On the Horizon Mobile Devices: Are They a Distraction Or Another Learning Tool? (Teaching with Technology / Emerging Technology‪)‬

FACULTY OFTEN CRINGE AT THE THOUGHT OF SMART PHONES, iPADS, iPODS, OR ANY OF THE VARIOUS NEW TABLET DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM. They see them as distractions, certain that students are using them to read Facebook postings or text their friends during class. "Some educators have responded by banning this new technology from the learning space, demanding that students turn off their smart phones and keep their tablet computers stowed in their bags" (Parry, 2011, p. 16). I love my new iPad2--it is effortless to use and it weighs next to nothing. But it has made me wonder about the impact mobile devices will have on learning. The recent 2011 Horizon Report projects mobile learning's time to adoption as one year or less with two convincing statements: "By 2015, 80% of people accessing the Internet will be doing so from mobile devices" and "Internet-capable mobile devices will outnumber computers within the next year" (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 12).