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There are more mobile phones in the hands of learners than any other type of computing device including PC's, gaming consoles, PDA, or iPods. These phones are small computers with approximately the same processing power as a PlayStation, Nintendo-64, or early Pentium IV computer. “Today’s phones are also, by their very nature, networked computers, efficiently sending & receiving digital data.”(Nokia, 2003) The connectivity inherent in these devices and wide level of installed base makes them very attractive for instructional media delivery. As of late 2006, there were more than 550 million Java enabled mobile phones in the US (Telephia, 2006).
On a local level, we find that over 74% of Purdue students have access to a Java enabled cell phone. Put simply, the majority of Purdue students carry with them a mobile networked computer with the processing power of a Pentium-IV class machine. When we consider the connectivity, processing power, and sheer installed base for these device, it is not hard to envision how this technology can be harnessed to transform learning.
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