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Mobile learning and education: Synthesis of open access research
Abstract
In a global and mobile society characterized by the possibility of portability, mobile devices are no longer accessories, but they are rather resources that we cannot do without. In fact, nowadays no one seems willing to give up these tools recognizing its potential in various fields. For instance, they allow not only to shorten various distances but also to respond to different situations of our daily life, and also, of course, they provide moments of leisure and entertainment. Thus, combining all these attributes and to benefit fromthem in education seems obvious. However, to what extent and how are mobile devices integrated in education? Is mobile learning or m-learning a reality? Or a fiction, instead? Therefore, the present study aims at clarifying these issues through a literature synthesis of research available in online databases. In this state of the art, m-learning is briefly characterized, namely, by describing some of its particular types and environments and also by a SWOT analysis. Students and teachers' perceptions and practices on m-learning were also identified. We further identified determining factors that both students and teachers consider important in the use of mobile devices and in the acceptance of mobile learning. In short, the systematization of the analyzed literature summarizes experiences that promoted changes in both the alphabetization and digital literacy of the whole participating school communities. One can conclude that m-learning is a research area with a recent past, a dynamic present, and a promising future.
... While mobile learning has advantages, it also has some defects. In online teaching, teachers cannot do real-time one-to-one with students, and teachers cannot always seize the attention of each student [23]. With the increasing coverage of wireless networks, the response speed of network resources and the acquisition speed of learning resources will also affect the efficiency of students' online learning. ...
Mobile learning has become an efficient way to meet the needs of work learning in the epidemic situation because of its convenience, flexibility, and freedom. This paper studies and discusses the impact of mobile learning on learning education and preschool education in the epidemic. A mobile learning community resource sharing algorithm is used to explore the speed of the online learning community to obtain learning resources. The advantages of online learning are analyzed by comparing the speed of learning resources obtained in ordinary groups. In this research, the random offloading algorithm (ROA) is proposed to analyze the student response. The results revealed that majority of the students believed that mobile learning helps in learning subjects to a greater extent.
... Mobile technology is one of the most important technologies that a↵ects almost every aspect of our lives, from personal interactions and social communications to education and work (Wai et al. 2018;Cardoso and Abreu 2015). Critical thinking is also an essential daily activity that could be assisted by mobile technology. ...
Digital behaviour change interventions (DBCIs) are techniques used to provide continuous support and tailored advice to learners wishing to change their undesirable behaviours through web and mobile platforms. DBCIs have been successfully used for learning new skills necessary to change unwanted habits in well-being and other fields. In education, university students’ critical thinking skills and behaviours require interventions for almost every research task. Specifically, students demand regular supervision to aid their critical thinking skills while working on their research projects. Providing advice for each student through traditional classrooms or office meetings is time consuming and can be difficult when relying solely on traditional supervision. DBCIs can be effective tools through which to change students’ behaviours in terms of their thinking during the research projects. As such, there is now a need for a system that is capable of facilitating DBCIs between students and their supervisors with less technical background. This research sought to understand students’ interactions with digital mobile-based behavioural change interventions (mBCIs) designed to improve their critical thinking and research skills. An instrument was designed to measure students’ self-perceived critical thinking abilities. Academic supervisors from different fields were interviewed to identify their expectations and requirements regarding the instrument and regarding the use of DBCIs in critical thinking and research skills. An experimental study was conducted with two groups to explore how students interact with a mBCI designed to support their critical thinking over two months of a research project. This research was conducted to examine the progress students made with their critical thinking skills before and after using the system. As a result, students self-reported some significant perceived improvements in critical thinking standards and elements. However, the academics assessment for the students’ reports showed no improvement in students’ critical thinking. Students’ reflections indicated that the mBCI was useful and easy to use. In addition, the mBCI notifications helped to increase students’ engagement with the system.
... As noted earlier, the 13 success factors identified included factors such as user perception and increase in productivity which have also been used as indicators of the effectiveness of mobile learning. Cardoso and Abreu (2015) analysed mobile learning publications on the types and environments of mobile learning practices, and the determining factors which promoted the acceptance of mobile learning by students and teachers. Among the factors identified, one was the changes in the processes of information access, which is an expected outcome after practising mobile learning as well as an indicator of its effectiveness. ...
