Research Report

Survey Finds Mobile Tools Expanding Rapidly in Classrooms

- Sep 29, 2013

Classroom Use, Game Development
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A new survey of technology coordinators indicates that school districts are increasingly looking towards mobile technologies in classrooms across the country.

Interactive Educations Systems Design surveyed approximately 500 district technology and media leaders and found that districts are working towards enabling the use of mobile technology in the classroom, and most expressed a high level of interest in providing each student in a class a device if their budget allowed.

Key Findings

  • Nearly 60% said that 25% or more of schools they oversee had implemented mobile technologies.
  • Another 15.5% plan to in the next two years.
  • Respondents highlighted digital textbooks, student productivity tools and creation tools as essential applications they want on mobile devices.
  • iPads are the overwhelming platform used in classes, with Google Chromebooks, iPod Touches and a variety of student-supplied technology trailing behind.

The survey found that many schools are implementing mobile carts where devices are checked out by a teacher for an entire class rather than trying to purchase enough technology for each class or require students to bring their own.

For those working to expand the use of mobile in the classroom or who have been slow to do so, they cited a series of challenges, from management of the devices to infrastructure like wireless availability.

For those districts that have opted not to do anything with mobile and that have no plans to, the top reasons for their decision was the cost of the devices.

Still, most officials surveyed expressed real interest in mobile technologies, saying they hope the devices would encourage student engagement and allow for greater personalization of learning.

The full report of the Business Edition: 2013 National Survey on Mobile Technology for K-12 Education examines these trends in greater detail and allows developers and marketers to track the trends of the last year and dives into greater detail about app target prices and school penetration. The Business Edition also delves into pricing, key decision makers and influencers for purchasing apps in education, and challenges educators are facing during implementation.