Issues and Trends in Instructional Technology: Increased Use of Mobile Technologies and Digital Content to Provide Untethered Access to Training and Learning Opportunities

Comprised of four sections: Overall Developments; Corporate Training and Development; Higher Education; and K-12 Education, this chapter synthesizes the findings of major annual reports, including the Sloane Consortium’s, Grade Level: Tracking Online Education in the United States (Allen and Seaman, Grade level: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, LLC, 2015); the, ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology (Dahlstrom and Bichsel, ECAR study of undergraduate students and information technology. Louisville, CO: ECAR, 2014); the New Media Consortium’s, Horizon Report (Johnson et al., NMC Horizon Report: 2015 higher education edition. Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium, 2015); the Education Week’s Technology Counts 2015 Report (Education Week, Technology counts 2015: Learning the digital way, 2015), and Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up Reports, Understanding Technology—Enhanced Learning in the Lives of Today’s Students and Trends in Digital Learning: Empowering Innovative Classroom Models for Learning (Project Tomorrow, Digital learning 24/7: Understanding technology—Enhanced learning in the lives of today’s students. Speak Up 2014 Survey, 2015). The authors note continued growth in various instructional approaches (e.g., blended learning, Flipped Classrooms) to online learning, increased use and creation of digital content and curriculum by educators and students, and persistent interest in the effective use of the mobile technologies—especially student owned devices they bring to learning environments.