One of the most significant developments in educational technology in recent years - mobile learning (m-learning) and the wireless university - demonstrates that, with the relevant planning, e-learning partnerships can be successful.

Over the past seven or eight years, universities and colleges in the US have been introducing wireless technology into campus life. In the UK and at universities in other countries around the world, pilot projects that started at the end of the 90s are now giving rise to "wireless ready" learning environments, overcoming the restrictions of hard-wired technology. In the ever-more competitive national and international markets for students, this is a campus facility that universities are increasingly dangling before the eyes of potential freshmen.

Students using m-learning are already accustomed to 24/7 access to the internet - on campus, in the library, lecture theatre, cafeteria, halls of residence or even outside, sitting on a lawn or walking along the pavement. M-learning uses hardware recognisable to today's students: laptops with integrated wireless cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and tablet PCs. To these, we can add Bluetooth devices, digital cameras and MP3 music players such as the iPod.

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