FREE Learninghouse Webinar: Building Capacity for Student Success: A Case Study

 

Connect with us! Online academic advising has evolved. Have you? The Learning House, Inc. invites you to join us for our next free webinar, "Building Capacity for Student Success: A Case Study," presented by Dr. Carol Ziegler, of Notre Dame College, and Dr. Howell Williams and Michael Tyree, of Learning House. Effective online academic advising can improve student outcomes and increase retention. Learn how one school successfully implemented best practices to provide students with responsive, proactive assistance. We will discuss: The Appreciative Advising approach in an online environment Best practices for success coaching How these techniques have been applied at Notre Dame College Lessons learned from Notre Dame College Learn more. Presenters Dr. Carol Ziegler Chief Mission Officer, Notre Dame College Dr. Carol Ziegler is a Sister of Notre Dame and an assistant professor at Notre Dame College... more Dr. Howell Williams Senior Director of Client Services, Learning House As the Senior Director of Client Services for Learning House, Dr. Howell Williams reviews and investigates institution-wide student ... more Michael Tyree Director of Student Success, Learning House Michael Tyree, Director of Student Success for Learning House, ensures that online students have access to resources... more For up-to-date information on this webinar series and other resources and activities at The Learning House, Inc., please sign up for our email updates by clicking here. To view previously recorded Learning House webinars, please click here to access the Resources section of our website. The Learning House, Inc. 427 South Fourth Street, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202   (502) 589-9878 | LearningHouse.com

 

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FREE Learninghouse Webinar: Building Capacity for Student Success: A Case Study

Tomorrow's Professor: Universities Suffering from Near-Fatal 'Cost Disease'

 

Universities Suffering from Near-Fatal 'Cost Disease'

http://derekbruff.org/blogs/tomprof/

William Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton, sounds the alarm, says the current higher education model is untenable.

 

With state colleges and universities enduring dire cutbacks, tuition hikes ubiquitous, and indebted students a staple of political speech-giving, there's little doubt in the mind of William G. Bowen that we are approaching a crisis in higher education.

 

"There's going to have to be a re-engineering of all this," Bowen remarked Wednesday evening in the first of two talks presented as part of the annual Tanner Lectures on Human Values. The series includes two evening lectures and two discussion sessions.

 

Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton University and of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, collectively titled his lectures "The 'Cost Disease' in Higher Education: Is Technology the Answer?"

 

The "cost disease" refers to a university's inability to implement efficiency measures to maintain productivity, like, say, a manufacturing plant might do. Russian teachers, for example, can't be shifted to the Spanish department. Another difference is the very definition of productivity. It is "maddeningly difficult in the field of education to measure both 'outputs' and 'inputs,'" Bowen said, but there is no question that returns to college students have gone up, both in dollar terms and otherwise. In general, he said, "college is a very good investment." Also, research productivity has risen hugely, thanks to technological innovation.

 

But there's no question that efficiency could be improved. As all citizens of a university campus know, there is duplication, centers that don't seem to do very much and ingrained institutional resistance to flexibility. Decisions are often compartmentalized in ways that make little sense, Bowen said, implying that business models are being imposed from the outside according to non-university criteria.

 

Furthermore, at elite universities such as Stanford, there is upward pressure in the form of salary and amenities competition, what Bowen called "the relentless pursuit of reputation" fueled, in part, by college rankings. Top-tier schools increasingly will do whatever it takes to ensure the best educational experience. Though competition does yield results, he said ? which is why many American research universities are the best in the world ? there is such a thing as "too much competition."

 

Many schools have programs that serve no real purpose, he said. As a result, students take ages to graduate because of insufficient resources and further weigh down the school's finances. And some students do not go to the right school for them, aiming either too high or too low.

 

Meanwhile, state schools ? such as the University of California, the subject of one of the questions from the obviously concerned audience Wednesday night ? are being crippled by diminished state budgets resulting in higher tuition, which further burdens citizens and ends up hurting the institution. At the same time, the upward cost curve is coinciding with steadily declining family income.

 

A question of will

 

Does all this add up to a serious problem, a crisis even? Yes, Bowen said, but it does not spell the end of higher education, neither for private schools nor for state universities. The question is how to do more with less. That, he said, is a question of will, not just resources.

