For decades upon decades, the formula for teaching students went like this: you sit with a book in front of you, while a teacher talks and you take notes.<\/p>\n
It’s also a formula…due largely to the Internet…that’s on it’s way out.<\/p>\n
Take for example Abilene Christian University<\/strong>, a private university in Texas.\u00a0 Last year they started handing out iPhones and iPod Touches to incoming freshman.\u00a0 They also developed apps for these devices.\u00a0 And they started using them as part of the teaching process.<\/p>\n Why?<\/strong> Because they noticed that students weren’t really taking notes during lectures anymore.\u00a0 Instead, they just used Google or Wikipedia to find the information they needed.\u00a0 Of course the problem with that method is the information student’s found may not be reliable.<\/p>\n So Abilene Christian University merged the two.\u00a0 A professor discusses a topic and tells the students to use their iPhones to find more information.\u00a0 Then, while still in the classroom<\/em><\/strong>, they discuss the information their iPhones returned, while the professor helps them determine what is accurate and what is not.\u00a0 An indirect, but a very effective, hands-on, method of learning.<\/p>\n Other professors use the iPhones to do instant, anonymous polling during discussions and even to distribute quizzes.<\/p>\n