SEA educators support mobile tech in the classroom: Adobe study

• Mobile devices make accessibility to digital tools and applications easier
• Budget and integration issues are the biggest challenges

FAR from being reluctant to admit mobile devices to their classrooms, educators in South-East Asia strongly believe that the proliferation of mobile devices is already having a positive impact, and influencing the way instruction is delivered to students, according to Adobe Inc’s Transforming Education with Mobile and Digital Technology study.
 
While traditionalists may claim that mobile devices in the classroom can be a distraction, 85% of educators from South-East Asia felt that there was a positive overall net effect to having mobile devices strategically integrated into the teaching process, Adobe said in a statement.
 
The company unveiled the findings of its study at the recent 10th annual Adobe Education Leadership Forum in Bali, Indonesia.
 
More than 1,000 educators representing 13 countries across Asia Pacific were surveyed for the research, which aimed to gauge the state of mobile technology adoption in the classroom and the importance of mobility and digital tools in education.
 
The reason behind this support for mobility is simple, Adobe said – 98% of the educators felt that the accessibility of digital tools and applications on mobile devices helps them better understand and improve concepts and information before including them in lesson plans for their students.
 
Additionally, all South-East Asian educators (100%) also felt that more needs to be done by their institutions to provide students with access to mobile devices, which represents a strong call-to-action that academic institutions in the region need to take heed of, Adobe said.
 
The study also highlighted specific barriers to the propagation of mobile technology in educational institutions.
 
Across Asia Pacific, educators felt that budget allocation (39%) and issues with integration of mobility with existing infrastructure (27%) were the top two crucial areas to overcome for faster adoption of mobile technology in academic institutions.
 
“The ability to visualise or integrate interactive learning experiences in the classroom via a mobile device can make a huge difference in learning outcomes when engaging with today’s millennial generation,” said Adobe South-East Asia managing director Stephen Hamill.
 
“As our study highlights, the challenge now is to provide support to enable greater mobile adoption. Educators and institutions need to work together to make this shift, ensuring that students are empowered not only to consume digital content but also to be the creators of that content,” he added.
 
Other highlights of the study (click infographic to enlarge):

• More educators in South-East Asia and South Korea (both 85%) believe in the positive impact of mobility in education compared to their peers across the rest of the region. On the other hand, ANZ (Australia/ New Zealand) educators (69%) don’t believe as strongly in the net positive effects of using mobile devices in education.

• Overall, most educators across the region (83%) believe in the potential of digital tools and applications to help both educators and students enjoy an enhanced teaching and learning experience. Educators in South-East Asia (98%) and Greater China (90%) had the strongest convictions.

• All educators across the region strongly believed their educational institutions should ramp up support for students to provide the necessary facilities and tools for digital education so students could be prepared for an era of digital content (89%).

The Adobe Education Leadership Forum 2015 brought together Asia Pacific’s eminent thought leaders, researchers and educators to discuss key trends in education, emerging technologies, challenges, opportunities and the necessity of fostering creativity, the company said in its statement.
 
This year, more than 107 education leaders from 10 countries across Asia Pacific attended the forum, which had as its theme Sparking Creative Catalyst: Fuelling the Future.
 
The detailed survey report can be downloaded at http://www.adobe-eduforum.com/2015/mobility.
 
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