Mobile devices have truly impacted the first nine and a half years of this Twenty-First Century, and they will continue to make an impact in the years to come. The impact they will have in K-12 education, I believe, depends on the developments within the corporate world. 

I recently was in New Orleans in the middle of July, 2009, and Microsoft was having a convention there. I met an ex-Microsoft employee while walking in downtown. He’s an ex-employee because he was one of the 5,000 Microsoft employees that were recently laid off and was there looking for a job. I asked him his opinion on the differences between Apple and Microsoft, and he told me something that I will never forget: Microsoft serves the corporate world, Apple serves the consumer. I had never looked at these two giants of computing in this light before. I do agree with his statement, as I am a convert to Mac because of their user friendliness.

I proceeded to ask him if the topic of mobile devices would come up at the convention, and he shared with me that Microsoft did plan to unveil how they intended to impact the world of mobile devices in the near future: The Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system and the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Both are designed with the intent to compete with Apple iPhone and Palm Pre mobile devices. However, Microsoft is putting most of their stock in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile project. The Windows Marketplace for Mobile will allow developers to create their own apps, similar to the thirty-thousands plus apps created by developers for the Apple iPhone. Microsoft anticipates the estimated 20 billion mobile-application downloads per year by 2014, according to Juniper Research. 

The future of mobile devices will be about making money. The corporate world will take advantage of the ubiquitousness of mobile technologies to sell advertisements. I watched this YouTube video (above url) of the World Economic Forum, and most of the major players in mobile technologies from around the world were there talking about how they control mobil technology for economic gain. Advertisements seemed to be the main avenue discussed for making money. Actually, it seemed they were trying to figure out how they should advertise on mobile devices. 

The American Educational system will most likely take a back seat with mobile technologies until the corporate world finishes with their own agendas. Soon, the premium prices of mobile computing will come down enough for the educational system to begin investing in this ubiquitous platform for learning. Until then, educators comfortable with the uses of mobile technology for learning should scaffold their students and help customize their individual paths of inquiry using mobile devices.

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