Ambient information makes the grade - developing an SMS course management tool

The impact of incorporating mobile technology to enhance student access to course information has been investigated to determine the effectiveness of an ondemand Short Messaging Service (SMS) tool that provides an information exchange between an Australian University and their students. In particular, an evaluation of the impact that information communications technology (ICT) has on the creation of a new mode of information exchange that augments the existing student learning experience was assessed. A pilot test of the tool used SMS mobile technology to improve student 'ondemand' access to information relating to their course scheduling, assessment performance and institutional provision of information. This paper describes an innovative use of the emerging ICT enabled 'push-pull' dialogue capability with a student cohort, providing an efficient and effective means of keeping pace with the social context of the communications marketplace and the education sector's stakeholder demands for improving the quality of their information services.