobile device, and from creating customized online searches of scholarly publications to being able to log into your computer files from your phone, these apps are a plus for anyone interested in conducting meaningful research.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/best-apps-research-337/

By Toni Fuhrman, Campus Technology

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s application development team meets faculty mobile app needs by working collaboratively, managing goals and expectations, and emphasizing transparency. Recently, the application development team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison created a Web-based tool that allows students to explore genetic variation. Developed for a professor in the Biochemistry department, the application lets users manipulate a series of data in order to demonstrate the effect on a genome sequence. “The faculty member approached us with an Excel spreadsheet and a series of equations,” recalled Andrew Goldstein, the university’s assistant director for Learning Solutions, DoIT Academic Technology.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/11/20/building-mobile-apps-for-faculty.aspx

By Michael Sharnoff, eSchool News

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) may have found an innovative solution through the creation of the Leaders on the Fast Track (LOFT) Video Game Innovation Fellow, a prestigious award to encourage American minorities to pursue STEM fields. On Oct. 2 in Washington, D.C., I had the privilege to meet with 20 student fellows, ages 15-25, selected for their video game and app prototypes that address social issues in their community. These future ed-tech leaders did a fantastic job of not only promoting STEM fields, but also dissuading the naysayers that the United States lacks innovation in education and technology. The fellows presented their projects to the Obama administration and will receive an innovation grant to help further develop their game or app. Here are seven of the apps that really stood out.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/13/stem-apps-students-429/

By Gaby Arancibia, eSchool News

Deciding if you want to use a tutor, or if you’d just rather download an app to help you, is becoming more difficult these days. Technology has and will continue to amaze us with its new inventions, but when people question if professions are necessary, should we become concerned? A tutor has historically been an instructor who meets a student at their home or a library to help with assignments or a specific subject–but with apps, students often have more on-demand academic help. Learning from an app can be ideal for the new generation because it offers flexibility and little or no cost.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/07/25/apps-traditional-tutor-492/

By Katie Lepi, Edudemic

Using smartphones and tablets in the classroom isn’t necessarily innovative anymore. For some schools it is the norm, still others are just jumping on the bandwagon of using mobile devices (both in BYOD environments and in scenarios where schools supply the technology). That isn’t to say that a lot of classrooms aren’t using desktop and laptop computers anymore, but a lot of data is pointing to the fact that apps are the future, not the web. The handy infographic linked below takes a look at some interesting statistics on apps vs. web tools.

http://www.edudemic.com/apps-graphic/

By Denny Carter, eCampus News

Bolstering engagement with students could hinge on how colleges and universities use real-time analytics. Insight into how, when, and even why students interact with campus technologies has become a linchpin in maximizing efficiency, saving money, and optimizing the student experience in higher education. Could these insights — analytics — be the key to bolstering student engagement on college campuses too? Campus Quad, creators of a real-time mobile communication platform designed specifically for colleges and universities, has answered this question with a definitive “yes,” and their higher-ed customers, so far, agree.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/analytics-engagement-637/

by Monica Burns, Edutopia

Creative writing can be a daunting task for students who struggle to think of story ideas or who don’t love the writing process. For kids who have trouble putting pen to paper, there are a handful of fantastic iPad apps that just might inspire them to tell a story. Your students will be able to gather ideas, brainstorm and publish writing straight from their tablet. For students at all levels, creative writing is an important part of English language arts curriculum. Not only do the Common Core State Standards specifically outline the expectation that students should be able to express themselves through the written word, but this is also an essential real-world skill. Students should have the ability to write narratives that tell a story from their own life or a story that they’ve imagined. The apps linked below will inspire young writers and give them a vehicle for sharing their work.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipad-apps-for-creative-writing-monica-burns

By Jaccii Barmer, eCampus News

These 10 Apple and Android apps can help keep students engaged, and save educators time. Incorporating apps into online learning can keep students motivated and give them easy access to course material and notes. Here are 10 presentation apps that offer educators a way to keep students interested.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/technologies/apple-android-apps-444/

by Vicki Davis, Edutopia

If students can’t find, review and access their notes or pictures of the board, their mobile notetaking system is useless. There are two multi-platform frontrunners. In my opinion, the most robust single note-taking app is Microsoft OneNote because it looks just like a traditional notebook. It rocks interactive whiteboards because the notes you write on the board go directly into the notebook you share with the students. You can also edit simultaneously with a maximum of five students (my unofficial number from testing it). Even with its strengths, I think the iOS version of OneNote is lacking, and it doesn’t have the robust developer and app community of Evernote. But if you’re predominantly using Windows or Surface RTs and have an IT staff who can support the setup, this may still be your best option. Evernote is a multiplatform app with robust, useful apps like Skitch that let you work with your notes in cool ways — but you cannot edit simultaneously.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-awesome-byod-mobile-apps-vicki-davis

by Scott Steinberg, Huffington Post

Distance learning solutions and online educational tools are rapidly growing in popularity and effectiveness with teachers, colleges and university-level programs worldwide. One recent survey estimated that at least one in five undergraduates has participated in at least one “distance education” course as part of their studies, and many middle, high and even elementary school teachers have begun using some form of distance learning in the classroom. For modern educators looking to provide the best tools and services for distance learning solutions, here are a dozen top resources to consider.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-steinberg/distance-learning-best-apps-tools-and-online-services_b_3805068.html

