Thomas Edison State University has introduced a new mobile learning course delivery system that enables students to complete courses with little or no Internet connections.
Beginning in spring 2009, the first phase of the college’s Mobile Learning Initiative will be made available to students, who will be able to receive entire courses delivered to them on a single two gigabyte (2 GB) flash drive, a device smaller than a pack of gum. These new flash-based courses, called FlashTrack courses, contain the same structure and functionality of a typical online course but without the need for a constant online connection.
“Our new mobile learning platform will give students more flexibility to do their course work while commuting, on military deployment, sitting on the beach or in any instance where Web connectivity is not convenient or immediately available,” said Dr. Henry van Zyl, vice provost, Center for Directed Independent Adult Learning at Thomas Edison State University. “It recreates the online experience in an offline setting.”
The initial phase of the Mobile Learning Initiative was made possible with funding from the Thomas Edison State University Foundation and includes 15 FlashTrack courses that enable students to complete the course without an Internet connection. The initial flash-based courses are designed for independent learners and will prepare students to take a pass or fail examination.
The flash drives that contain FlashTrack courses will come to students preloaded with most items required to complete the course, including course materials as well as the software necessary for word processing and spreadsheets, media players, PDF and photo-viewing programs, and e-mail and Web utilities for students with access to the Internet.
“The flash drive acts in much the same way a computer hard drive does, but it is portable, secure, reusable and completely self-contained,” noted van Zyl.
The college plans to expand the Mobile Learning Initiative to supplement existing college courses with a flash drive, including courses that require an online connection for students to submit assignments and participate in online discussions.
Van Zyl said the portability and integrity of the flash drives is an attractive option to deployed military personnel, mass transit riders and busy adults who are mobile more often than they are at a stationary location.
“The flash drives are completely secure,” he said. “There’s nothing left behind on the host computer – all personal and course information is isolated on the flash drive, which students take away with them.”
The devices are compatible with any PC or Apple that has a USB port and runs Microsoft Windows programs, so students using the new format can go from computer-to-computer, or device-to-device, completing and saving their course work each time without leaving a digital footprint. Additional phases of the Mobile Learning Initiative include the creation of courses that can be accessed through smartphones, such as the Blackberry, the Palm and the iPhone.
Toni M. Terry, BA