Japanese College via Mobile Phone

Japanese College via Mobile Phone. Cyber University, the only university in the country that teaches all classes only on the Internet, offering a class on the mysteries of the pyramids on mobile phones. Unlike the desktop PC version where lecture plays on the monitor as text and images in the middle along with a smaller video of the lecturer in the corner, the mobile phone version pops up as streaming video on the handset’s tiny screen, playing only the Power Point images.

Its first cell phone lecture is called “Mysteries of the Pyramids,” which is a streaming PowerPoint presentation created for people who want to learn but can’t physically attend classes due to disabilities or work.

The university, 71 percent of which is owned by Softbank, a mobile service provider — has 1,850 students, and offers almost 100 courses, though only one is available for phones. Sakuji Yoshimura, head of Cyber University, says that the technology will allow those with jobs or who have disabilities greater access to education. “Our duty as educators is to respond to the needs of people who want to learn,” he said — then went on to add, “Even if the course is interrupted by an SMS.”

The class is free, but viewers must pay any extra mobile fees.