National American U Adds Smartphone Apps

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/23/13

A university based in Rapid City, SD, which offers traditional, online, and hybrid courses, has recently released smartphone apps to provide tools for students receiving Web-based instruction.

According to a news release from National American University, the new app was "designed to help students increase efficiency and improve time management skills to aid in their online college courses."

With the apps, available for Apple, Android, and Blackberry devices, students can:

  • Check their grades;
  • Chat with peers;
  • Hold discussions;
  • Submit class assignments;
  • Access university news; and
  • Connect to the university's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

"We are pleased to offer students a way to stay connected with their online classes, school news, and information," said John Buxton, CEO of National American University, in a prepared statement. "With smartphones playing a large role in today's society, particularly for college students, we believe the app will be successful in helping students efficiently manage their time with online classes."

The university pointed to a study by the Student Engagement and Experience Journal that concluded students find the use of smartphones helpful in learning.

"Increasingly students own smartphones and, as with other aspects of their lives, they will turn to them as a matter of course to enhance their experience of learning. This study has shown that once students begin using their smartphones for learning they begin to appreciate the benefits and the further possibilities that exist within their current frame of reference," a portion of the study reads.

National American University provides more than 60 associate's, bachelor's, and master's degree programs in the areas of health care and business. They are offered on traditional campuses in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and through online and hybrid models.

For more information, visit national.edu.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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