Original post by mchristian on January 21, 2016
When Girl Scouts can now process cookie sales through a mobile app at their cookie booth, you know that “mobile” has hit the mainstream. But when you also learn that “Digital Cookie 2.0” helps girls develop their entrepreneurial skills as well as their interest in STEM subjects, you realize that mobile learning can help to do more than hook you up with your favourite dessert. To me, Digital Cookie 2.0 sits at the heart of what mobile learning can be — it exists in an informal learning environment (Girl Scouts vs. formal K-12 school environment), it connects deeply with an existing cultural practice (buying Girl Scout cookies), and it has specific and detailed mobile learning outcomes. It may seem trite, but Digital Cookie 2.0 might actually represent a tipping point in mobile education.
http://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/all-about-cookies/digital-cookie.html
This post got me thinking a bit about the impact of mobile technology on culture. In some respects mobile tech has the ability to change our culture and behavioral norms. For example, many now consider it rude if they reach out and do not receive a response within hours or even minutes, where previously it wasn’t unusual to wait a day or more for a call back. It used to be rude to have cell phones at the dinner table, but now we basically always have them on our person. But mobile technology doesn’t always have to be an agent of cultural change. Sometimes it can be used to strengthen already existing cultural practices, like the selling of girl scout cookies. I think this small example shows that if we chose to do so we can use mobile technology to augment the cultural practices we value and wish to keep.