What began as a forum for sharing information about Xplana and our new product development, quickly developed into a respected forum for discussing the textbook and educational technology spaces. However, as company strategies have evoloved and as personal responsibilities have changed, we have reached the point where it is simply best to brings things to a close.

There is a bit of regret when you move on from any project, but what I will miss about this particular space is the dialog it has fostered with many of the people I respect in the industry. The good news is that we will continue our innovative work at MBS and Xplana, and I will continue seeing many of you at conferences and meetings.

I would like to close with a personal statement of sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read our reports and posts. It has been a fun ride because it has been done in partnership with a great community.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Set Time: 6-8 hours
Level of Difficulty: 4 out of 10
Serves: 4 people or just 1 depending on your sweet tooth!

Here are the ingredients needed:

9 oz. softened cream cheese
1 Tsp vanilla abstract
½ cup powdered sugar
8 graham crackers
1 ¼ cup chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
Sprinkles
Milk

The cheesecake recipe used is the same one in My College Diet: Stuffed Strawberry Cheesecake. Check it out if you missed it!

1. Mix softened cream cheese, vanilla abstract and powdered sugar in a bowl.
2. Place peanut butter in a bowl.
3. Microwave 1 cup chocolate chips (I had to use white chocolate chips because I ran out of chocolate) for 1 minute. Be sure to check every twenty seconds− you don’t want to burn them.
4. Mix peanut butter and chocolate chips. You want it to be creamy and smooth. If your mixture is not, add milk until it gets to the right consistency.
5. Lay two graham crackers in a square Tupperware container.
6. Spread peanut butter mixture over the graham crackers and then top with cheesecake mixture.
7. Repeat steps four and five at least two more times.
8. Warm the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips in microwave and when done place the warm gooey goodness in a Ziploc bag and cut a corner tip.
9. Lay the last two graham crackers over the no-bake cake and top it with the chocolate chips mix.
10. Sprinkle a little happiness over it− also known as sprinkles.

You can eat it right away but I recommend letting it set in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours. There is something more cake like about it when the graham crackers soften up.

(Click here to see a simple listing of today’s suggested reading)

Some Interesting Numbers on Mobile in the U.S.

Much of the noise in mobile this week has been around Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobile, but there is also a new report from the PEW Internet and American Life Project, and I’d like to begin with that today. One of the numbers that should stick out for educators is that 83% of American adults now own a cell phone. That number is higher among the 18-25 age group. Here are some other interesting statistics.

• Mobile phones are computers for real time information gathering — “Half of all adult cell owners (51%) had used their phone at least once to get information they needed right away. One quarter (27%) said that they experienced a situation in the previous month in which they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone at hand.”
• Mobile phones are an essential part of daily life — “42% have had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone nearby.”
• Text messaging a photo taking rule — “Text messaging and picture taking continue to top the list of ways that Americans use their mobile phones—three quarters of all cell owners (73%) use their phones for each of these purposes. Other relatively common activities include sending photos or videos to others (54% of cell owners do this) as well as accessing the internet (44%).”

One other interesting tidbit from the report is that 22% of smartphone owners say they have difficulty reading on their devices. I think there are a couple of ways of look at this, but what I find interesting is that, evidently, an increasing number of users are indeed actually trying to read on their smartphones.

Also under the “mobile statistics” category, a new report from ComScore shows that a significant number of U.S. mobile users (6.2%) are scanning QR codes with their phones. This number supports the growing popularity of QR codes among advertisers, and underscores the potential value of QR codes in hybrid, print-digital book strategies.

Android Marches On

Like I said, the “big” news of the week has been Google’s decision to purchase Motorola Mobile. Google will pay $12.5 billion to Motorola and hopes to accomplish two goals. First, the acquisition launches Google directly into the handset business and helps provide a foundation for their big picture success strategy which is all about mobile. In addition, the move will shore up Google’s patent portfolio and help protect their Android OS from anti-competitive threats from Apple and Microsoft.

Android is a critical component of Google’s future and it’s no wonder the platform has come under attack from others. Android is the leading smartphone operating system and, according to ABI Research, may occupy some 20 percent of the market.

Speaking of Android-based tablets, an abundance of players in the space is leading to reduced product prices. Making things even more competitive for Apple, Nvidia will be supplying its new quad-core chips for Android tablets, and these faster models should show up for the holiday season.

Apple’s iPad continues to dominate the tablet market for now, but I expect the growth and improvement of the Android market to have a big impact on the education sector. It will lead to lower-cost solutions, and it will create the product diversity we need in order for tablets to continue expanding as must-have devices for students.

Finally, when it comes to smartphones, Android continues to grow its dominant market share, but there are some interesting differences between the users of Android phones and iPhones. Check out this infographic.

