K-12 Students View Mobile Devices as Critical to Learning Process, Survey Shows

The report, Learning in the 21st Century: Taking it Mobile! shows that students now view the inability to use their own devices in school, such as cell phones, smartphones, MP3 players, laptops or net books, as the primary barrier to a successful digital education.

The report also reveals a shift in thinking by parents and educators who are now beginning to accept the role of mobile devices as instructional tools, in part because they are active users of mobile devices in their own personal lives. In some cases, educators have embraced mobile devices as a catalyst for making learning a more student directed experience. At Jamestown Elementary School in Virginia, for example, students use mobile devices to create multimedia projects, improve their writing skills and collaborate with their peers. High school students in Onslow County Schools in North Carolina use smartphones to learn algebra, geometry and calculus.
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This report examines the Speak Up responses from a new cohort of education innovators that we are identifying as Mobile Learning Explorers, as well as students. Interviews with six Mobile Learning Explorer educators and one student representing five different school districts and one private school help verify the survey results and provide additional context for the data findings. Key findings include:

• Access to smartphones has more than tripled among high school students since 2006. Furthermore, students no longer view their school’s Internet filters as a primary barrier to using technology at school; but rather, the primary barrier is the inability to use their own devices, such as cell phones, smartphones, MP3 players, laptops or net books.
• 62 percent of responding parents report that if their child’s school allowed devices to be used for educational purposes, they would likely purchase a mobile device for their child.
• The use of mobile learning devices for productivity, organization, collaboration and learning is highly personal and extremely customizable. Unlike typical innovations, mobile learning implementations require greater flexibility and often times are directed by the students’ or parents’ preferences. For the first time, educators have an opportunity to help students learn more effectively and deeply by leveraging students’ preferred learning tools and strategies.
• Administrators agree that the top barriers for implementing mobile devices in their schools and districts are the need for focused professional development for teachers and current policies related to network security,

Registration for Learning in the 21st Century: Taking It Mobile!

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Education in the 21st Century 

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Project Tomorrow

Speak Up is a national initiative of Project Tomorrow, the nation's leading education nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that today's students are well prepared to be tomorrow's innovators, leaders, and engaged citizens. Since fall 2003, the Speak Up National Research Project has annually collected and reported on the views of over 1.85 million K-12 students, teachers, administrators and parents representing over 23,000 schools in all 50 states. The Speak Up National Research Project dataset represents the largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on education, technology, 21st century skills, schools of the future and science and math instruction. Education, business and policy leaders report using the data regularly to inform federal, state and local education programs.

For additional information, visit www.tomorrow.org.

Source: Blackboard Inc.