Earlier this year Facebook removed one of its few academic-minded features — a tool that let college students list which courses they were taking. Some users might have taken that removal as a sign that the social-network was moving ever further away from its collegiate roots. But in fact, Facebook officials simply hoped that someone would build a better course-management application than they had.
A company named Inigral thinks it’s done just that: Its designers have built an application, called Courses, that lets students use Facebook to track down classmates, share notes, start discussion groups, and keep track of their coursework.
Sounds promising, right? Well, there’s something of a catch. Now that Facebook has opened up its pages to independent software developers, there are plenty of course-listing applications like this one floating around. And none of those tools seem especially popular: According to VentureBeat, the most widely-used course-listing tool has less than 3,300 “daily active users.” Applications like Courses might be useful, but their success will depend on whether students decide that Facebook is an academic tool, not just a social one. —Brock Read
Developing online and blended learning programs requires research and collaboration. Learn how top technology companies are partnering with campuses across the country to advance online learning as it becomes an increasingly important aspect of higher education.