Colleagues/ A Must-Read > Major / Major >> Report/Study /Gerry New York and Las Vegas, January 9, 2009 - Mobile device use is exploding among children worldwide, cell phones and iPods are this generation's preferred form of social communication. More than half of the world's population now owns a cell phone and experts project that people will use cell phones as their primary means of accessing the Internet by the year 2020. However, most educators and parents have been skeptical, until now, about mobile devices' value in learning. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop issued a new study today documenting the untapped potential of mobile learning. The report, drawing on market trends and model programs, outlines the first-ever national mobile learning strategy, urging the Obama administration to make new investments in digital learning technologies and teacher training. The findings and recommendations of Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning, were unveiled by Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop at the Kids@Play Summit at the 2009 International CES(r) in Las Vegas. The study found that just as Sesame Street transformed television into a revolutionary learning tool for preschoolers, mobile learning technology may represent the next frontier "Mobile devices are part of the fabric of children's lives today: they are here to stay," said Dr. Michael Levine, Executive Director of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center. "It is no longer a question of whether we should use these devices to support learning, but how and when to use them. Sesame Street introduced children to the educational potential of television. A new generation of mobile media content can become a force for learning and discovery in the next decade." [more] Links To Executive Summary / Full Report / News Available At [ http://tinyurl.com/kj9okf ] EnJOY ! /Gerry Gerry McKiernan Associate Professor Science and Technology Librarian Iowa State University Library Ames IA 50011 gerrymck@iastate.edu There Are No Answers, Only Solutions / Olde Irish Saying The Future Is Already Here, It's Just Not Evenly Distributed / Attributed To William Gibson, SciFi Author / Coined 'Cyberspace