Shortly after Google unveiled Swiffy, the Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool designed for WebKit browsers, mobile app development firm appMobi launched a related utility called appFlash. This new tool takes advantage of Swiffy's capabilities, allowing mobile developers to convert app assets coded in Flash into native iOS applications.

GroupTweet turns a standard Twitter account into a group communication hub where members can post updates to everyone in the group using direct messages. When the group account receives a direct message from a group member, GroupTweet converts it into a tweet that all followers can see.

As the dramatic growth of the mobile web changes the way people consume content, it’s becoming increasingly important for publishers to provide a good mobile experience. With this in mind, we just added automatic mobile rendering in Google Sites for iOS 3.0+ and Android 2.2+ devices, and a mobile version of the Google Sites lists. By going to General settings under More actions > Manage site and clicking on Automatically adjust site for mobile phones, your Google site will be automatically adjusted whenever it’s viewed from an iOS or Android 2.2+ device

Teachers across the country have been incorporating Twitter into classrooms for a few years, but the site's adoption by educational institutions appears to be limited. A survey of 1,920 U.S. teachers published in April found that 2% of them use the micro-blogging site in college lectures. About half those polled said the use of Twitter and Facebook in class is harmful to the learning experience, according to the study from consulting firm Pearson Learning Solutions. Still, Legaspi is hopeful. When he explained the plan to his students at Hollenbeck Middle School in East Los Angeles, he learned that only one of them had used Twitter. But most, he said, live on their phones. So getting them started wasn't difficult.

Legaspi said shy students are benefiting the most. For "a lot of them, what it did is help find their voice," he said. "I have many students that do not participate in my classes or share what's on their mind, so Twitter became that vehicle." Several students praised the new approach. "It's a great way to get people to notice you," said Oscar Lozoria, a shy 14-year-old with long hair that other students used to tease him about. He said Twitter has changed how his peers view him. "They see me as somebody now -- as an equal," he said. Ivan Sabaria, also 14, said Twitter makes learning more fun. "I'm paying attention and doing all my work," he said.

Occasionally, the students will type in something inappropriate during class. Still, Legaspi is convinced he has discovered the future of education. "I get feedback on the spot. Not only that, all the students can see what they're sharing," he said. "This is powerful."

A Video Lecture Capture (VLC) system was implemented to address issues relating to retention, and to reverse the trend of high drop, failure, and withdrawal (DFW) rates. The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of how using VLC impacted their academic performance. Areas of interest surrounded students’ perceived benefits, value, and helpfulness of using the system. In addition, the study probed the concern of many about the impact using VLC would have upon class attendance. Finally the study compared students’ perceptions about their performance as a result of using VLC with faculty perceptions about their students’ performance as a result of using VLC. It was hypothesized that there is a significant difference between student and faculty perceptions.

 When students were given their own iPad, they were given full autonomy of their device and had to set it up from scratch. They set up all of their own accounts and installed their own apps, from a combination of required apps to those which they chose themselves. Each student was given a $40 iTunes gift card to use for their purchases. Experience showed that true success relied on moving away from the school being the "boss" of the machine to one where it was student driven and student managed. 

It was found that the Ipads are very different from laptops in that students can really relate to them and, when used, they do not become the focus of the learning. Instead they become one device which can be used with all learning tools that students have access to. The iPad became the "red pen" where much of the work got done in other ways and the iPad was used when needed. Laptop computers control thinking and control the desk. When used, they become the focus of the learning. iPads are a technology which has really changed the way students work with computers in the classroom. The real challenge for staff is to embrace this and to understand that you can't expect to have iPads in the classroom and teach the same way that you did when you didn't have them. It changes the way students work and they way teachers teach. 

This case study examines how ePortfolios, used in conjunction with blogs, can encourage students to become more critically reflective learners. The benefits and challenges of using ePortfolios are discussed, along with strategies for providing sufficient technical and pedagogical support, to enable teachers and students to confidently use the technology as a collaborative learning tool.

Because starting now,

Because starting now, YouTube is giving users a choice over how they want to license their content. There’s still the standard YouTube license, which is fairly restrictive, and now there’s a new option: Creative Commons (with attribution). In short, you can now give other people permission to use your footage however they’d like, provided to include a link back to the source.

So, what does this mean for users? You’ll now be able to use YouTube’s video editor to splice your own video with content that has been uploaded by other users under Creative Commons, and they’ll be able to use your videos if you let them.

It is a mistake to try to implement a full "course" as an mLearning application, or to think of mLearning as classic asynchronous eLearning but on a smaller screen. In order to avoid this, designers must think through their instructional strategy (how to effectively combine the various modalities and platforms) and their implementation strategy (it may be better to start with performance support via mobile than to start with delivery of instruction). You can get a lot of help in this effort from the Mobile Learning: Landscape and Trends report itself. It will give you unbiased information about the issues, the tools, and the experience of many organizations as they implement mLearning. In the next two weeks, Learning Solutions Magazine will offer features on implementing mLearning. On June 14, The Guild’s Thought Leader Seminar will feature Gary Woodill, speaking on “The Mobile Learning Edge: How Learning on the Move Can Be A Competitive Advantage.”