6 reasons mobile learning is booming

Speak Up 2013, an annual survey lead by Project Tomorrow, focuses on digital learning and college- and career-ready skill development. Survey results reveal that educators, school and district leaders, and parents understand that mobile devices help students access more digital content and digital learning opportunities.

1. School and district administrators say that tablets (41 percent), one-to-one programs (28 percent), mobile apps (22 percent), and bring-your-own-device policies, or BYOD (22 percent) have had a significant impact on transforming teaching and learning.
2. Eighty-six percent of school and district administrators said mobile learning increases student engagement.
3. Mobile learning also helps each student personalize his or her learning (67 percent).
4. School leaders note that mobile learning helps students develop a number of skills that will be necessary in college and the workforce, namely critical thinking and problem solving (51 percent), collaboration and teamwork skills (47 percent), and strong communication skills (37 percent).
5. Thirty-two percent of technology administrators said that allowing students to use their own mobile devices helps schools address budget challenges while still giving students access to technology.
6. The 2014 survey reveals that 41 percent of principals said they were comfortable with such a move. An additional 10 percent said they had already changed school policy to support BYOD.