The 2012 Pearson Foundation Survey on Students and Tablets found that students’ purchases of iPads and other tablet devices is increasing rapidly, that students find those devices useful for education and that their acceptance of digital textbooks is growing. A quarter of students surveyed now own a tablet compared to 7% a year ago. A majority of college students and high school seniors believe tablets will replace print textbooks within the next five years.
Apple CEO Tim Cooke reported that Apple sold more iPhones in 2011 than all the Macs it sold in 28 years.
Should educators be thinking about formatting educational materials for mobile devices and planning academic activities that take advantage of the multimedia capabilities of smart phones and tablets?