Using mobile devices to deliver educational content was discussed in a gathering of experts on the topic at the 2009 Games, Learning, and Society conference on June 10th. The meeting is reviewed in this week’s SPOTLIGHT: Digital Media and Learning from the MacArthur Foundation.
There are hurdles described, like this one – go figure:
Hurdle 1: Cells phones—a key device for delivering mobile media–are often barred from classrooms. Before they were allowed to bring mobile devices into a Milwaukee school, researchers had to turn off the web connectivity and disable the mics on the phones, Ironically, this occurred at the same time the City of Milwaukee was investing in free WiFi in part to support education.
Several steps that are moving forward are described. My opinion is that the two driving factors for mobile learning are 1) the arriving widespread broadband, and 2) the featuring of increasingly sophisticated mobile devices. It is pretty clear that within 4-5 years every student on the planet will have internet access through his or her own mobile device — and that device will be delivering most of the educational resources and knowledge consumed by its owner.