 

With a night to think about the rather grim picture Bowen painted Wednesday evening, a crowd of professors and students gathered Thursday morning to continue the conversation. The respondents were two individuals well versed in the world of educational transformation: Stanford President John Hennessy and Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

Gardner's remarks focused on the importance of the residential education model. If we just let students live in dorms and got rid of the classes, he asked, would it be Plato's Academy or Lord of the Flies? Admittedly, he said, universities everywhere have "fallen far from the ideals" of residential higher education, but we must figure out ways of preserving its virtues while reducing its cost. "Cut the frills," he said. "We're not competing with Marriott." Hire teachers who want to teach, embrace distance learning, cut support staff and maintain communities with society's most admirable values.

 

Chief among those values is the opportunity to know people from different racial and social backgrounds, and in that regard both Gardner on Thursday and Hennessy on Wednesday night, when introducing Bowen, mentioned the affirmative action case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Hennessy talked numbers when it came his turn to respond to Bowen on Thursday, and the numbers say that the list price of a university education is swiftly rising. It's rising more slowly than lawyers' rates, he acknowledged, but that's not saying much.

 

"We should all accept the premise that residential and liberal arts institutions are the gold standard," he said. "The challenge is how to preserve the gold standard," even accepting that there are various classes of gold. Maintaining and nurturing a diverse student body entails community centers and theme dorms and even mental health facilities, which are all desirable but expensive.

 

A few schools ? very few ? have huge endowments to offset the costs, but that's not a long-term solution, and it's no solution at all for public schools being devoured by publicly mandated expenditures, Hennessy said.

 

Too many research institutions

 

A central part of the problem ? and Hennessy confessed he is "a pessimist that this problem is going to get fixed" ? is research, a point with which Bowen and Gardner agreed.

 

"We are trying to support too many institutions doing research," Hennessy said flatly. "We have to accept that we may not be able to afford that many research institutions." (That, Bowen remarked a few minutes later in an understatement, "is a very tough political problem.")

 

Engaging Bowen's question of the previous evening ? do we have a cost crisis? ? Hennessy said no, we have a cost problem. Where there's a crisis, he said, is in college completion, which hovers just over 50 percent in public schools. It's a bit higher for private schools, and plunges to 25 percent in the for-profit sector. And students who don't complete their education are often those carrying the greatest debt. They owe money and have nothing to show for it.

 

The public university model clearly is untenable, Hennessy said bluntly. "You just have to blow up the system."

 

As with the previous evening, the audience appeared captivated and worried, trying to get a handle on the tough choices ahead. Bowen's nonprofit organization for transformative educational technology is called Ithaka; he knows well that the journey will be long and winding.

 

"What will the university look like 10 years from now" once all the changes shake down, asked Daphne Koller, one of the commentators for a discussion session today, which will be devoted to online education. Koller, a cofounder of the online education hosting company Coursera, is on leave from her position as a professor of computer science at Stanford. (This morning's discussion session will take place from 10 a.m. until noon in the Lucas Conference Room in the SIEPR-Landau Economics Building.)

 

"Ten years is not enough," Bowen replied. "Things will be all over the map. No single paradigm will emerge from all this."

 

The Tanner Lectures at Stanford are hosted by the Bowen H. McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society and the President's Office.

 

 

Stanford University. All Rights Reserved. Stanford, CA 94305. (650) 723-2300.

 

Tomorrow's Professor: Universities Suffering from Near-Fatal 'Cost Disease'

IISSAM 2013 - Deadline Extended: Feb 22, 2013 - Scholars Projects: International Institute for SoTL Scholars and Mentors (IISSAM) from May 30 - June 2, 2013 at LMU in Los Angeles. Deadline for Poster Submissions: April 19, 2013

Dear Colleagues,

 

We invite scholar project submissions for the International Institute for SoTL Scholars and Mentors (IISSAM) from May 30 - June 2, 2013 at LMU in Los Angeles.

The goal of the Institute is to support SoTL scholars at all levels of experience through mentoring so that they can investigate their teaching and their students' learning in a thorough and systematic way. The Institute offers careful discussions of all contributions based on mutual support and constructive feedback and through the selection of a theme that gives all participants a common lens with which to investigate their own teaching and share their experiences.

