Trends in Ed 6.23.10: Smart Phones Used by 50% of Students — from edlab.tc.columbia.edu by Jeannie Crowley
According to a recent study by the Institute for Mobile Media Research, smart phones are displacing laptop use for many college students. Nearly 100% of students own a mobile device and 50% of students own a smart phone. The use of smart phone has risen dramatically since the release of other recent reports on student mobile use. Especially important in this study is the finding that text messaging is much more popular than IM and email. This should factor into a university’s decision when developing a new mobile tool. It may be tempting to create educational apps for the iPhone, but it is not a great device for texting and may not be as popular among the student population as other smart phones. Additional findings from the study are included below.