The Mobile Course Design Journey Transforming Access in Higher Education

Part 1: Why Does Mobile Design Matter? 1. Consider Our Learners: Designing for Use and Reducing Barriers of Access 2. The Mobile-Friendly Course Continuum: Demystifying Mobile Design Part 2: How Do I Design Content Students Can Access on Their Phones? 3. Create Content for Small Screens: Mobile Design Meets Accessibility 4. Build Trust: Care, Understanding, and Acceptance by Design 5. Leverage Moments: Filling the In-Between Parts of a Day Part 3: How Do I Design Assignments Students Can Complete on Their Phones? 6. Allow Choice: Creating Opportunities for Students to Move Between Devices 7. Integrate Multimodality: Making Use of Robust Features 8. Leverage Mobile-Friendly Tools: Working Smarter, Not Harder Part 4: I’ve Designed My Mobile-Friendly Course… Now What? 9. Play!: Understanding the Student Experience 10. Communicate: Advertising Mobile-Friendliness Part 5: What’s the Future of Mobile Design?  11. Support Your Colleagues: A Toolkit for Instructor Support 12: Look to the Future: Reimagining Access to Higher Education

Biography

Alex Rockey is Professor of Academic Technology at Bakersfield College, USA.

"Effective digital course design that includes the use of smartphones has become more important than ever, whether because of the growing use of apps, the sudden demand for fully digital courses during COVID, or simply the evolving need for interactive and immersive instruction that once took place primarily in a physical classroom. In her book, The Mobile Course Design Journey: Transforming Access in Higher Education, Dr. Rockey offers a summary of issues and advantages to offering mobile-friendly instruction. Dr. Rockey gives careful consideration to student access issues and addresses concerns that some instructors may have about successfully transitioning to courses in a mobile environment. The book is an engaging read with simple tips for educators seeking to make their courses mobile friendly while making the case that smartphones can be an effective learning tool for students with busy lives."
—Sonya Christian, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, USA

"Educators will find much to appreciate and learn from in The Mobile Course Design Journey. With an empathetic, asset-oriented perspective guiding her scholarship about higher education instruction, author Alex Rockey offers readers an abundance of practical teaching strategies grounded in educational theory. Importantly, she engages with the deeply human, reminding readers of students’ lived experiences all throughout. For Dr. Rockey, the power of mobile course design is not about the technology itself, but rather, is about creating greater opportunities for students to access educational experiences. This framing is powerful, and it’s what makes The Mobile Course Design Journey such a helpful primer for teachers and higher education administrators alike who want to better understand the possibilities available with mobile learning."
—Jenae Cohn, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of California, Berkeley, USA

"Alex Rockey has tapped into the next phase of inclusive teaching. This much-needed resource frames smartphones as learning tools, rather than learning distractions. After reading this book, college educators will think differently about mobile devices and will acquire simple and practical strategies to design mobile-friendly courses."
—Michelle Pacansky-Brock, Online Educator, Faculty Developer, and Thought Leader of Humanized Online Teaching