Sometimes our understanding of deep learning isn’t all that deep. Typically, it’s defined by what it is not. It’s not memorizing only to forget and it’s not reciting or regurgitating what really isn’t understood and can’t be applied. The essence of deep learning is understanding—true knowing. That’s a good start but it doesn’t do much to help students see the difference between deep and surface learning or to help persuade them that one is preferable to the other.

Cloud users have a variety of options for accessing content as well as the option of using any number of apps to create content, e.g. documents, spreadsheets, and presentations just to name a few. Many of the available apps in the iTunes store and Google Play even mimic computer application programs that most of us use on a daily basis and CloudOn is one such app.

Many individuals use Microsoft Office as a one-stop application program for any number of every day tasks, so it is not surprising that someone figured out a way to provide iPad and Android users with the ability to read and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.

CloudOn is attractive for precisely this reason and the app makes it possible for uses to do the same kinds of things that are possible in some of MS Office’s applications programs. Launch CloudOn and you can use Dropbox, Box, or Google drive to access files and to save your creation. CloudOn has a banner similar to what you would find in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and this familiar interface makes it a natural selection for creating your documents, spreadsheet, or presentation on the iPad.

Here is an example of that banner:

With CloudOn you can access and save documents to one of these three storage areas: Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive. Best of all, the cost of using CloudOn is free, assuming you stay within the allotted space or storage limitations of your cloud storage provider!

Summary:
There are many ways to work in the cloud and it is really a matter of choice, not to mention storage options, rather than anything else. DropBox provides 2G of storage space; iCloud, Box, and iDrive Sync gives you 5G; and Microsoft’s SkyDrive provides a whopping 7G of storage. Free is good, so have fun using CloudOn and any free cloud storage provider. One thing to keep in mind, at the time of this review CloudOn only appears to provide access to Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive. Do you have a favorite cloud provider? Please share in the comment box.

Dave Yearwood is an associate professor and chair of the technology department at the University of North Dakota.

Have you ever worried about the level of participation in your online courses? Perhaps you have difficulty encouraging students to interact with one another, or maybe you find student responses to be perfunctory. Surely there must be a way to encourage the kinds of participation that really supports learning.

Are your students too answer oriented? Are they pretty much convinced that there’s a right answer to every question asked in class? When preparing for exams, do they focus on memorizing answers, often without thinking about the questions?

Most college students struggle with the vocabulary of our disciplines. In their various electronic exchanges, they do not use a lot of multisyllabic, difficult-to-pronounce words. And virtually all college courses are vocabulary rich—unfamiliar words abound. Most students know that the new vocabulary in a course is important. They use flash cards and other methods to help them memorize the words and their meanings for their exams. Two days later, the words and their meanings are gone.

Today’s classrooms require that instructors possess competencies for teaching all students. Robust instructional strategies and culturally sensitive curricula are critical, but more important is an instructor who is sensitive and responsive to the unique differences of each student. Recognizing the need to strengthen specific competencies to reach and teach all students requires an understanding of new ideas and a willingness to view instruction through varied cultural lenses.

Experiential learning is widely recognized as a high-impact educational practice that occurs outside the classroom through experiences such as internships, study abroad, and service-learning. However, experiential learning works very well inside the classroom as well. In fact, there are a number of reasons why faculty may want to facilitate an experiential learning component in class rather than outside of class.

Most frequently, authenticity is described as being “real” or “genuine,” and the advice often given to faculty wanting to develop authenticity in their teaching is to “just do what comes naturally.” But obvious definitions and easy advice frequently obfuscate deeper complexities, and that is definitely the case with authenticity.

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