7 Things You Should Know About Group Texting

Group texting is an easy means of sending one brief missive to many people by means of cell phone text messaging. Instructors create a group, or “cell,” for each class or learning team. Each group has its own messaging channel, which students can access from any mobile device, by e-mail, or on the web. Group texting provides a surprisingly flexible platform for learning, and a number of colleges and universities are experimenting with group texting products as part of bring-your-own-device initiatives. In the future, these services might see greater integration with social media services and the campus LMS.

The 7 Things You Should Know About... series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the 7 Things briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.