Back to School BYOB Style

Bring Your Own Brain

According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive and Pearson, 90% of today’s elementary, middle and high school students believe that mobile devices will change the way students learn in the future (92%) and make learning more fun (90%). The majority (69%) of those same students would like to use mobile devices more in the classroom.

One-third of grades 4-12 students said that they have used a tablet for school work this academic year (34% have used a full-size tablet and 32% have used a small tablet), while 44% said they have used a smartphone for school work. Among students who use a tablet for school work, 52% use a device that they own personally, rather than borrow from the school and 70% would like to use mobile devices more often in their classrooms. Only one in six say that their school provides the tablets.

The Pearson Student Mobile Device Survey was conducted to better understand how students use mobile technology for learning. The survey focused on how students use the mobile devices they currently own for learning, and how they would like to use those devices in the future. The survey asked students from grade 4 through college about the mobile devices that they own and intend to buy; how they currently use mobile devices for school work and how they expect to use them in the future; and their attitudes towards tablets for learning.

Teachers also love technology. Onlineuniversities.com reports that 90% of teachers have a laptop or PC in the classroom and 60% have access to an interactive whiteboard. 35% have tablets or e-readers in the classroom, up from 20% just a year ago and 71% say that apps are beneficial for teaching. 65% indicate that technology lets them demonstrate things they could not show any other way. It allows them to reinforce or expand on content, helps motivate students and accommodates multiple learning styles.

Research shows that students who are exposed to media-rich content in the classroom (like video), outperform non-exposed peers on tests, are more active in class discussions, and apply more varied approaches to problem solving. By 2017, streaming video will represent the majority of all mobile traffic – and if school BYOD programs continue to be successful, much of this traffic could come from the classroom.