Finding the learning frontier: predicting the Top 4 Mobile Learning Apps of 2013 from the Top 10 Mobile Apps of 2012

In keeping with the theme of looking for the learning frontier in non-educational areas, the ReadWriteWeb posted a story on Gartner Group's Top Ten Mobile Apps of 2012. In any search, there may be some blind alleys before finding the good stuff, so I'll include those less direct applications to learning (and for a good reason -- you may see an application where I don't). I have kept the original numbering.


Possible Direct Application to Learning

2 Location-Based Services: "Gartner says this will be one of the most disruptive technologies in the future, with a user base growing from 96 million in 2009 to 526 million in 2012"  . Field simulations -- actually sending learners into the real-world or at least real-world spaces with GPS enabled applications that sense how close one is to another may have applciations. Thoughts where this could be useful?

3 Mobile Search and 4 Mobile Browsing:  How search and browsing apply to learning is obvious. One insight is that browsing capabilities will increase from approximately 60% to 80% of hand held devices, making access all the more likely, which is important as a practical aspect of learning if you're not supplying the devices. Another insight is that Gartner predicts a shakeup of the search services. In general, learning providers need to be ready to put  learning resources in mobile format. Any other applications here?
 
7 Near Field Communications (NFC): To quote the NFC entry in  wikipedia.org, "The significant advantage of NFC over Bluetooth is the shorter set-up time. Instead of performing manual configurations to identify Bluetooth devices, the connection between two NFC devices is established at once (under a tenth of a second)." The opportunity is the creation of a set of measurement devices that are easier to configure and possibly less expensive to create.

I am reminded of the promise of the TI calculator devices like temperature, pressure, and sonic measurement that could rapidly create time-based measurements. With mobile devices, they can also add location data, capture the data sets, upload to a common area, and support collaborative aggregation, analysis, and decision making. The medical devices (in the lsit below) could allow the creation of datasets as well.


Slight or Indirect Link to Learning


1 SMS Money Transfer and 6 Mobile Payments: no direct application to learning, except maybe for learning institutions wanting to receive payments.

5 Mobile Health Monitoring: presumably this is done by creating blue-tooth devices and applications that readthem on the mobile device. This will impact learning in health care as a subject and may also be the technology on a mass scale breakthrough needed to support other blue-tooth enabled devices for taking measurements in the field.

8 Mobile Advertising: Unsolicited, location sensitive, commercial content. If we strike the commercial and substitute with learning, there's an application there for in-the-field learning that does not require a group environment to be effective.


9 Mobile Instant Messaging: defined as an alternative to SMS. Not clear if there's a true prediction here, so in the "slight to none" category.

10 Mobile Music: the music may have not direct application, but as a gateway technology, it has implications for mobile content, ala iTunesU.