AT&T is now delivering campus and course information and materials directly to students’ knapsacks, purses, pockets via a new mLearning enterprise app.
According to the press release, AT&T has decided that “it’s time to ditch the bulky directories and printed flyers,” swapping them for their Campus Guide powered by DubMeNow.
Of course this works best on campuses with 100% smartphone-enabled students. The digital divide is alive and well on many campuses (including mine) so the “ihave-nots” would be left out of the campus informational loop if the administration, faculty, staff, and student service offices opted out of providing printed materials altogether.
Offering customizable options for profs, groups, departments, units and offices to configure their mobile presence—AT&T’s Campus Guide will undoubtedly shape users’ expectations about mobile accessibility on campus, and that in turn will push campus communities to think mobile, and quickly.
One truly interesting aspect of this appification of higher ed is the Facebook tie-ins and SMS/IM support—which effectively and thoroughly socializes courses, classrooms, and campuses. Hello backchannel!
Will this development inspire profs to develop more multimedia, mobile-friendly digital, and social learning objects and course components? I think so. Will it be an incredibly disruptive technology that has some profs screaming for classroom cell phone jammers and wi-fi blocks? Yes, indeed.
If profs and administrations do not have resources or talent to provide mobile optimized experiences for students, visitors, and alums, brands and telecoms are certainly willing to step up for the opportunity to connect with all those 18-34s….
As campuses and classes go mobile with apps like this, smartphones join textbooks as required school supplies. Especially so if there is wide-scale buy-in from profs eager to convert their course materials to the smallest of screens. Gen Y loves apps. Do their Gen X and Boomer profs feel the same?
mLearning: Teaching with Telecoms–Branded Campus Apps http://t.co/wbTrQqo Will Profs Opt-in?