Use of mobile technology in the classroom

Although there has been a push to use technology in the classroom since the 1980s, rapid advancements in mobile devices, including smart phones and tablets, have provided individual students the opportunity to use devices in much higher numbers in the last decade. Numerous schools have rolled out one-to-one computing initiatives as early as fourth grade requiring educators and researchers to find effective and efficient uses of mobile technology for teaching and learning purposes. A recent survey reported that 17% to 50% of school-aged children in kindergarten through 12th grade owned smartphones with Internet access and 17% to 26% of children owned a tablet computer (Project Tomorrow, 2012). Students who do not have access to a device at home will need training on how to handle a device, but all students will need initial training on how to use the device for learning purposes