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Editor's Notes

• #6: Everything has been tried: mobile device bans from classes, containers for cell phones at the front of the class, college policy, course outline rules; and creative ways- if your phone goes off in class, you must put your conversation on speaker phone. Watch this macroeconomics college professor in class at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• #7: How about a little demonstration about how you feel about cell phones?
• #8: So, as educators I post secondary institutions we are scratching our heads. But are we are dealing with a bubble gum issues? Remember when teachers use to fret over gum in school? Mobile and ubiquitous devices are everywhere around us, and I do mean everywhere. Anyone trying to avoid the contact with them these days would need to go to great lengths to actually succeed. Portable devices and computers are present everywhere.
• #11: Portage College serves the north eastern part of Alberta, with 3200-3400 students; 2/3 are part-time. ¼-1/3 are of Aboriginal decent. My colleague and I decided to conduct a survey to question faculty and students about what mobile devices they have, how they use and fell about mobile devices in education, specific apps they use, and the drawbacks associated with them.
• #12: The lack of technology devices for instructional staff one may surmise is not a financial one; but rather it is one of perceived need, beliefs about mobile devices and their effectiveness and the conviction of using personal property in their professional roles. Institutions are still in the early days of mobile learning and its application (Franklin, 2011).  One of the first steps taken by many institutions is providing faculty and students with mobile tools (Wong, 2012).  There are departments at Portage College have given their permanent faculty iPads. Coordinators of programs have been given cell phones. Access to mobile devices is not equal amongst faculty, an irony, because this is a concern cited for students only. Side note: 65-70% of the faculty are 45 years of age or older. This definitely impacts results. Age is a compounding variable.
• #13: The digital divide is changing its landscape.  The digital divide is changing: lots of research stating it is now in the realm of access to good Wi-Fi and the type of device you use. Most people who have only one mobile device have a phone. You can’t fill out a job application or complete assignments over the phone. The digital divide is an “entertainment vs. empowerment divide” (Hertz, 2011).
• #14: Only 50% of the Instructors who have daily access to mobile devices available to them, use their mobile device in education. Portage College Instructors report using mobile devices changed two conditions: 1. Teacher preparation and general practice: Mobile devices allow Portage College Instructors to work from any location to prepare lessons, grade work, respond to student emails and edit Moodle, the Learning Management System. 2. Student activities during instruction: Completing surveys, performing in-class web searches, participating in games and using other apps are listed as activities undertaken. A successful adoption of mobile technology requires instructors to make certain students remain academically engaged with their devices.  This regular scholastic use allows students to become comfortable with technology and reduces possible distracted off-task behaviour (Mang and Wardley, 2012).  It is so interesting how many more students (compared with faculty) are using mobile devices to help them complete academic work, access course information, communicate with their instructor and other students and use adaptive technologies. For students who do not use mobile devices, financial reasons, no need in education and Wi-Fi were the predominant reasons for not using
• #15: Over six in ten believe that tablets can help students study more efficiently and perform better in classes. Pearson Student Mobile Device Survey 2013: National Report on College Students l 04/17/2013 Conducted by Harris Interactive
• #16: There is evidence that the successful integration of mobile devices into the classroom is correlated to the degree of enthusiasm on part of the instructor (Alraikat & Tokhaim, 2014). 
• #17: If Instructors gave me more than one answer I grouped each part of their answer accordingly. Frustrations with the negative aspects of using mobile devices, may deter instructors from encouraging their use in class. This is a valid concern. The development of self-regulating behavior during the college years may be useful not only for academic but for personal effectiveness in many aspects of life. College environments are very forgiving places, and many “second chances” are provided when students run into difficulties. But students who fail to develop self-management skills, especially with respect to academic studying and class work, will miss much of what the class has to offer. (Dalton & Crosby, 2011, p. 2)
• #19: PD has to focus on these andragogical concerns. We often focus on the ‘how to’, but not the integration of the technology with the content and andragogical concerns. Professional development has to focus on the ‘why’ when integrating new technology.
• #21: This is fascinating! Students self-identify how distracting mobile devices are. If you include social issues, (gossip as a result of social websites), over 50% of the students relay that mobile devices are distracting. Besides the gossip, there are two other categories of distraction: 1. The user may be attracted to social or recreational websites, rather than completing work. 2. Students are distracted by others’ use. A successful adoption of mobile technology requires instructors to make certain students remain academically engaged with their devices.  This regular scholastic use allows students to become comfortable with technology and reduces possible distracted off-task behaviour (Mang and Wardley, 2012).   Category andragogical issues: students do not like it when mobile devices reduce interactions with others, and some note there is no link between their mobile device and course work. (Easy to cheat was another frequent response.) Specific demographic groups such as First Nations and single parent households are not on par with regard to technological access in Canada (Ozturkeri, et al., 2014). Information-technology departments around the country are being tested by an explosion in the use of personal, Internet-capable wireless devices on campuses.  O’Neil, M. Explosion of Wireless Devices Strains Campus Networks The Chronicle Herald of Higher Education, Oct. 14, 2013
• #22: As educators, we need for student to see the educational value of their mobile device. The problem may be the emerging new digital divide: The digital divide is changing: researchers are exploring digital divide in relation to access to good Wi-Fi.
• #23: Hertz (2011) claims, “The divide has shifted from an access issue to a kind of access divide.” A large majority of students who own one mobile device own a phone. You can’t fill out a job application or complete essays with ease using a phone. Phones provide us access to the Internet and entertainment. The digital divide is an “entertainment vs. empowerment divide”. A New Understanding of Digital Divide, Oct. 24, 2011, Edutopia
• #25: Over-simplistic categorization- depends upon the user how they see the use. For instance, Luminosity a web based app or application may be for learning or entertainment. Using twitter likewise can be used for learning, communication or social. It was the researcher who interpreted the use based on the student’s printed responses.
• #26: So, I have changed my mind… we need to have mobile devices; students just need to learn to use them effectively for instructional means. They have to learn not to use their mobile devices so it is distracting to others.
• #29: Go to Moodle Faculty Showcase Page to Show (and use) web based tools.