It’s not just your imagination: the number of high school students toting smartphones has grown significantly in the past few years. Three times more teenagers now have access to these mobile devices than in 2006, according to a new survey from national education nonprofit Project Tomorrow.

Every year Project Tomorrow collects and reports on the views of more then 350,000 K-12 students in the U.S., as well as their parents and teachers. Results this year show that digital technology is the focal point for 21st century education.

While technology has the potential to improve education, the ubiquity of mobile devices is causing quite a bit of tension between students and teachers, who can have rather divergent views about the presence of smartphones and other gadgets in the classroom and on campus.

Students, Project Tomorrow noted in its report, tend to feel that having access to mobile devices like netbooks, smartphones and even MP3 players is a critical component of their digital education. But, teachers and administrators often tend to ban or restrict the use of mobile gadgets. Both sides surely have valid points, but it seems clear that the tide is shifting in favor of everywhere/anytime access to technology.

Today's students are taking increased responsibility for their learning with mobile devices and instant access to the Internet, according to the report, and feel strongly about the potential for mobile devices to enhance their learning and to help them be more productive.

“We are beginning to see mobile learning take shape in pockets around the nation where a small but growing number of innovative educators are finding ways to leverage the once banned mobile devices for learning,” noted Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, in the report.

They are doing so in part because an opportunity exists to connect more effectively with student through the technology they’re familiar with, and enthusiastic about using. It helps that more teachers and parents themselves now use mobile devices and know firsthand the power of this technology.

The report cited several examples of schools where mobile technology is being embraced as a learning tool. One is Onslow County Schools in North Carolina, where students put their smartphones to use learning calculus, algebra and geometry. Students at Jamestown Elementary School in Virginia, meanwhile, are improving writing skills, collaborating with peers and creating multimedia projects—all using mobile devices.

"A little bit of creativity and focus can have amazing results," said Jeff Billings, Information Technology Director at Paradise Valley Unified School District. "I tell other educators considering a transformation like this to give their frontrunners freedom and be creative to establish new models and let the others follow in those footsteps." 

Brett Fazier, senior vice president at education technology company Blackboard Inc., sees mobile technology as being a transformative tool for engaging students and enhancing learning.

“Educators and parents have an opportunity to leverage students' growing interest in mobile devices to engage them in a more personal learning experience that doesn't end when they leave the classroom,” Frazier said in a press statement.