 

This year’s topic is Storytelling. We will investigate the role of storytelling for our teaching, how stories convey meanings and enhance abstract concepts, how courses tell a story and can be constructed like a story, how autobiographical elements are relevant for our classes, how we frame and solve problems through narrative approaches, how stories can be used for research purposes, and much more. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) serves as a lens by which we explore our teaching and our students’ learning. 

 

Deadline for Scholar Project Submissions:            February 22, 2013

Deadline for Poster Submissions:                             April 19, 2013

For details, see http://www.iissam.org.

 

With apologies for any cross-postings.

 

Best,

Dorothea.

 

IISSAM is organized by a consortium of Canisius College, Columbia College Chicago, Creighton University, Loyola Marymount University, Truman State University, and University of Houston-Clear Lake. The Institute continues the tradition of the Carnegie Foundation's National Scholars Program (1998-2005) which brought together outstanding faculty committed to investigating and documenting significant issues in the teaching and learning in their fields.

 

P.S.: Due to technical difficulties last week, we did extend the scholar project submissions to 2/22; in the meantime, the blind review process of submitted proposals has begun.

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dorothea K Herreiner, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Teaching Excellence
Associate Professor, Department of Economics

Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90045-2000
phone +1-310-338-2815, fax +1-310-338-5193, e-mail dherreiner@lmu.edu
http://myweb.lmu.edu/dherreiner and http://www.lmu.edu/cte
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IISSAM 2013 - Deadline Extended: Feb 22, 2013 - Scholars Projects: International Institute for SoTL Scholars and Mentors (IISSAM) from May 30 - June 2, 2013 at LMU in Los Angeles. Deadline for Poster Submissions: April 19, 2013

2nd CFP - Joint Events: Information Technologies & Technological Innovations

 

•   Cybernetics and Information Technologies, Systems and Applications: CITSA 2013 (www.2013iiisconferences.org/citsa), and/or

•   Engineering and Technological Innovation: IMETI 2013 (www.2013iiisconferences.org/imeti).

 

To be held on July 9 - 12, 2013 in Orlando, Florida, USA

 

The deadline of papers/abstracts submissions and invited session proposals is on *March 11th, 2013*. The deadlines for notification to authors and camera ready upload can be found at the events web site.

-----------------------------

Deadlines for the collocated (same venue and time) conferences and symposia can be found at http://www.2013iiisconferences.org/current-deadlines.asp. (Check the web site for possible extension of the submission deadline).

-----------------------------

Submissions for Face-to-Face or for Virtual Participation are both accepted. Both kinds of submissions 1) will have the same reviewing process, 2) the accepted papers will be included in the same proceedings, and 3) authors of the best 20%-25% papers will be invited to adapt their papers for their publication in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics with no additional costs, i.e. the respective Article Processing Charge will be waived for them.

-----------------------------

Details about the following issues have also been included at the conference web site (URL given above):

•   Pre- and post-conference virtual sessions

•   Virtual participation

•   Two-tier reviewing combining double-blind and non-blind methods

•   Access to reviewers’ comments and evaluation average according to eight criteria

•   Waiving the registration fee of effective invited session organizers

•   Best papers awards

-----------------------------

With the purpose of fostering *Inter-disciplinary Communications* participants registered at any conference or symposia can attend any sessions of the collocated events. Registered participants will also receive a CD containing the proceedings of all collocated events, and will have a password to access any virtual session of the collocated events, so they can comment any paper presented at any of the collocated events.

 

************************

We would also like to inform you about a conference with similar topics to the Orlando's collocated conferences that will be held in *Porto, Portugal* on June 30 - July 6, 2013 (International Conference on Complexity, Cybernetics, and Informing Science and Engineering: CCISE 2013) Deadlines are displayed at the conference web site www.2013iiisconferences.org/ccise

************************

 

Best regards,

 

IMETI/CITSA 2013 Organizing Committee

 

 

