One conundrum in the digital education world is consumption
vs. production, according to Inside Higher Ed’s tech blogger Joshua Kim.
Consuming content is more convenient on mobile devices, while producing that
content is easier on a laptop or desktop computer.
“What this means for education, I think, is that we
need to design our content primarily for mobile,” Kim wrote.
“Anything that has to do with consumption will occur on a small touchscreen.
Our text, presentations, and videos all need to be designed mobile first.”
However, don’t toss the laptop just yet. The keyboard
makes the device much more important in the digital world because keyboards on
mobile devices are simply too small to be useful. And, to Kim, writing remains
at the heart of education.
“After
having spent a few weeks with the new $169 iPad Pro Smart Keyboard (the
combined case and keyboard), I can tell you that it is not something that you
will want to use for any serious writing,” he wrote. “We should be suspicious
of any education program that is mobile-only. Mobile-first, sure, but not
mobile-only. Any good postsecondary program should stress production over
consumption.”
