"70 Interesting Ways to Use an iPad in the Classroom"

This slideshow collection "70 Interesting Ways to Use an iPad in the Classroom" is a real "keeper".  Share it with all fellow iPad users.  Thanks go to educator Tom Barrett of the United Kingdom -- He sure looks like he enjoys his work!

Back-to-School iPhone Apps

Here is a list of mobile apps for young adults headed back to school or college, according to Mashable .

1. Open Culture. Access to mobile education audio and videos.
2. Mental Case.  Flashcards for Medical Students
3. Rate My Professor -- self explanatory
4. My Homework and iStudiez Pro 
5. Free Translator
6. Chegg - textbook search and rental
7. Blackboard Mobile Learn
8. Quick Graph 
9. Formulas Free -- Formulas for Calculus
10. Free Books -- Last but not least!!!

iPhone Touch was given out free to students and educators who bought a new computer this summer.  Most campuses and high schools have campuswide wireless Internet access, so there should be a lot more traffic/bandwidth use this fall.  Enjoy!

Now to collect a top ten mobile apps for school and academic libraries.

Education Applications for iPhone and Mobile Devices

Today, I received a request for a list of the top education apps for iPhones. Talk about tech trends -- last year's explosion of mobile apps will be nothing compared with this year's. iPhone started it all -- today, there are 100,000 iPhone apps. Other mobile devices (Blackberries, Palms, smartphones, netbooks, etc) also have mobile apps.

To some extent, I have covered library/educational mobile apps on 2CoolTools. See
- top 10 list of categories of mobile applications
- Mobile Learning
- API - applications for libraries
- Mobile devices

I didn't have a specific list of most popular education apps, but the question made me look and find some sites that review education apps:

• http://www.iear.org/iear/author/iear
• http://iphone-apps.toptenreviews.com/education/
• http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2009/05/8-must-have-education-apps-for-iphone/
• http://www.apple.com/search/?q=education&sec=iphone (almost 5,000 education apps)
  

2010 Horizon Report Preview

Horizon Report 2010 preview
The New Media Consortium released its list of six Horizon Report Topics for 2010 (PDF file) and the Horizon Report 2010 Preview (PDF file). It is "must reading" each year. Read it. Share it. Discuss it. The reports were originally for a higher education audience but now has a huge following.

• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less
  • Mobile Computing
  • Open Content
    
• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years
  • Electronic Books
  • Simple Augmented Reality
• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years
  • Gesture-Based Computing
  • Visual Data Analysis

An example of Open Content by the California School Library Association is their free, online professional development tutorials: School Library Learning 2.0, Classroom Learning 2.0, and Discovering Assistive Technology. Also Learning 2.0 for Teens. These and all sorts of free online courses are available anywhere in the world via the Internet.

Personally, I think gesture-based computing will become more mainstream sooner than 4-5 years. The Nintendo wii technology has amazing potential, not just fun and games. Nintendo competitors seek to outshine the wii. Microsoft announced Project Natal , which simplifies use by eliminating the use of a controller. Sony has a motion controller in development that includes a handheld, wandlike device that pairs with a camera, splitting the difference between Wii and Natal.

Critical Challenges (4) - the third challenge resonates most with me: "Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key 21st century skill, but there is a widening training gap for faculty and teachers. Often not seen as a priority for faculty or teacher training, digital media literacy is nonetheless a critical skill not only for students but for those who work with them. Faculty and instructors are beginning to realize that they are limiting their students by not helping them to develop and use digital media literacy skills across the curriculum. This
challenge is exacerbated by the fact that it is not clear exactly how to codify the skills or set standards for their measurement."

The Horizon Report documents are also available the Horizon Report Wiki. They are the result of the rounds of discussions and voting by the advisory board members. The final report will be officially released on January 20. The preview version of the report includes a section called Critical Challenges as well as a section for Key Trends. - Buffy Hamilton, AASL Blog, Nov. 23

Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009

Each year since 2004, ECAR (EduCause Center for Applied Research) has surveyed college and university freshmen and sophomores on their use of technology. This is the 13-page key findings of "ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009". Good number of charts.

Highlights for me include:

• Use of instant messages has declined, while text messaging and social networks have increased. See chart on page 5.
  
• Use of social networking software (SNS) has increased the most by older students. See chart on page 6. Use by students age 30-39 tripled, use by students age 40 and above quadrupled.
  
• Use of course management software (CMS) has increased significantly since 2004. In 2009, about 70.4% of students surveyed were in a class that used course management software (CMS) that quarter; an additional 18.5% have experienced CSM.
  
• Study identified and described 4 types of users of mobile Internet: power users, ocassional users, potential users, and non-users. Potential users (11.8%) indicated they probably would purchase a mobile device within the next 12 months. See page 10. Of note: about 35.4% of students who owned an Internet-capable handheld device said they never use that feature.
  
• Handhelds were used in class by about 32.2% of students for non-course use; 11% for course-related use.
• The study no longer asks about use of e-mail, assuming it is well-entrenched -- yet my college student rarely checks her e-mail and as a result has missed some important deadlines or communications from her college!
  
• Students like the use of technology, but want their academic experience balanced with the human touch. Apparently some professors overuse technology, while others avoid it.
  

