Dive Brief:
- Ronald Yaros, associate professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, created an app for his classes that forces students to engage with course content through smartphones and tablets, but not laptops.
- Campus Technology reports that Yaros has found the smaller screens that show only one application at a time reduce students' ability to shift attention away from course content, increasing engagement.
- His app, Mobile 3.0, requires a sign-in, limiting access to his students, and combines media tools like video and camera with course materials and assignments, giving students a one-stop shop and a platform for publishing their own content.
Dive Insight:
During the first phase of the digital revolution, instructors focused on keeping students away from the distractions posed by the internet and their devices in class. Some professors banned cellphone and laptop use in class or internet use specifically. But moving into the next phase, mobile technology is being harnessed as an integral part of student engagement. Ohio State is among institutions rolling out a campuswide, in-class, digital communication tool.