Cell Phones: "Remote Control for Life"

There is a discussion in the Ning about cell phones and other disruptive technology in schools. This study adds some interesting statistics on how ubiquitous and invaluable cell phones have become for many people. Global market research firm Synovate surveyed more than 8,000 cell phone owners across 11 markets to learn more about how people are using these devices. Among the findings:

• Three quarters of respondents never leave home without their phones, and 36 percent of people across the world go as far as to say they ‘cannot live without’ their cell phone.
• 23 percent of respondents own more than two mobile phones. Americans are among the most likely to own at least two at 33 percent, along with the French (34 percent). Brits and Americans were the most likely to own a smartphone at 21 and 20 percent, respectively.
• 17 percent of respondents use e-mail on their mobile on a regular basis, led by 26 percent in the U.S. and 25 percent in the U.K.
• Similarly, 17 percent use Internet browsing, topped by the U.K. at 31 percent and the U.S. at 26 percent.
• 11 percent say they social network regularly via mobile, again led by the U.K. (17 percent) and the U.S. (15 percent).
• 62 percent use the camera regularly, led by 76 percent in the U.K., 71 percent in France and 68 percent in the U.S
• Text messaging has changed the way people manage their relationships. The survey showed that 31 percent of people have lied about their whereabouts via text, one in five has set up a first date and 12 percent have broken up with someone.

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Why There Will Always Be Books

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/3/9/

Digital Media and Learning Research

Wondering if social network sites, online games, video-sharing sites, and gadgets such as iPods and mobile phones are having an impact on students and learning?

“It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online,” says Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the lead author of the most extensive U.S. study to date on teens and their use of digital media. The study showed that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online often in ways adults do not understand or value."

"Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures" report is the result of three-year collaborative project funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Carried out by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley, the digital youth project explores how kids use digital media in their everyday lives.

Read more here:
Two page summary (PDF)
White Paper (58 pages-PDF)

The Digital Youth Research Web site has a lot of interesting information on this project, including some field stories/case studies presented by project researchers. Definitely worth spending some time exploring.