The Debate
There is probably no argument that a primary reason a person attends college is to earn a degree, qualifying them for a job post-graduation. Furthermore, many would say that a degree should prepare a person to succeed in that job. You may hear arguments, however, on best approaches that educate students earning that degree. Some say that the best approach is to help students develop deep knowledge about a particular subject so they can use and repeat facts. Others would passionately argue that the best approach is to teach students to be critical thinkers, enabling them to find answers whether they can regurgitate facts or not. Still others might argue that just as every human is different, perfect teaching and learning adapts to each student's personal learning style (see my "Do Smarter Networks Mean Successful Students?" blog). I would argue that "this is the best teaching method" and "this is how people learn" debates will go on for many more decades!
Mobility in Education and Work
What I doubt anyone would debate, however, is that technology and mobility will play a part in teaching, learning, and working. How technology and mobility are used is dependent upon the type of work, the person, the technology, and the environment. The degree to which organizations adopt mobility solutions for their campus or workplace can have implications beyond supporting BYOD or keeping end-users happy. Lack of attention to a "mobile-first" approach can impact recruitment/retention of students and obstruct personalized learning efforts, to name a few. For the workplace, mobility adoption can be directly connected to dollars and cents. As the 2016 Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Mobility Impact Study reports, not only are workers more loyal and satisfied with companies who are leaders in mobile technology, but they are more productive and drive innovation and growth for the company!
Conclusion: Mobility is the Constant
So what should we take from all of this? Mobile technology is an overarching continuing factor and influence as a student moves from higher education to the workplace, and a mobile-first approach must be considered. I strongly encourage you to read the article "Thinking about the Future of Work to Make Better Decisions about Learning Today." Circling back to the old debates about what is the best teaching and learning, this articles answers this way: "Such debates are not new; they've been around for decades if not longer. What is new, are the ways that both the nature of work and the tools and process for learning are changing. These fundamental transformations are making distinctions between work, learning, and living ever more artificial." Couldn't have said it better myself! The article also outlines clusters of technologies (smart machines, coordination economies, immersive collaboration, and the maker mindset) that are shaping changes in the work world and provides food for thought on impacts these clusters might have on education.
As always, Aruba is here to help you as you continue to evolve your mobile first campus. There is no debate about that!
