Plans
to assemble a mobile app with offline study capabilities hit a snag over the
summer when three universities pulled out of the partnership that would have created
the courses necessary for the mobile app program. That work is now back on
track and the educational technology firm 2U will soon make the app available
to the 10,000 students already using the service.
The
app provides students with an “offline mode” that allows them to watch videos
and lectures and complete online reading assignments while disconnected from
the Internet.
“We
have a student taking courses on an oil rig 150 miles from the closest coast,”
James Keinigberg, chief technology officer for 2U, told eCampus News. “There are students who need to fit in coursework while commuting
underground in New York City. There are students in all sorts of remote
locations or situations where they can’t be online and they would like to take
some of this content on the go.”
The
app also allows students to interact with the content offline. That interaction
automatically syncs with the app’s platform when it is reconnected to the
Internet.