• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer, March 12, 2015

Here’s a can’t-lose argument for kids trying to get their parents to buy them a new smartphone or tablet: It’s educational! In fact, 81% of college students surveyed by McGraw-Hill Education said they use mobile devices to study, up from 40% just a year ago. And 77% said technology had a positive effect on their grades.

According to the survey, mobile devices help students study more efficiently, with 48% of respondents agreeing that technology saves time during studying, and 77% of this group able to save two to five hours per week or more. To add to these benefits, 62% of students said mobile technology helps them feel better prepared for class, and 52% said they have more confidence in course material.

The most popular educational apps were in a category called “adaptive learning,” with interactive approaches shaping the learning process to  students’ personal needs and abilities. Among students who used adaptive learning technology, 85% reported an improvement in their grades. Overall, 79% of students said study technology should be more individualized, and 72% said it should feel as tailored as social media feeds.

It’s not just college students who are using mobile devices for studying. Last year a survey by Pearson found that 43% of high school students use smartphones to do schoolwork every week, while 20% of middle school students and 17% of elementary school students do the same. The proportions were even higher for tablets, with 45% of high school students, 39% of middle school students, and 31% of elementary school students using them for schoolwork.

Additionally, 89% of students said tablets make learning more fun, and 79% said that tablets help students do better in class. However, 75% of high school students, 65% of middle school students, and 56% of elementary students think they know more than their teachers about how to use tablets for learning.