Always a little slow to adapt, higher education began this year to explore the academic uses of smartphones and tablets. The trick is to find the sweet spot where technology and instruction meet.

Tables and Charts

Student Use

Attitudes About Tech

Campus Infrastructure

The Year in Review: College Tech Goes Mobile

College technology went on the move in the 2010-11 academic year, venturing into mobile platforms like smartphones and tablets such as the iPad. The devices were used within classes and without for teaching, reading texts, student affairs, contacting alumni, and recruiting prospective students.

But the movement—driven by the recognition that people were spending more time on mobile devices—went in fits and starts. Higher education, never a rapid adapter, struggled to figure out how best to make use of mobile devices and new capabilities.

Take, for example, Stanford University, one of the most tech-savvy places in academe. MORE »