Mobile Learning is the way of the future

I have attended both online and classroom courses for the past few years and have come to the conclusion that the classes that integrate both Blackboard, an online course management system, and in-class lectures have proven to be the most beneficial courses I have enrolled in.

Many universities and colleges have even begun intergrating mobile learning, using smart phones as educational tools to connect to school information, into their curriculum. I am glad that ACC is currently looking to do the same because it is a beneficial educational tool students need.

ACC is "currently in the process of setting up and testing a tool that will let the Blackboard iPhone application connect to ACC," Associate Vice President of Information Technology Stan Gun said in an e-mail. "We want to offer this feature, but we also want to make sure that we can implement it in a way that protects the privacy and security of students' information."

The new Blackboard mobile app is set to launch later this year and will allow students to connect to their classes on the go, according to Blackboard's Web site. Students will be able to check grades and assignments, add comments to discussion boards, e-mail instructors and classmates and post comments to blogs on thier mobile devices.

I think ACC should develop their own custom application since we live in such a tech savvy city rather than using only the Blackboard application to provide students with a mobile learning experience,

Mobile learning is rapidly becoming popular at higher education institutions around Texas including Texas A&M University. Students there are able to connect to their campus via the TAMUmobile application that provides students with a collection of applications that gives students university information such as news, a calendar of events, maps and a school directory.

ACC should develop a similar app because of the size and scale of our college. With over 41,000 students and multiple campuses, a custom mobile app would allow students to stay more connected to the college as a whole and not just at individual campuses.

Abilene Christian University is a school that has set the bar high when it comes to integrating mobile learning into classrooms. Two years ago, the school gave 650 incoming freshman either iPhones or iPod touches to study how having smart phones with constant access to classroom information affects student learning through their ConnectEd program.

Research conducted during year one of the ConnectEd program found students had more contact with their professors, increased academic performance and engagement, and an improved sense of community, according to ACU Mobile Learning Research.

Unfortunatley, but understandably, ACC isn't able to provide our large student body with a similar experience because, while ACU's research is groundbreaking, it has a small population of about five thousand students that allows them to feasibly provide students with iPhones or iPod touches.

Despite that, ACU's experiment has provided valuable research into how beneficial mobile learning can be.

Mobile learning is the way of the future, and I am happy that ACC is taking steps to integrate mobile learning into our curriculum because the college needs to create an environment that mirrors the real world that we live in.