Mobile Devices..

Several sessions of the segment were devoted to the use of mobile devices as resources for learning. Without a second thought, this was my favorite part of the conference. In general, participants agreed that mobile devices should be seen as an integral resource for learning. Faculty has a role to sensitize the younger generation to the need of new technologies and, perhaps, use it as a potential hook for the digitally literate to attract the less endowed to engage in the educational process.
All was not fluid when it got to discussions on the use of social networking resources outside of the universities' course management systems. Can professors require students to sign up for facebook accounts, for example, to do some term project? Is it fair to a student who, understandably, has some privacy concerns? Is a penalty for this student justified simply because the professor stated the requirement in the syllabus. Will the student have to drop the class if no compromise is reached. The discussion got very heated with each side sticking its side. Obviously this is something for us to ponder over as we design courses in the future.