ARM Community: Technology for education 2.0 - the real smartphone revolution - ARM Community

This month’s Fast Company cover story “The REAL Smartphone Revolution How Tech Is Making Kids Smarter Everywhere” by Anya Kamenetz has really captured my imagination. The article delves into the upcoming generation of kids that “will never know a world without ubiquitous handheld and networked technology.” Kamenetz describes the opportunity for smart mobile devices together with content and inspiring teachers to transform education around the world.

While it was great to see the ARM9 powered TeacherMate device highlighted as a flagship product, what captured me most was the insight on how the tech world can help to bring about impactful change. Specifically, how technology that fosters learning, interaction, and the development of motor skills, can be accessible to kids around the globe.

Having worked at the heart of the mobile industry during an unprecedented rise in smart mobile devices and the transformation from a PC centric computing experience to a multifaceted device computing era, I have witnessed a number of industry missteps that parallel some of the early efforts to bring technology closer to kids as highlighted in the article. For a number of years companies wrestled with the idea that new types of devices could replace our PCs’ internet and many day-to-day computing functions. There was talk about consumers not being able to adapt to new form-factors and interfaces or cloud based productivity applications. I know this seems silly now but what some in the industry missed at the time was the fact that consumers were already adapting – and frankly kids continue to lead the way towards a device centric more personal computing model.

Kamenetz captures this dynamic perfectly in highlighting some of the criticism of the early One Laptop per Child (OLPC) strategy against the TeacherMate program by Innovations for Learning. But where she really got me was the call to action for our industry when she states “Mobile Phones have transformed communications, especially in the developing world, more swiftly than anyone could have imagined. The prospect of doing the same for education – putting best-of-breed learning software in kid’s hands anytime, anywhere – is tantalizing.” The challenge she goes on to highlight is achieving a cost and scale that can make an impactful change in even the remotest part of the globe.

This is a challenge well suited to the ARM Partnership. We have an unparalleled mobile heritage and a proven track record of delivering technology that is personal, inexpensive, and easy to use. We have a vibrant global partner community that designs products with features at price points that service nearly every region of the world.

As a shining example of what is possible with ARM technology, Marvell recently announced an initiative to develop a $99 1.5GHz ARM-based tablet complete with support for 1080p full HD and 3D video. The device code-named Moby is targeted at education and delivering a high-tech alternative for text books.

ARM technology in the hands of the broad ARM Partnership holds the promise for delivering great change and innovation in technology for education. We would like to keep this dialog going and highlight efforts within the ARM Partnership to drive technology forward in support of education for all children. Let us know how your company is contributing – post your comments or send us an email at Tell.Us@arm.com.

Kerry McGuire, Director of Strategic Marketing, ARM, Growing up in a tiny little technology town and then moving to Austin to work in the mobile industry has led to a lifetime of being a technology groupie. Fascinated by the changing technical industry and the impact of technology on society trends, she enjoys watching the industry evolve by working with the best of ARM’s partners.

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