Abstract

The advancement of mobile communication technology has contributed to an increasingly interconnected world; however, these devices are not being used as effectively as they could be to improve global challenges. One challenging issue is the lack of preparation college graduates receive to positively contribute to the needs of an interdependent global society. Organizations such as UNESCO, NAFSA, and the OECD have recently declared the critical need for the rising generation to strengthen their global competence, the capacity to examine societal issues and work alongside those of various backgrounds to make a change. School instructors are crucial to preparing students to thrive in multicultural societies and address present day issues. With a staggeringly high rate of cellular device ownership among college students, mobile devices could be optimally positioned as a multi-functional tool ready to assist students in gaining these skills. This paper proposes that, while mobile devices may have contributed to a growing need for globally competent individuals, they can also be used to expand these capacities within university students. The PISA global competency framework developed by the OECD is used to propose how instructors can use mobile technology and research grounded practices to strengthen global competence in students.

Highlights

  • A glimpse at the status of mobile devices in higher education indicates that a high rate of university students possesses these devices (Krull & Duart, 2017)

  • Mobile technology yields vast opportunities for university students to culturally engage with entertainment, news, and music or to interact with others through text, social media, and email (Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014)

  • As a result of these interactions, research focused on the integration of mobile technology in higher education has amplified over the last decade (Hwang & Tsai, 2011; Wu et al, 2012)

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Summary

Introduction

A glimpse at the status of mobile devices in higher education indicates that a high rate of university students possesses these devices (Krull & Duart, 2017). It is of high importance that educators develop their students’ global competence, or “the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance” Due to the high rate of mobile ownership among university students and their lack of global competence, these multifunctional devices are well situated to help instructors with these challenges. The purpose of this paper is to describe how mobile devices are uniquely positioned to nurture global competence and give practical implications for instructors looking to expand these capacities within their university students

Literature Review
A Global Issue
Findings
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