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Assessing the Impact of Trends in Mobile Technology on Education

April 21, 2013

Assessing the Impact of Trends in Mobile Technology on Education

Within the fast paced evolution of technology, society has not only embraced the faster buffering speeds of social media but the accessibility of higher education. During the 1990s, only 15% of U.S. homes owned a computer, by 2008 that number rose to 78%. Being that over half of the homes in the United States owned a computer, higher learning now became readily available to the blue-collared community who did not have time or the funds for traditional college. As of February 2012, 46% of adult Americans owned a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2012), making the commute and lunch break a “classroom.” The effects of mobile technology on education are positive in the sense that higher education is available to individuals who do not have time or money for traditional college.

There are nine theories of learning that can be examined through the lens of a mobile environment: Behaviorist, cognitivist, constructivist, situated learning, problem-based learning, context awareness learning, socio-cultural theory, collaborative learning, and conversational learning (Keskin and Metcalf 2011). A mobile device can facilitate all of these theories because of its versatility with applications and ability to update with new software via a wireless connection. Due to the availability of technology for distance learning, the US population of college students has risen by 23% since the early ‘90s. With the recession of 2008, the job market has decreased greatly due to major companies going under. With a recession comes a large increase in unemployment making it much harder for the average man to stay competitive in the job market. While experience is looked upon quite heavily a college degree is sought after also. Mobile technology has made it very easy for the average worker to become competitive for higher paying jobs that are...