Networking U

Such portals have the now-familiar bells and whistles of social networking, like chat and forum functions. But that has also raised some thorny issues. Sure, students like to use chat features to talk about course material with fellow classmates, notes Valia Spiliotopoulos, an assistant professor and associate director of the University of Victoria Learning and Teaching Centre. But today’s students are so accustomed to online slang, symbols and shortcuts, that some of them might find it difficult to distinguish between what’s appropriate on Facebook and what’s suitable for academic equivalents like Moodle. Spiliotopoulos says students have to think before they post, and ask themselves: “Can I use those emoticons in the same way I do when I’m posting a tweet on Twitter?” After all, on Moodle and the like they are “developing a particular type of identity online,” she says—one that well might follow them throughout their academic and professional careers.

But despite such concerns, connectivity also offers one big advantage: convenience. At universities like McMaster and Carleton, students instant-message their librarians and professors during scheduled hours to ask for help instead of meeting up on campus. Some professors are even holding office hours via Skype videoconference, making meeting virtually like the real thing, says Carol Miles, director of learning technologies and teaching support at Carleton.

Most campuses now offer wireless Internet, and limited connectivity is becoming a thing of the past as schools move toward 100 per cent coverage. The realization that students have become hooked on mobility inspired two educators from the University of Saskatchewan’s computer science department. “When a lecture is over, students pop open their cellphones and start checking their messages,” says Eric Neufeld, head of the department. “I wanted to be inside those cellphones.”

Chad Jones, an instructor and former Apple employee who teaches a second-year computer science class centred on iPhone programming, worked with a departmental team that developed an iPhone and iPod Touch application called iUSask—the first of its kind for a Canadian university. The application allows students to check their current grades, find out where their class is and the building it’s in using a GPS-enabled campus map, or even check to see if the library book they want is available—all while they walk between classes. “We’re making software fit students,” Jones says. On top of that, students in his class participate in the development of new features for the application—and it’s all for credit. Jones says the app had received 2,300 downloads by the end of September this year, and other schools have already contacted the department about creating similar applications.

The idea that technology has become synonymous with the student experience is being embraced at many leading institutions. “We’re becoming very much a laptop campus,” says Carleton’s Miles. “Basically, all of our students are now connected to the Internet one way or another.” At Carleton, students can watch lectures over cable TV or stream them online with Carleton University TV. They can also splice together segments of lectures and add video notes, then post them on a wiki to share with classmates as study tools. That came in handy during a recent strike by local transit workers—Miles says some 20 professors had their lectures recorded, so students who couldn’t make it to class could still keep up.