COMMUNICATE
In many countries around the world today, communication by cell phones is ubiquitous. Trends in mobile and social computing will make it possible for learners to create and interact with learning communities. For example, using course rosters as "buddy lists" in connection with wireless, mobile devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), students will be able to identify if their peers are nearby on campus. Someone in a large section class with more than 100 students will be able to use technology to create a sense of community. The social computing phenomenon will move beyond using static Web pages to share party pictures with peers to using digital storytelling to share competencies with future employers. Instead of smart mobs protesting a political decision smart study groups will form to prepare for quizzes or to provide feedback about written assignments before submitting them for a grade. Communication challenges in education will include infrastructure, resources, and freedom of speech Maintaining an adequate communication infrastructure for learning means setting up wireless networks throughout a campus or even throughout a metropolitan area. This expensive, labour intensive, and requires a great deal of planning. Educational organizations do not always have the right amount of resources to keep communications running smoothly. Chapter 2 Techno Expression, covers bridging the gap between allowing freedom of expression and setting boundaries to restrict inappropriate behaviour. Despite the power of emerging technologies in education, this balance is difficult to achieve.