Living in the 4th Screen

According to this post on TMCnet English-language learners in China are having their lessons delivered to them via their mobile phones.

Publishing group Pearson and phone maker Nokia know a good opportunity when they see it. They're partnering to sell English-language learning materials to mobile phone users in China, the country with more English learners than in any other country, according to Reuters.

The delivery system of mobile phones makes sense: There are 720 million mobile subscribers in China, more than double the number of Internet users. 

This is a smart move by Nokia and Pearson given the number of mobile phone subscribers in China. I have been reading more and more of these types of ventures in parts of the world were cell phone use is more ubiquitous than internet connected computers. Will this type of learning platform take off here in America?

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I have mentioned the iPhone initiative at Abilene University here and here, but it was in reference to something else and not the entire initiative the University has undertaken. In the Fall of 2008 Abilene University gave each of the incoming freshman an iPhone or iPod Touch.

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Are we at the threshold of a data apocalypse? According to this post on The Mobile Opportunity blog we are at the precipice of a mobile data explosion. See the graph below.

According to the post there has been a shift in the thinking of mobile data usage:

... in the last year or so, the attitude has shifted dramatically from "no one is using mobile data" to "oh my God, there's so much demand for mobile data that it'll destroy the network." A lot of this attitude shift was caused by the iPhone, which has indeed overloaded some mobile networks. But there's also a general uptick in data usage from various sources, and the rate of growth seems to be accelerating.

The article goes on to quote some analysis from Cisco regarding data usage by smartphones:

Cisco estimates that a single smartphone produces as much data traffic as 40 traditional feature phones. So converting 10 million people from feature phones to smartphones is like adding 390 million new feature phone users, in terms of impact on the data network. The more popular smartphones get, the busier the network becomes.

I know my wife and I consume copious amounts of mobile data on our iPhones. Just 18 months ago our mobile data usage was zero. It has risen significantly since we purchased our iPhones. I have read recently about dire predictions regarding mobile usage and how demand will out pace supply. I have also read that mobile network providers can not keep up with demand. I think there is to much money to be made with mobile data and that the carriers will figure out a way to improve transmission or to throttle the heaviest users.

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Judy Breck, a New York based expert in open content, recently wrote on her Golden Swamp blog a post titled, The Scarcity of Learning Sources is Contrived, the Best Stuff is Free. It is a thought provoking post. I am not sure I agree with everything she writes, but some of her points coincide with what I have been stating here on my blog. She writes:

The gushing spigots of money poured into analog educational materials manufacture a scarcity that belies the reality of 21st century learning resources. Billions alloted into the printed walled gardens of textbooks and digital walled gardens of for-pay school resources deepen economic woes ...

Teaching and learning should now, and inevitably* will, use the open internet instead. An individual’s mobile internet browser will become the primary access to knowledge for each student and teacher. We should be working to make this happen soon. “Shame on us” when we do not do so.

I agree completely that a mobile device will become the primary access to knowledge for all students. When I started this blog and my research on mobile devices in education I was not sure what role these devices should or would play in a school setting. I am now more than convinced that the mobile space is where the future lies for education. More and more content will be accessible via a mobile phone and the devices and associated costs will begin to become more affordable. This will drive adoption to even greater numbers than currently exists.

Ms. Breck, in her post, goes on to say:

Now that learning resources are emergent online, it is only a matter of time before they break down the garden walls of learning resources. What broke the grip of the music industry and is now going on with main stream media will happen soon to educational materials. It has already begun.

She predicts the paradigm shift that has taken place in the music industry, and now in print journalism, will soon happen with educational resources as well. Provocative ideas to say the least. Follow the link above to read the full post.

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Curtin University of Technology has created a mobile website to allow students access to information, support services, and campus wide facilities. It is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia.

Below are two quotes from a news release posted on the school's website:

Curtin students will now be able to access information about transport services, financial support, housing and places to eat, on their mobile phones.

‘We also know that 99 per cent of our students have mobile phones and that 75 per cent of those phones are web-enabled, so this sort of website is going to reach the vast majority of our students.’

How about mobile websites for high schools here in the US? Interesting statistics in the quote above - 75% saturation rate for web-enabled phones amongst their student body (Consistent with what I posted here). What percentage of students in your high school have web-enabled phones? How fast will that market grow in the next few years? Will your campus be prepared for the onslaught of web-enabled phones that I believe is coming to all high schools? 

As prices for both phones and service contracts decline in the next few years, because of competition, will I believe, lead to a surge in web-enabled smartphones amongst high school students. These phones can access the internet without ever touching the school network. How will your Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) address these types of issues? I believe school networks could become irrelevant. Students and teachers will not need to use the school network to access information. They will simply bypass it. That is why I quoted the following in this post:

The article references a report titled "Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning". The report recommends that school administrators begin to ease restrictions on the use of cell phones in school. Basically the report validated the approach we had decided upon.

As school budgets become increasingly tighter, how will school administrators answer parent's and board member's questions regarding the use of mobile phones on campus as a way to reduce IT costs? What do you say to the parent who asks why they should spend $150 on a TI-89 graphing calculator when their child's smartphone, that they already purchased, has a graphing calculator app on it that is superior to the calculator? These types of questions loom on the horizon as sure as Mariano Rivera will close out the 9th inning of a baseball game. As administrators, I believe we need to start preparing for these scenario's today.

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