Summarization #1

The article " Reading, Writing, iPhoning", Elizabeth Woyke basically talks about how some universities are giving either an iPhone or a iPod touch to students. It also says that some universities are pairing the devices with MacBooks. This is supposed to help students out in school, and change the way professors teach and keep track of students. The students will be able to check their syllabi, course calendars, and keep up with city events. They are also adding a panic button that sends an alert to local cops along with information of the student's location. The professors will be able to keep track of attendance and give lectures on the devises, changing how classes are held. The article then states that having these devices in the classroom could just be another distraction, meaning students won't listen to the lectures while they have these in hand. In this case the schools are letting faculty set rules on device use such as other cell phones and laptops, and penalties for inappropiate use of the devices during class.

In the article "Tech helps students adopt good study habits", Dennis Carter talks about Purdue University using an online system called Signals. The system is apart of Blackboard. It uses red, yellow, or green lights to indicate a students standing in each of their classes. The red lights are for students with low grades and with the warnings, students will also get critiques and suggestions from the faculty on how they can improve their grades. The yellow lights are for students with fairly good grades. Green lights are to encourage the students who are at the top of the class to stay at the top. These warnings and critiques can also be sent via eMail, voice mail, or through text messages. The system doesn't wait until midterms to warn students about low grades, it gives their first stoplight updates in the first few weeks of the semester.