Speakers at a recent education technology industry summit had a key piece of advice for the company executives who make and sell products for schools: “Go mobile.” Hosted by the Software and Information Industry Association, the summit was intended to keep company executives abreast of the latest trends and recent developments in school technology–but its content also gives educators a glimpse into where business leaders see the ed-tech industry heading.Mobile technologies can provide “24-7 connectivity [for] learning, just as we see in business,” said keynote speaker Peggy Johnson, adding that mobile devices offer an emerging platform for the “21st-century textbook”—one that is more flexible, interactive, and allows for instant feedback, as well as greater personalization of the learning process.Furthermore, research suggests there are some 1 billion 3G wireless subscribers in the world today, Johnson said—and according to wireless industry projections, that number will soar to nearly 3 billion by 2014. By 2011, emerging regions are expected to represent 50 percent of all 3G handset shipments. The proliferation of mobile devices in these areas of the world is having “a huge transformative shift” in the literacy and quality of life of their populations, Johnson said—noting that the Gross Domestic Product of a nation goes up as its cell-phone penetration increases.Source: eSchool News