Instruction on the pedagogical potential of mobile devices in learning must now become standard in the preparation of pre-service teachers, and the use of their own mobile devices in this preparation models good practice of their use in learning. As an alternative to institution owned computers, mobile technologies provide a refreshing and contemporary alternative.

Mobile learning has also captured the imaginations of many teacher educators in universities, particularly those interested in learning with technology, as they envisage a learning culture and environment that are no longer tethered to fixed laboratories of computers. As mobile devices have acquired more functionality, largely through the widespread availability of small applications or apps, the usefulness of mobile phones and tablets for meaningful and authentic learning has become more apparent. Until quite recently, policy often simply prohibited the use of mobile phones in any form while on school grounds, despite parental approval for students to carry them for personal safety and convenience.

As more and more children bring personal mobile devices to school, schools struggle to formulate policies that acknowledge their power as learning tools.

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