Suggested Reading

Key Findings | Pew Internet & American Life Project

Pew Survey: Half Of U.S. Mobile Consumers Use Cell Phones For Realtime Info Retrieval | TechCrunch

Report: 6 percent of smartphone users scan QR codes | CNET News

22% of Smartphone Owners Have Trouble Reading on the Small Screen | eBookNewser

Motoogle: The Phone Business Just Got Completely Blown Up | AllThingsD

Google just bought itself patent protection | CNET News

How The Google-Motorola Deal Affects Microsoft

Android Tablets Occupy 20 Percent of Market: Report | eWeek.com

Study: Android users sad hicks, iPhone users rich girls | CNET News

Apple to face fast Android tablets | CNET News

Jetbook Color confirmed for US release this fall – 9.7″ E-ink screen, $350 | The Digital Reader

Free Textbooks For Students Will Break Greedy Monopoly | TorrentFreak

Until I wanted to put away my class attire, which consisted of sweatpants and loose free shirts from my university, and exchange them for an old pair of jeans for a night out. I couldn’t fit into my jeans. At first I thought it was just thosejeans –surely my other jeans would fit me. They didn’t. Neither did my dress slacks or some of my button up shirts. After four months of typical college eating, I managed to gain 20 pounds.

It’s not the weight in itself that was a problem because I believe you should love your body no matter what. It wasn’t even the fact that my family was quite blunt with my sudden weight gain over Christmas break. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin and I was not living a healthy lifestyle– that was a problem for me.

I changed my eating habits to reflect the healthy person I wanted to be and started working out on a daily basis. It was not anything too drastic but it definitely made an impact. Instead of getting a sourdough double chicken melt everyday and drenching it with ranch −I started getting salads with chicken and a side of ranch. Eventually I cut the ranch out all together and tried other dressings that were somewhat healthier like vinaigrettes. There are many healthy ways to eat in college IN the dining halls. I just did not realize it during the first few months.

It was difficult at first because my body began to get used to eating poorly and not exercising. It would be awesome if I can help at least one person avoid the struggle I went through freshmen year. Enjoy the free pizzas but also make healthy eating choices.

Although I lived in a dorm and did not have a kitchen, I bought some easy-make food to curb the midnight cravings. Besides for nutritional bars and cereal −which are awesome
for midday snacks− I would buy ingredients to make salads which could be stored in my mini fridge. I am going to share a super quick and delicious recipe that can made in the comfort of your dorm room and without a stove.

This is also a fun recipe because it definitely has a kick in the spicy department!

**I want to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures in this blog. My camera is somewhat dysfunctional but it will be ready for Thursday!**

My College Diet Presents: Zesty Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Set Time: couple of hours or overnight

Serves: 4 people as a side dish

*Here are the ingredients you will need:

2 fresh cucumbers

1 tsp minced garlic

1 Tsp olive oil

1 fresh jalapeño pepper

Dash of salt and pepper

½ lime

Let’s get started!

Cut the cucumbers into slices.

Dice jalapeño pepper

Puree garlic, jalapeño pepper, salt and pepper, olive oil and lime juice from lime in a blender– This is your salad dressing.

Pour the freshly made salad dressing over cucumber slices and mix thoroughly.

I usually let it set over night but it can be served immediately. It is a perfect blend of spicy from the dressing yet cool from the cucumbers. Enjoy this recipe and make the freshmen 15 a thing of history books!

Be sure to check back Thursday for an awesome recipe for a delicious no-bake cake!

Freshmen year of college was an amazing experience. The

I remember my freshmen year of college quite vividly. After my parents helped me unpack, I watched them drive off and wondered “now what?” At first it felt weird to be alone in a new place. However, after the week of freshmen activities my university provided, it stopped feeling weird and started feeling amazing. I made new friends and started feeling connected to my campus. My mom called me every day –sometimes three times a day− that first year of college.

My mom missed me a lot because although my university was only two hours away from home, I only went home on holiday breaks. I didn’t want to miss a college weekend and my family understood. I did well in my classes after I learned how to study for them and took advantage of most of the free freshmen activities around campus. Word of advice to freshmen: there are so many free things you will get this year from various departments and organizations on campus. A few things you can expect: t-shirts, water bottles, slices of pizza and so much candy you will probably think it’s Halloween. Enjoy and feel free to send some our way!

This is an exciting time for young people coming into college for the first time. The Xplanation will focus on the freshmen experience this week and capture some of the excitement from their perspective. We will learn who these students are, what they will experience as well as hear the freshmen experience from recent freshmen. So whether you’re an incoming freshmen, a parent sending a student away to school for the first time or just feeling a little nostalgic like me− the theme for this week is sure to be insightful and at times funny.

As always, check back daily for new articles, cartoons and videos.