About the Conference Motives and Main Purpose Complexity, Cybernetics, and Informing Science/Engineering are increasingly being related on the conceptual, methodological, and practical dimensions. T. Grandon Gill’s book (Informing Business: Research and Education on a Rugged Landscape) shows the strong and important relationships between Complexity and Informing Science (specifically academic informing), and the potentiality of these relationships in supporting the integration of academic activities: Research, Education, and Consulting or real Life Problem Solving. On the other hand, the concepts and tools of Cybernetics (Communication and Control) are providing an increasingly effective support for more adequate integrative processes in the context of Informing Science and Engineering, as well as in the context of relating academic activities, more effective and synergistically, among themselves and with professional practice and Society at large. The purpose of the Organizing Committee of the International Conference on Complexity, Cybernetics, and Informing Science and Engineering: CCISE 2013 is to bring together scholars and professionals from the three fields, Complexity, Cybernetics, and Informing Science/Engineering (including scholars/professionals in their supporting tools and technologies) in order to promote and foster inter-disciplinary communication and interactions among them; oriented to foster the formation of the intellectual humus required for inter-disciplinary synergies, inter-domain cross-fertilization, and the production of creative analogies. Consequently, formal disciplinary oriented breakout sessions will be complemented with interdisciplinary presentations and informal conversational sessions. There are many good disciplinary, specific and focused conferences in any one of the major themes of CCISE 2013. There are also good general conferences, which have a wider scope and are more comprehensive. Each one of these kinds of conferences has its typical audience. CCISE 2013 Organizing Committee purpose is to bring together both kinds of audiences, so participants with a disciplinary and focused research will be able to interact with participants from other related disciplines for interdisciplinary communication and potential inter-disciplinary collaborative research. References Ershov, A.P., 1959, "Academician A.I. Berg on cybernetics and the perestroika in 1959", Microprocessor devices and systems, 1987, No. 3, p. 3. (In Russian); quoted by Ya. Fet in the foreword of “The History of Cybernetics, edited by Ya. Fet, - Novosibirsk: "Geo" Academic Publishers, 2006. - 301 pp. - (In Russian). Accessed on September 14th, 2009 at http://www.ithistory.org/resources/russia-from-the-history.pdf Gill, T. G., 2010, Informing Business: Research and Education on a Rugged Landscape, Santa Rosa, California: Informing Science Press Hoefler, M. 2002, International Informatics Society Launched in Santa Fe; accessed on August 16th, 2009 at http://www.lascruces.com/~rfrye/complexica/d/IIS%20Launch%20PR.doc Michlmayr, E., 2007, Ant Algorithms for Self-Organization in Social Networks; Ph. D. Thesis Submitted to the Vienna University of Technology Faculty of Informatics, on May 14th, 2007; accessed on August 16th, 2009 at http://wit.tuwien.ac.at/people/michlmayr/publications/dissertation_elke_michlmayr_FINAL.pdf Organizational Issues Submissions Articles might be submitted for face-to-face or virtual participation in the conference. Details regarding the types of submission can be found at the menu option Papers/Abstract Submissions Submitted papers will undergo double-blind and non-blind reviewing processes. They may also have peer-to-peer participative review. More details regarding the Reviewing Policy is found at the menu option “Multi-Methodological Reviewing Process for Multi-Disciplinary Conferences”. The acceptance policy to be applied to the reviewed submissions made to CCISE 2013 is based on the Majority Rule, applied to the reviews received for each submitted article. Details on this issue can be found at the menu option “Acceptance Policy”. Best papers The best paper of each section will be selected and their author(s) will receive a corresponding Award Certificate, via PDF document attached to a congratulation email. Authors of the Best 10%-20% papers presented at the conference will be invited to adapt their papers for their publication in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (JSCI).

2nd CFP - Joint Events: Information Technologies & Technological Innovations

Dillard University Chapel Welcome Back Reception Date Change - February 27, 2013

 

http://www.dillard.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=86

 

Greetings Dillard University Community: 

The Office of the University Chaplain at Dillard University cordially invites you to join us for our Welcome Back Reception for the Spring Semester 2013.  Due to extenuating circumstances, this event has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 27, 2013 in the Social Room at Lawless Memorial Chapel from 4:30 -6:00 PM. Come for food, prayer, and fellowship, as we send you off with God's blessings for the Spring Semester 2013.  All students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends are welcomed. For more information call the Office of the University Chaplain at 504-816-4791. Please see attached flyer!

 

Hope to see you there!