The authors provide a proper citation for the longitudinal study:
Citation for this work: Smith, Shannon, Gail Salaway, and Judith Borreson Caruso, with an Introduction by Richard N. Katz. The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009 (Research Study, Vol. 6). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2009, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

CARL's "Impossibly Wonderful Things"

The Northern Regional meeting of the California Academic and Research Libraries (CARL) attracted a roomful of academic librarians to Sonoma State University on Friday, February 27, 2009. CARL members were welcomed by Sonoma State University Librarian Barbara Butler and CARL VP North Ned Fielden. Special presenter was CARL President Tracey Mayfield, who showcased the newly designed CARL website. Check it out! We also learned that the 2010 CARL Conference will be in Sacramento. Details to follow. In the near term, there is a New Basic Skills Curriculum workshop on April 24, 2009 -- a good time to advocate for Information Literacy.

CARL Interest Groups met and networked over lunch break. The North IT Special Interest Group attracted a number of new and potentially new members. Co-chairs Sheila Cunningham and Ann Hubble gave an overview of the SIG's annual summer workshops, website, listserv, and blog. Pam Howard of San Francisco State University Library encouraged us to look at Library H3LP, an integrated IM/web-chat program especially designed for libraries. We also considered addressing new or ways to present library stats and measurements.

In the afternoon, several members were invited to give 5-minute presentations on "Wonderful Things" -- useful new tools and practices for the profession from around the region. Here are some of them:

• Jeff Rosen of San Francisco State sped us through an overview of MobiLib Home, ways libraries are making the library accessible via wireless devices such as cell and smart phones. Some examples of mobile access include University of Richmond, Scottsdale Public Library, Ball State Library, American University Library, Harvard University Library, and Washington Public Library. Of the above libraries, only Ball State Library had a "mobile access" option on their website. Jeff provided an impressive list of mobile applications: catalog search, computers (reservations?), library hours, ask-a-librarian, reserve a room, video services, LibraryThing, and more -- remember, all this in 5-minutes!
• Snoopy Library Catalog - Paula Hammett of Sonoma State University Library showed how students could use the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) phone link for text messages.
• Worldcat. Caroline Harnly of San Francisco State University Library did some special WorldCat tricks for Collection Development
• Captivate by Adobe. Aline Soules of CSU East Bay gave an impressive overview of how she has personally invested in Captivate software for creating 10-12 minute modules for students. It is 508 compliant. Preparing for closed captioning takes a bit of practice, but works well.
• Merlot.org - multimedia
• 2CoolThings blog by Jackie Siminitus. It captures CARL and a wide range of cool IT tools, events, and issues. It was started two years ago, thanks to an invitation by CARL North IT blogmaster Christine Holmes of San Jose State University Library to participate in SJLearning2.0. Recent posts include Second Life events and mobile access examples in libraries (see tags on sidebar).
  

ChaCha and ATT

AT&T announced a strategic relationship with ChaCha, a fast growing text messaging mobile search service. ChaCha will use a co-branded greeting and promote AT&T when consumers call 1-800 2ChaCha (1-800-2-242242).

ChaCha provides free answers to any question — anytime, anywhere — to and from any activated wireless phone. Questions can cover any topic, from science to culture to sports and more. Easier than calling or texting a reference librarian? For many questions and fast facts, yes. According to ChaCha's "Confessions" page, most questions fall into 3 categories: get an answer now ( like when you are in a store and want a comparison price); prove your friend wrong (win a bet); make the most of your day (seem like a catch-all for testimonials or thank you notes to ChaCha). Reference Librarians, don't worry. You probably already have ChaCha as a "favorite" on your iPhone or Blackberry.

Mobility@Your Library - #10 M-Learning

Here is #10 of 10 categories of how libraries use mobile devices.

#10 - M-Learning (Mobile Learning. Learning-on-the-go). There are hundreds of new applications for consumers, teachers, and students of all ages. My focus is library applications, so I'll point to my friends' collections and presentations on Mobile Learning.

• CSULB Dr. Lesley Farmer’s 11/2008 presentation created for the California School Library Association. Conference presentation on "M-Learning" featured SFUSD's Terry Lai, CSULB's Lesley Farmer, and AT&T Library Advocate Jackie Siminitus.
• AT&T Education Advocate Karen Montgomery’s Thinking Machine Wiki has a large collection of educational and classroom uses of mobile applications: Mobile Phones for Learning.
  

Lesley provided a PowerPoint with audio (see CSLA conference wiki). Here are highlights:

Examples of Mobile Devices:

• personal handheld devices (PDAs) such as Blackberries™, Palms™, and Treos™
• cell phones (typically SmartPhones™)
• laptops (usually ultra-mobile models)
• mini game consoles (e.g., Nintendo DS™ and PSP™)
• media players (e.g., MP3 and ebook players)
• media recorders (e.g., pocket digital cameras and mini camcorders)
• personal response systems (e.g., Clickers™)
• handheld calculators
• personal navigation devices (e.g., GPS)

Educational Features of Mobile Devices:

• text messaging
• audio/media communication and recording
• image capturing
• Internet access
• recording/documentation/archiving ability
• GPS (geographic positioning system)
• Leverages multiple learning preferences and collaborative learning – and devalues place of learning

Challenges of M-Learning:

• stable Internet access
• bandwidth requirements
• battery endurance
• low-resolution images and poor sound quality
• software application deployment
• Possible need for same equipment
• focus on the equipment rather than on the learning
• possible lack of control by teacher
• privacy and security breaches
• need for teacher training

Lesley also pointed out the benefits to GIRLS (a topic she has covered in a book about Teen Girls and Technology)

• Non-threatening format
• Can be personalized
• Builds on communication
• Optimizes shared knowledge-building
• Bridges school and home life