Luke Fernandez contemplates the potential and potential pitfalls of e-learning with mobile devices. Is this the next revolutionary iteration in mobile technologies--after the book, that is? Or are there still place-bound learning functions that cannot be replaced by the iPhone and its brethren?

To facilitate real time language exchange with native speakers, language technologist Todd Bryant and Japanese instructor Akiko Meguro developed the Mixxer.  What began as a simple project connecting American college students with native Japanese speakers is now a significant conversational network with more than 40,000 users. Bryant explains how his project grew and how tools like Drupal and Skype made it possible.

Librarians and faculty often think they know how students conduct research, but when a group of five college and university libraries used anthropologists to observe and interview students at work, there were some interesting observations about what happens in the course of an assignment. In this article, the authors discuss the project rationale, the scope of the research and the instructive findings that will guide efforts on their campuses to strengthen students' information literacy skills and facility with academic research tools.

Convinced of the importance of international experiences, faculty at Champlain College in Vermont set out to provide every student with international educational experiences throughout their undergraduate years. Study abroad can only go so far, and in most cases only brings students to one new place. So Champlain College developed the Global Modules project that integrates international study in multiple courses and allows students to learn from and with university students in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Does simulated reality help students think more deeply about their work? That's the question at the center of a fascinating experiment by Jack Green Musselman, who teaches philosophy. Working with technologist Jason Rosenblum, he has created Plato's Cave in Second Life. In addition to the classroom discussion of the allegory, some students in his ethics course will also participate in the Second Life experience. Will this virtual experience generate deeper understanding of the text? 

As I did last year at this time, I gathered the following to tell the story of the changes occurring here and now in the life of the College. In 2009 Amherst College enrolled a total of 1,690 students.

1. Between FY05 and FY09 the decrease in the total number of outgoing phone calls placed by College employees: 117,823 calls, or 25%.

2. In the same period, the decrease in the total number of incoming calls: less than 2%.

3. Number of employees with College-provide Blackberries: 81.

Abdulla Mizead explains how a visionary alum, a group of dedicated students and a supportive college community brought stories of everyday life in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan to the world and cutting edge journalism to Swarthmore College.

With VIPEr, a group of inorganic chemists used social networking technologies to build a scientific community for support, exchange of ideas, and friendship. It's all in the interest of improving chemistry education across campuses and having a bit of fun in the process.

At Carleton College students work with visual materials in all parts of the curriculum. So how do you make sure they get the technical support they need? An extensive research study of faculty and students led to a new coordinated support model. Andrea Lisa Nixon, Heather Tompkins and Paula Lackie explain how they got it done.

The History Engine offers a rich digital repository of episodes from American history and even more important, a chance for undergraduates to "do history" long before the senior seminar.