Mobile Teaching: Merging Smart Phones, Cloud, and Desktop to Achieve Content-specific Instruction in a Generic Environment

Many educational institutions face a similar problem today: the necessity to reorganize teaching and lab space to improve facility utilization. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical Statue University (NCA&T) made the difficult decision to eliminate dedicated labs and classrooms for content-specific instruction. Labs and classrooms previously equipped with private networks and custom operating systems were replaced with a single large classroom equipped with thin-client Windows-based computers. Student demand for Linux instruction has grown eight-fold in four years at NCA&T. In fall 2012, seats were limited to 60 students in two 30-student sections, and more students were involuntarily dropped. This begs the question, "How do large classes of students learn the intricate details of the Linux operating system in a Windows-based classroom with no lab?" The obvious answer is cloud-based Linux images, but cloud access alone is not a learning environment. The authors implemented a mobile virtual environment which included a new textbook, new learning aides, and an immersive hands-on regimen. Before and after metric-based learning outcome assessment demonstrate no adverse impact on the quality of education resulting from the elimination of content-specific classrooms and labs.