The Interfolio Blog

As classroom technology continues to evolve, educators and students alike are increasingly faced with challenges to their previously established learning methods. Our blog has documented some of these changes, including the experimentation done by Monica Rankin with her use of the social media utility, Twitter, in the classroom. Without a doubt, computers are at the forefront of these changes and we expect to see their inclusion in classroom settings increase exponentially over the coming years.

 An article published this week by the New York Times showcased two high schools in California where students used computers provided by their educators to receive assignments, do their homework, and access podcasts of their teachers' lectures. This use of technology is the result of the Beyond Textbooks Initiative where teachers are encouraged to use their own PowerPoint presentations, and other relevant open courseware to share with their classes. Many educators even believe that textbooks will soon be replaced by their digital counterparts, with interactive components including educational gaming, networking and collaboration, and multimedia such as slide shows, videos and audio recordings. 

One major motivator for moving over to digital courses is cost. Through open courseware and the presentation of class materials online, the state of California hopes to save hundreds of millions of dollars in public education costs each year. For a state that has experienced major cuts in educational funding, the new alternatives provided by digital resources will allow administrators to continually increase the quality of education to students by reallocating their budgets accordingly. 

Though the NYTimes article deals directly with high schools, it is safe to project that colleges and universities will also continue to head in a digital direction. Many professors already make assignments available online, including lectures, submissions, discussions, grades, and even course evaluations through tools like Blackboard. We've also seen increased interactivity in OpenCourseware initiatives like those at MIT, which have now spread to over 200 institutions in 32 countries. In addition, according to the Wall Street Journal, this type of development is spreading to mobile technologies as well. Textbooks will become available to subscribers who have an iPhone through a deal that CourseSmart LLC recently made with Apple. Clearly we're headed in a digital direction, but how exactly will it evolve?