by the Singularity Hub

It’s a free whiteboard app called ShowMe that will currently play 1.5 million teacher-produced lessons. The first iteration of the app has been downloaded over 400,000 times. Now, with an updated version that empowers users to create, search and share lessons, it’s ready to emerge as a leader in the digital education revolution ushered in by the iPad. ShowMe, like other whiteboard apps, captures what users draw on the iPad screen but it also records their voice. Creations are then stored and can be shared with others. For users, ShowMe capitalizes on the touch computing of the iPad, which feels more interactive than a mouse and keyboard, but it also provides the “pen on paper” look-and-feel. While glossy educational animations can do a lot to teach concepts, ShowMe captures more intuitive learning by showing handwritten sketches and notes as well as showing them revealed in real time. This lends itself to following along with the reasoning behind explanations that makes certain teachers so successful in helping students learn.

http://singularityhub.com/2012/03/16/1-5-millions-lessons-and-growing-showme-app-emerges-as-leader-in-ipad-digital-education-revolution/

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

More than half of public and private universities are starting to use mobile apps. But only 4.4 percent have been moving their enterprise resource planning services to cloud computing, according to the 2011 Campus Computing Survey from The Campus Computing Project. For the last two years, the Horizon Report has listed mobile as a technology to watch and suggested it would be adopted within a year or less. And the Campus Computing Survey of 496 senior IT officials shows that more colleges and universities are moving to mobile apps.

http://www.convergemag.com/policy/Mobile-Apps-Cloud-Adoption-Higher-Education.html

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Publishing and education tech behemoth Pearson has introduced a new, free, cloud-based LMS for higher education. OpenClass, as the LMS is named, is expected to appear in the Google Apps Marketplace for Education Oct. 18. Users will be able to launch OpenClass from within Google Apps or access their Google applications from OpenClass, which, the company declared, has no hardware, licensing, or hosting costs. “OpenClass has huge potential for higher education,” said Adrian Sannier, senior vice president of Learning Technologies at Pearson. “OpenClass accelerates what technology will do for learning with a free, open and innovative platform that easily scales and lets students work via social media, with an intense focus on learning that elevates achievement.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/10/13/pearson-debuts-free-lms-with-google-apps-integration.aspx

By Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

UTPA mobile provides access to campus maps, faculty directories, and course catalogs and will, in the future, let users monitor campus shuttle locations. The University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg has launched campus iPhone and Android smart phone apps after doing a survey among students that concluded that half of them own a smart phone. The process of designing and developing UTPA mobile and having the apps reviewed and approved by Apple and Google’s online stores has taken about seven months, according to Kumar Raman, the university’s director of Internet Services within the IT organization. The university has about 17,000 students.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/02/10/texas-university-launches-iphone-and-android-apps.aspx

By Jeffrey R. Young, Chronicle of Higher Ed

Not long ago, it seemed absurd for aca­demics to carry around a computer, camera, and GPS device every­where they went. Actually, it still seems absurd. But many professors (and administrators) now do just that in the form of all-in-one devices. Smartphones or tablet computers combine many functions in a hand-held gadget, and some users are discovering clever ways to teach and do research with the ubiquitous machines.

http://chronicle.com/article/College-20-6-Top-Smartphone/125764/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

by Jemima Kiss, the Guardian

Appy ever after: our experts have chosen the best apps available for smartphones and tablet computers, such as the organising tool Evernote. The web has undergone something of a makeover in the past couple of years. Apps, specialised miniature versions of internet-based services, now allow us to neatly populate our phones and tablet computers with our favourite bits of the web, from train times and painting tools to shopping services and karaoke. Simply packaged and easy to buy, apps have made niche corners of the web more accessible and mainstream.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/dec/26/best-apps-iphone-ipad-android

By: Clint Boulton, eWeek

A new Google Labs project, Shared Spaces leverages more than 50 gadgets, or mini-apps from Google Wave to let people collaborate with planning and productivity tools, Sudoku puzzles and polls with one other user. There are gadgets for maps, YouTube, Twitter and other utilities. Users, who may browse among gadgets here and use a Google, Twitter or Yahoo account to sign in, may also chat with their collaborators in real time. JavaScript developers will be able to build their own gadgets for Shared Spaces in time. “A shared space turns a (Wave) gadget into a standalone collaborative application,” explained Douwe Osinga, software engineer for Google’s Shared Spaces, in a blog post Dec. 21. “Just click on the gadget you’re interested in to start a new shared space, and then simply send the URL around to share it with your friends and colleagues.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Google-Shared-Spaces-Leverages-Google-Wave-Gadgets-111715/

By Tanya Roscorla, Converge

California state universities are facing a budget crunch and no longer want to invest in student e-mail, said Amir Dabirian, vice president for information technology and chief technology officer at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). And many students don’t use campus e-mail — they use Gmail on their own. But e-mail is still one of the top ways that universities communicate with students, he said. With an education e-mail address, universities can easily communicate with students and give them access to information they couldn’t obtain with their personal Gmail account, such as research journals. By moving to Google Apps, universities offer more storage and features with an education address than they could on their own. And they’re saving time and money too.

http://www.convergemag.com/policy/California-State-Universities-Move-to-Google-Apps.html