Friday, September 16, 2011
MEET THE APP AND THE TEAM THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.
When the founders of Terriblyclever Design LLC were students at Stanford University, they worked with the Associate Vice Provost of Student Affairs and Registrar, Tom Black, to create an application that would engage their campus community in a powerful new way—through their mobile devices.
They introduced their solution, iStanford, in a commercial that aired during the homecoming football game. By the end of the second half, there were already thousands of downloads. Just a few months later, iStanford had 40,000 downloads from the Apple® App Storesm, far more than the number of Stanford students. This rapid adoption demonstrated the impact iStanford had, not only on current students, but also on alumni, parents, sports fans, and the greater Stanford community.
GOING MOBILE UNLEASHES TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL.
SEE IT IN ACTION.
With 75% of the student body carrying smartphones, Northwestern University knew they needed a mobile presence. Once Blackboard helped them go mobile, their entire campus experience was transformed.
GOING MOBILE WAS THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION.
The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) wanted to deliver a highly-integrated, technology-infused curriculum that fit their students' learning styles. Since laptops were too big for their students to carry around in a clinical setting, they knew they needed a solid mobile strategy.
MCG turned to Blackboard Mobile to create a suite of customized medical apps built using the Blackboard Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK), including an OB Wheel and Medical Abbreviations Dictionary to enable learning anytime, anywhere. With information on the go, students are able to respond faster and more effectively. And since customizing is so easy with Blackboard Mobile, MCG can continue to evolve their app suite with new functionality and has even dedicated head count specifically to app development.
FSU MOBILE MAKES HEADLINES.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Florida State was the first university in Florida to go mobile with Blackboard Mobile Central. Even before their official launch, FSU saw incredible interest in their app, FSU Mobile. Student response to the news flew through Facebook. The FSU Headlines TV issued a video showcasing the app. Excitement was so widespread among students and the community, FSU Mobile even made the evening news on local station, WCTV.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/profiles/university-washington/
Now with their mobile app, Northwestern Mobile, students and faculty have instant access to everything Northwestern. They use the app to find their way around campus, see what events are happening, locate books and resources, and so much more. With Blackboard Mobile, they're always connected, and always "on."
Below, students and administrators, including Harlan Wallach, Media Architect; Mort Rahimi, VP of IT; and Al Cubbage, VP of University Relations, show you just how much farther mobile has taken them.
EVEN THE IT GUYS TURN TO BLACKBOARD.
As a thought-leader in technology, Seton Hall spent more than two years trying to implement their own mobile solution before realizing that doing it on their own would limit their campus reach.
When Blackboard announced the availability of Blackboard Mobile Central, SHU jumped at the opportunity to work with the Blackboard Mobile team. The Blackboard Mobile Central native application suites for iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry and mobile web meant that Seton Hall could have the universal reach they were hoping for.
Today, Seton Hall's Blackboard Mobile Central app, SHUMobile, impacts the whole university community—students, faculty, staff, even alumni and parents. Now anyone with a smartphone can connect with the community, access resources, see what's going on, and experience Seton Hall in a new and engaging way.
Once Loyola Mobile went live in Fall 2010, Loyola University Chicago’s Marketing department created a splash for Loyola Mobile on the home page and the response was overwhelming; in the first semester the Loyola Mobile iPhone app was downloaded over 2,500 times, and averaged 70 to 80 downloads a week as they approached the end of the semester.
Now LUC is poised for the new release of Loyola Mobile, and it has some significant additions for users. For the first time, the Blackboard Mobile Learn app is incorporated into Blackboard Mobile Central for the iPhone and will sit on the springboard along with three other new apps. Mobile users no longer have to do two separate downloads, nor do they have to go to separate locations on their mobile device. Because Blackboard is so widely used at LUC, it is an especially nice convergence of the two applications.
In addition to Blackboard Mobile Learn, LUC also has three new icons on the springboard: Alumni, Emergency, and 8-Ride (users can call for a ride in and around campus). This increases to 12 the total number of applications for the iPhone. Loyola Mobile will be deployed on Android shortly. Because smart phone usage on campus is only going to continue to grow exponentially, Loyola University Chicago is very excited to be able to provide this expanded service, and to be on the leading edge of smart phone technology!
Preliminary Results of a Study of LectureTools and Laptop Use
University of Michigan CRLT Study of LectureTools and Laptop Use
View more presentations from LectureTools
University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
New Literacies for the 21st Century: Which Opportunities are Worth Seizing?
New Literacies for the 21st Century: Which Opportuntiies are Worth Seizing?
View more presentations from Douglas K. Hartman
So, how do we reach students when classes are overcrowded and students are at so many different levels? I believe technology is a tool that can help in this situation. Many have discussed new methodologies such as The Flipped Classroom where student's homework consists of viewing lectures at home so that the 'homework' becomes classwork where the teachers can facilitate a more hands-on model of instruction. Certain software companies have created Learning Management Systems that help to make this an easy transition.
I certainly do not believe that teachers are to blame. In fact, I believe teachers are the thread holding the system together. I do think that the system needs to change, though. Times have changed; however, much in our practice has not. In my opinion, teaching is evolving - and the field of education needs to catch up. Teachers are ready; they simply need the tools and the training to incorporate these new methods into their classrooms.
In closing, I pose a question: are we going to continue to prepare our students to become proficient at shading in bubbles, or are we going to prepare them to be able to use their resources, analyze information, think critically, and connect globally?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
