Itslearning.net—an online educational resource designed for teachers—created an enlightening infographic based on studies and statistics from sources like the Harvard Gazette and PBS on the effect of mobile devices and K-12 education. Generation Z includes those born after 1995.

“To give you a better understanding of these students, including the role mobile devices play in their home and school lives, we’ve put together an infographic, titled Generation Z: Growing and Learning with Mobile,” wrote ItsLearning.net.

Information is sourced from studies on global mobile trends, mobile devices in the classroom, and the impact on student achievement. “Studies show that, by the year 2017, the percentage of smartphone users in the US will reach 80 percent—triple the percentage of users we saw in 2011,” ItsLearning.net reports. “Globally, mobile learning is growing at a rate of 18.2 percent per year, suggesting that learning organizations will need to adopt appropriate technologies in order to keep up with growing demand.” 

The infographic also breaks down how today’s middle schoolers use mobile devices for education purposes. “78 percent use devices to check grades, 69 percent to take notes, 56 percent to access text books, and 64 percent to write papers.”

ItsLearning.net also reported that studies are showing standardized test results to be higher in classes where students have access to mobile devices.

“In one case, test scores of low-income students climbed as much as 30 percent after being given access to smartphones—an increase attributed to the fact that students were able to keep connected with teachers and classmates, even while at home,” ItsLearning.net reported.

Read the full story and see the Infographic.

By Samantha DiMauro, Education World Contributor