ODYSSEYWARE

T.H.E. Journal has released a guide to next year’s trends in education and one of the leading predictions is that personal devices will play a larger role in the classroom, and by extension, education in general, in the coming year. Their words:

Personal Devices Will Infiltrate the Classroom
Sometimes barred from the classroom owing to perceptions of security risks and student “distractions,” smart phones and iPods are now making their way into the K-12 space, and with teachers’ and administrators’ blessings. “We’re definitely on the cusp of seeing more of these personal devices in the classroom,” Abshire predicted.

The fact that most smart phones come with wireless capabilities and larger screens makes them particularly relevant in the K-12 space, where “after the stimulus money runs out, we’re going to be in trouble in terms of federal money for technology,” said Abshire. “The next logical step is for the devices to come into school.”

Purdy concurred, saying the fact that some students are getting their own wireless devices by second or third grade will accelerate the trend. “We used to think this was a ‘teen’ phenomenon,” said Purdy. “But its now culturally acceptable for someone as young as seven or eight years old to have a cell phone. It won’t be long before every student will have access to one or more wireless, portable devices in the classroom.”

Quite simply, consumers have seen a large scale migration to all-in-one computing devices which allow them to handle multiple tasks. For example, we were given the Walkman several decades ago allowing people to listen to music on the go, after several years of having stationary listening. As the restraints on the Walkman’s viability became clear, with its battery power and increasingly obsolete technology with tape reels, producers sought new technology which minimized the source (now MP3s), eliminated the replaceable battery, up to today’s iPod and iPhone or, if you like, Blackberry, which combines multiple uses into one portable device. Curriculum should be no different. With online curriculum students can now access their lesson plans virtually anywhere internet connections exist. OdysseyWare, already well ahead of this curve, welcomes this migration and appreciates the convenience this will bring students for many years to come!