 

Rev. John Bernard Wingate

University Chaplain/Director of VisionQuest

Dillard University

Lawless Memorial Chapel

2601 Gentilly Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70122-3097

Phone: (504) 816-4791

Fax: (504) 816-4250

Email: jwingate@dillard.edu

Website: www.dillard.edu

"Spirituality is Everybody's Business"

Dillard University Chapel Welcome Back Reception Date Change - February 27, 2013

FREE Webinar: Copyright Clearance Center

Technology makes it easy to use and share copyrighted content; how can you make sure obtaining copyright permissions is just as easy? From course management systems to e-reserves to distance learning, technology has made it easier than ever for everyone on your campus to use and share copyrighted content. With this technology comes numerous benefits, but it also brings a potential downside — ensuring your faculty and staff are getting the necessary copyright permissions. Copyright Clearance Center's (CCC) Annual Copyright License can play a major role in your copyright compliance program by offering: • Convenience — Gives your faculty and staff the freedom and confidence to distribute content from millions of publications in online courses, distance learning, CMS, class handouts and more • Cost savings — Provides operational efficiencies by significantly reducing the time and costs of searching for, obtaining and managing copyright permissions • Peace of Mind — Ensures your institution has the copyright license coverage it needs to keep pace with the rate at which content is being shared Contact CCC today for more information A CCC Licensing Consultant would be happy to discuss and evaluate your copyright licensing needs and determine if the Annual Copyright License is right for your institution. They can be reached at licensing@copyright.com or 800-982-3887, option 3, or visit www.copyright.com. FREE Webinar Attend an informational session on the Annual Copyright License and get insight into the license and how it can improve and streamline your copyright permissions process campus-wide. February 26, 2013 1:00 PM ET

222 Rosewood Drive
Danvers, MA 01923

FREE Webinar: Copyright Clearance Center

Early Bird Deadline and Added Speakers - Conference on Excellence in Gateway Course Completion

 

Conference on Excellence in Gateway Course Completion April 14-16, 2013 Indianapolis, Indiana   Visit The John N. Gardner Institute Website for Full details: http://www.jngi.org/gateway/   Plenary Speakers:   Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Katherine J. Denniston, Deputy Director, Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation   Featured Sessions:   MOOCs, Analytics, and Badges - Technology and Its Implications for Gateway Courses   Julie Little, Vice President, Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development, EDUCAUSE George Mehaffy, Vice-President for Academic Leadership and Change, American Association of State Colleges and Universities   Transforming Remedial Education By Delivering it as a Co-Requisite with Gateway Courses Stan Jones, President, Complete College America Tristan Denley, Provost, Austin Peay University Susan Gabriel, Associate Professor, Community College of Baltimore County - Essex   PreConference Workshop:   Weighing Risk & Reward: Using Analytics to Move From Prediction to Intervention Facilitated by John Fritz, Asst. VP for Instructional Technology and New Media at University of Maryland, Baltimore County   35 Concurrent Sessions:     Visit this link for concurrent session titles   Register Online Today (Early Bird Deadline Ends 2/28/13): Click here to register for the conference at the early bird rate.  Plan to join us!   For more information about the conference, contact us at conferences@jngi.org.   Sincerely,   Sara   Sara Stein Koch, Ph.D. Institute Fellow John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education  saraj@jngi.org

 

John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education | PO Box 72 | Brevard | NC | 28712

Early Bird Deadline and Added Speakers - Conference on Excellence in Gateway Course Completion

MakeUseOf Article: Ditch Your Desktop! Turn Your Smartphone Into A Desktop Replacement

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ditch-your-desktop-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-desktop-replacement/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=2012-02-19

• February 19, 2013

By Kannon Yamada

If Christian’s tablet experiment piqued your interest in ditching your PC, then you should know that a smartphone will perform the same function. You only need a handful of additional software and accessories.
This article gives a run-down of the hardware, accessories, and software that users can use to replace their desktop with a smartphone. Not all the parts and software in this list are required. You can get away with just one or two of them. It also includes some information on hardware compatibility. Most, but not all phones can replace your desktop.

The Hardware

Without the following hardware, it may be difficult using your smartphone as a desktop:

• A smartphone with Android, or iOS, preferably capable of outputting video. Most modern Samsung phones, the Nexus 4 and any phone with a micro-HDMI video output can mirror its video onto an HDMI-capable monitor. Pictured below is a micro-HDMI port.

• Correct cable for connecting your phone to your monitor. Virtually all of these only work with HDMI. For Samsung that’s an MHL connector, for SlimPort phones, that’s a SlimPort connector. The iPhone requires a proprietary device to work with HDMI. Pictured below is a MHL adapter.

