Creating Significant Learning Environments
I find it interesting that the general use of the Internet has evolved to the place where we have moved passsed the desktop and onto mobile devices which we carry with us everywhere and use all the time for almost everything we do.
All the while academics are still debating the merits of the use of the Internet in the form of online learning, digital texts and the like in higher education.
This makes we wonder who Alvin Toffler is really referring to in the following quote:
It is currently a two horse race between the IOS and Android. Samsung must be mentioned as a major player in this space considering it is the developer of the Galaxy S2, S3 and Google’s own Nexus device not to mention all the other models of smartphones is has offered. Apple and Android own the smartphone and it will be interesting to see how much of an impact Windows 8, Microsoft Surface and the Nokia phones will make on these numbers. There is also the long shot that RIM may revive some interest in its platform in 2013 but most people believe RIM will be a niche play at best.
It is always fascinating to see just how much an impact the smartphone has had in such a short period.
When you combine the smartphone growth With the explosive growth of the iPad, mobile access to the web is now the new norm. Perhaps the most exciting part about this for learners is that access to the world’s information is truly available all the time and from everywhere. Even more exiting is the fact that we has just started to see development in this space. One can only imagine where we will be in the next 3-5 years.
More Post-PC Era Evidence: Six scenarios where the iPad is trouncing the PC
Yet another indication that we are moving into the Post-PC era. As the article summary indicates, Jason Hiner, the Editor of Tech Repulic is no Apple fanboy (advocate) but even Hiner can’t ignor just how much of an impact the iPad is making in the following areas:
I have to agree with Hiner and can personally attest to all but the kiosk uses. Later this summer we will be deploying iPads for our admissions/recruiting advisers who will be using the devices in a kiosk service scenario so this makes it six for six. While these six points or uses are significant, Hiner missed a few more areas where the iPad not only trounces the PC but is impacting other other aspects of our lives.
Auto Travel – All you have to do is take a multiple day drive or extended trip with an iPad equipped with cell coverage and you will not want to travel without the device. The basic mapping app provides enough functionality and view that you will not want to rely on a traditional GPS or a smartphone. Viewing travel pictures, videos on the wide screen is a dream and lets not forget about how amazing video is on the device.
Education – The current rage in K-12 and Higher Education is mobile learning and the iPad has become the go to device that many school districts and Universities and colleges are currently deploying. Whether the iPad is used as an access device in the form of an ereader or as in input device for note taking or media creation Education is just starting to “scratch the surface” of the opportunities mobility provide.
Google’s purchase of Motorola not only provides an opportunity for the developers of Android to unify the operating system on a single platform they represent a very strong competitor to Apple. While these two factors alone are significant perhaps even more significant is Larry Page’s recognition of the short and long term impact of technology by pointing the fact that:
Many users coming online today may never use a desktop machine, and the impact of that transition will be profound–as will the ability to just tap and pay with your phone.
Google’s purchase of Motorola is just one more very significant building block in the Post-PC era.
Back in 2007 before the iPhone was released 90 percent of the systems that connected to the web were Windows PCs. In less than 5 years this has changed to the point that:
In 2012, Gartner projects that worldwide PC sales will reach about 400 million units in 2012, while smartphones will surpass 600 million units. Tablets will sell about 100 million units. That means that only about 35% of the new devices sold this year that will be connecting to the web will be Windows PCs.
The future of the PC is in question:
By 2015, Gartner projects PC sales will grow to over 500 million, but tablets will triple to about 300 million and smartphones will leap past 1.1 billion.
It is obvious that everyone now, and in even more so in the future, will have to develop their web sites and resources for a mobile platform. This will require a rethinking of web sites, customer services, location services and much more. It appears that only the growing pace of change is the constant for the conceivable future.
