By Colter Hettich, Editor in Chief

The inaugural year of ACU’s Mobile Learning Initiative draws to a close this week as faculty members assess the success of the effort to date.

The first two semesters allowed initiative leaders to observe students’ reactions to owning a multi-faceted mobile device and allowed freshmen to familiarize themselves with the technology.

George Saltsman, director of educational technology for the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning, said the difficult steps of distributing the devices and tailoring an infrastructure able to support the expanded network are past.

“Our first year focus was just getting the stuff deployed,” Saltsman said. “Next year we’re going to have classes where everyone in the class has iPhones, so there will be a renewed emphasis.”

Administrators hope that research done throughout the year by the Mobile Learning Initiative research fellows will reveal specific areas and strategies they should pursue.

Scott Perkins, director of research in the Office for Research and Sponsored Programs, assisted faculty members through the grant application process and kept track of this year’s fellows’
research.

“While the primary goals of the program remain the same, our expectation and interest in academic utilization is greater this time around,” Perkins said.

Several new tools for the classroom, such as a class log, are being explored. A greater percentage of students with mobile devices will make classroom implementation much easier.

Perkins said they hope to have “loaner” iPod Touches available in some classes for students without a device.