What is the Potential Impact of Using Mobile Devices in Education

Mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous in the world today. With the power of portable computing in the hands of everyone and anyone, the time has come to consider using mobile devices for education. While ICT in education has been trialled, results have been mixed. Mobile devices are also ICT devices, so why should we still consider using mobile devices in education and what is its potential impact on the stakeholders. This paper provides an overview of what is out there and explores the opportunities and issues in regards to using mobile devices in education. Next we look at how the stakeholders in the education system, namely the education providers, the teachers, the students, their parents, and the ministry of education can benefit by successfully deploying classroom curriculum via mobile devices. Many stakeholders in the education system are already struggling to deliver basic education – what is required of them and how they should be supported if we are to convince them to use mobile devices in delivering education.