This
is a special blog posting by Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, to share
some selected , preliminary data findings from Speak Up 2014 (data collected
from November 25th from 16,200 parents of school aged children nationwide). The final data results will be published in
a series of national reports in spring 2015.
Mobiles for learning? Parents say yes!
Over the past 12 years, some of the most significant data
findings from the Speak Up surveys have revolved around mobile devices and
their use within the classroom. While we
continue each year to uncover new findings about how teachers and students are
using laptops, tablets and smartphones to support learning, both in school and
at home, I think the data from parents about their opinions on mobile learning,
and their willingness to support this trend should be of equal importance to
school and district leaders. Parents not
only mobilists themselves (users of mobile devices) but increasingly they also
see these devices as essential learning tools for their children.
When asked to identify the benefits of student use of mobile
devices within instruction, parents’ top responses in this year’s Speak Up
surveys reflect a triad of core advantages associated with digital learning.
First, parents see mobile devices as providing their
students with a gateway to increased access to learning content, most notably
online textbooks (71 percent). Parents place a high value on the role of
digital content within learning today – and laptops, tablets, digital readers
and even smartphones are an easy and convenient way for students to use that
content anytime, anywhere. The component
of “anywhere learning” is further facilitated by the second core advantage of
mobile devices. Parents like the idea
that their children could use a mobile to review class materials afterschool
(67 percent), thus extending the learning day beyond the traditional 3 pm
school bell. This extension of the
classroom experience, enabled by the mobile devices, also appears to yield an
additional benefit of improving school to home communications for many parents
as well (59 percent). Finally, the third
core advantage of mobile learning is the idea that these compelling, always on
devices can increase student engagement in learning. Almost 6 out of 10 parents say that
increasing student engagement is a significant benefit of incorporating laptops
and tablets within classroom instruction; teachers and administrators agree!
Parents’ perceptions about the benefits of mobile devices
are more than a hypothetical discussion however. Half of all parents of school aged children
who completed a Speak Up survey this
year said they would like their child to be in a class where he/she could use
their own mobile device to support learning.
While administrators’ views on
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies is changing, this vote of approval for
that kind of policy change should be a wakeup call for many school districts
today. Equally compelling for district
leaders, parents appear to be willing to support that aspiration with a
financial investment. While 14 percent
of parents say that they have already purchased a mobile device for
their child to use specifically in school for academic purposes, an additional
44 percent say they would be willing to purchase a device for their child
to use in class if school policy allowed for that.
Want to understand how supportive your school parents are
for mobile learning? Every school and
district that participates in Speak Up and promotes the surveys to their parents,
students and staff, receives a free report with both local and national data
findings. Speak Up 2014 surveys are open
for input until December 19. Local
reports will be available February 5.
Here is your link to the surveys:
http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2014/
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