Introduction to the special issue

Abstract

Since fall 2014, mobile devices officially outnumber people on the planet. How can we begin to understand what this means for learning and teaching? An important starting point is to be aware of the ever changing and diverse nature of mobile technologies. When they were first explicitly highlighted as a trend in the 2006 Horizon Report ('the phones in their pockets'), mobile technologies primarily referred to cellphones, followed by the iPod, tablets, e-readers, and, finally, smartphones. Along with the dissemination of more and more sophisticated and differentiated devices the usage of mobile technology has transcended people's everyday activities. Ally and Prieto-Bldzquez (2015) argue that just a few years ago it was hard to fathom that society would use mobile technology like a computer - conducting business, learning, socializing, etc. According to Tabor (2016), making calls has turned into a minimal part of user engagement with modern smart phones, texting is decreasing, and that social media, gaming, and browsing, are increasing. Consequentially, today's landscape of mobile technologies comprises a conglomerate of standards, devices, applications, each of which has specific use cases, contextual settings, features, content assets, and audiences.