ITTO: Apps Transforming the Classroom by Margaret Rock

Mobile apps are finding their place in the classroom, as online programs grow in the coming year.

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Students and parents can expect to see more digital learning tools -- from organizational and content apps to online study sites -- in 2012, both inside and outside the classroom.

Supplemental educational programs are leading the way in adapting curriculum for the online learner. For example, companies like Kaplan and Sylvan offer online tutoring programs to supplement classroom learning, and forecasters are looking to those projects for clues about what works and can be applied to the nation's classrooms.

In general, these programs assess students to determine skill gaps an individualized curriculum might address. This level of customization allows the student to focus on critical areas and often provides a measurement tool to gauge success. Some of the strategies will likely trickle down to more traditional classrooms eventually.

Increased use of mobile devices with educational apps will also be one of the biggest education technology trends in 2012, according to a September 2011 study by Encyclopedia Britannica, which points out smartphones, tablets, and netbooks lead the pack of preferred handheld devices among K-12 students.
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Is This Thing On?, or ITTO, is Mobiledia's Wednesday column showing how everyday people use technology in unexpected ways.

Source: Mobiledia