It is no secret that mobile computing is here, but what does that mean for learning professionals and the learning function? How will it affect instructional design? What influence, if any, will device manufacturers, platform providers, and software developers have on mobile learning's future? ASTD and i4cp partnered to investigate the topic and the resulting report, Mobile Learning: Learning in the Palm of Your Hand, addresses these questions.

Mobile Learning: Learning in the Palm of Your Hand finds that while the future of mobile learning is speculative, it is clear that organizations have no alternative but to at least begin addressing the implications of the incorporation of mobile technology into their learning strategies - it is simply a matter of time and technology.

For the Study, 85% of respondents indicated their company provides mobile devices to at least some of the workforce, but less than 30 % did so with tablets. Tablets still lack the ubiquitous mobility of a phone. As with laptops, a user must make the conscious decision to carry a tablet with them. Mobile phone usage is less deliberate. This gets to the heart of just-in-time learning - a person often needs information when they least expect it. Mobile devices provide the medium for learning ubiquity: anytime, anyplace.

Some of the other concepts examined in the study include:

•native applications vs. the mobile web

•mobile learning vs. the classroom

•mobile learning vs. performance support

•mobile learning vs. virtual learning.

Mobile Learning: Learning in the Palm of Your Hand is now available for download at the ASTD Bookstore.