• For connecting to video, four basic technologies exist: (1) The iPhone 4S uses a proprietary video adapter; (2) The Nexus 4 uses a Slim Port adapter; (3) Many phones have a micro-HDMI; and (4) Samsung phones frequently have MHL connectors.
• If you have Android 1.5 to 2.3, you may require a special Bluetooth keyboard. The only manufacturer that I’m aware of, currently producing Android keyboards with legacy compatibility, is Freedom Input. iPhones, fortunately, work with pretty much any Bluetooth keyboard around.

• Bluetooth, for Android devices without USB host mode. The host mode allows your handset to use USB devices. However, it wasn’t implemented until Android 4 and even then, it’s a crapshoot whether or not your phone will have the required drivers.
• Host mode also requires an On-The-Go cable (OTG). OTG cables sell for cheap at Amazon. If you don’t know what an OTG cable is, let Erez enlighten you.
• HDMI-equipped monitor.

The Accessories

The most important desktop accessory is the keyboard. In fact, a keyboard singularly distinguishes between the mobile and desktop experience. It also dramatically increases productivity. After all, who in their right mind composes an essay on a smartphone touchscreen?
There exist two kinds of keyboards: Bluetooth and USB. Out of the two, Bluetooth equipped wireless keyboards pair far easier with Android and iOS devices. USB devices couldn’t work on Android until Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and, unfortunately, even many ICS phones omitted USB support.
Therefore, if you want a keyboard, check if your ICS phone supports “USB host mode“. If it doesn’t, a Bluetooth keyboard is your best bet. As mentioned above, older implementations of Android should use a Freedom Input keyboard.

A phone stand: Phone stands keep your mobile in an upright, readable position. They can be purchased cheaply on Amazon and Ebay. They’re also ridiculously easy to build yourself. Take for example the template phone stand below, via Instructables:

Cardboard phone stands possess the advantage of being inexpensive and eco-friendly. They’re also easy to put together. It took me about ten minutes to cut my own from the template above.

Problems with multiple USB devices: For those seeking to use a wired keyboard while charging, you might have problems. Using multiple USB devices simultaneously may require USB host mode and a powered USB hub.

The Software

I highly recommend browsing through MakeUseOf’s directory of some of the best software available on Android and iOS.
Word processing: There’s a variety of office productivity apps that can approximate offerings on the desktop. Opinions on which software reigns supreme varies, although I personally recommend King Office for Android, because of its feature set and light system requirements. For those with iPhones, QuickOffice Pro offers one of the best experiences. If you perpetually have online access, you may want to consider Google Drive, which features both an all-in-one cloud backup and office suite.
Music: Spotify is probably the best music player on iOS, although opinions vary. For Android, I suggest Pandora or GrooveShark.
Photo editing: I prefer Aviary for its hipster filters and ability to add ironic fashion accessories to animals and grandparents. It’s available on both iOS and Android. Other photo editors worth mentioning are PicShop and the baked-in photo editor available in Android 4.0+.

Social: Aside from the Facebook app, there’s a lot of good social apps, such as Google+ and Twitter. If you haven’t tried it already, give Falcon Pro a go for Twitter on Android. For iOS, try the official client.
Pin Websites to Your Launcher: We all know what an embarrassment the Facebook app is on Android. Fortunately, you can bypass this by going directly to their site from your home screen.
Watch Movies: MX Player offers one of the best video experiences on Android. iOS has It’s Playing, as well as many others.
Play Games: Adam Dachis explained how to turn your Android or iPhone into a tiny emulator. Android, however, remains the king of emulated gaming.

Conclusion

Turning your smartphone into a desktop doesn’t take much hardware, software or money for that matter. The cables themselves cost very little, except on the iPhone, and the software is mostly free. To turn my phone into a functional desktop (and I screwed it up by buying an MHL adapter instead of a SlimPort adapter), I only had to get a Bluetooth keyboard and a SlimPort adapter.
For anyone who wants to save space in their apartment, or simplify their life, ditching the desktop and the laptop just got much easier.

 

Kannon Yamada

A tech journalist and political scientist, with a BA in journalism and an MA in international affairs, Kannon's main interest is using technology to survive the global recession. Follow him at his Blog.

MakeUseOf Article: Ditch Your Desktop! Turn Your Smartphone Into A Desktop Replacement