Mobile and ubiquitous learning has been a key focus in e-learning and practising broadly worldwide. Among the research publications in this area, a majority of them focused on evaluating the effectiveness of relevant practices and reported positive outcomes. To interpret such results, the contexts in which mobile devices were used for learning and the indicators of effectiveness adopted for evaluation are of prime importance. However, the use of those indicators in relation to the contexts of practice has not been adequately studied. This paper presents a systematic review on the use of various indicators of effectiveness for the practices of mobile and ubiquitous learning. The review covers a total of 50 cases from relevant literature for the period 2007–2016. Regarding the contexts of practice, the results show that 92% of the cases involved the use of mobile devices for accessing online or offline information; 40% involved social interaction among peers or between students and teachers; and 74% involved the apps or learning materials developed for specific courses. The indicators of effectiveness revolved around 10 categories, namely learning achievements, perceived usefulness, motivation, ease of use, satisfaction, learning attitude, cognitive load, system usage, self-efficacy, and social engagement. Results also show that studies of mobile and ubiquitous learning practices mostly focused on specific courses with less than 100 participants. Based on the findings, a number of limitations in interpreting the success of mobile learning
practices are discussed.
... In addition to the having a mobile device, it is important, as recognized before, to have a positive perception about m-learning, but not only by the students. It is also essential that teachers have a positive perception about m-learning, as is the case e.g. of one of our studies (Cardoso and Abreu, 2015) or as described in a prior research that aimed to evaluate the self-efficacy of a nursing faculty in the use of mobile technology, in the teaching and learning process in contexts of education and clinical practice (Kenny et al., 2012). ...
This article reports a study into how mobile phones could be used to enhance teaching and learning in secondary school science. It describes four lessons devised by groups of Sri Lankan teachers all of which centred on the use of the mobile phone cameras rather than their communication functions. A qualitative methodological approach was used to analyse data collected from the teachers' planning, observations of the lessons and subsequent interviews with selected pupils. The results show that using images and video captured on mobile phones supported the teachers not only in bringing the outside world into the classroom but also in delivering instructions, in assessing students' learning and in correcting students' misconceptions. In these instances, the way the images from the mobile phone cameras supported students' learning is explained using a variety of approaches to understand how images support learning.
The purpose of this research was to explore teaching and learning when mobile computing devices, such as cellphones and smartphones, were implemented in higher education. This paper presents a portion of the findings on students' perceptions of learning with mobile computing devices and the roles social media played. This qualitative research study focused on students from three universities across the US. The students' teachers had been integrating mobile computing devices, such as cellphones and smartphones, into their courses for at least two semesters. Data were collected through student focus group interviews. Two specific themes emerged from the interview data: (a) advantages of mobile computing devices for student learning and (b) frustrations from learning with mobile computing devices. Mobile computing devices and the use of social media created opportunities for interaction, provided opportunities for collaboration, as well as allowed students to engage in content creation and communication using social media and Web 2.0 tools with the assistance of constant connectivity.
The use of mobile phones and other portable devices is beginning to have an impact on how learning takes place in many disciplines and contexts, including language learning. Learners who are not dependent on access to fixed computers can engage in activities that relate more closely to their current surroundings, sometimes crossing the border between formal and informal learning. This creates the potential for significant change in teaching and learning practices. Taking the broader field of mobile learning as the setting within which developments in mobile-assisted language learning may be understood, the paper argues that an emphasis on mobility can lead to new perspectives and practices. The paper offers reflections on what mobile learning has to offer and considers whether it is likely to change how languages are taught and learnt. ‘Mobile learning’ is not a stable concept; therefore its current interpretations need to be made explicit. Examples of current projects and practices show an affinity between mobile and games-based learning, and can further illuminate what is distinctive and worthwhile about mobile learning.
Doctors within the NHS are confronting major changes at work. While we endeavour to improve the quality of health care, junior doctors' hours have been reduced and the emphasis on continuing medical education has increased. We are confronted by a growing body of information, much of it invalid or irrelevant to clinical practice. This article discusses evidence based medicine, a process of turning clinical problems into questions and then systematically locating, appraising, and using contemporaneous research findings as the basis for clinical decisions. The computerisation of bibliographies and the development of software that permits the rapid location of relevant evidence have made it easier for busy clinicians to make best use of the published literature. Critical appraisal can be used to determine the validity and applicability of the evidence, which is then used to inform clinical decisions. Evidence based medicine can be taught to, and practised by, clinicians at all levels of seniority and can be used to close the gulf between good clinical research and clinical practice. In addition it can help to promote self directed learning and teamwork and produce faster and better doctors
This study investigated ownership and on-campus use of laptops, tablets, and smartphones, using survey information on Dutch university students. We show that 96% of students own at least one of these mobile IT devices (i.e., a laptop, tablet, or smartphone). Using econometric modelling, we also show that student income, parental income, gender, immigrant parents, and household type (e.g., living with parents) have a statistically significant but small effect on mobile IT device ownership. The demand for tablets is relatively income inelastic, and the demand for laptops and smartphones extremely so. Therefore ownership rates are high for all student groups, including lower income students. However, students leave their laptops (and tablets) at home most of the time, mainly because they find it cumbersome to carry a laptop, and the vast majority of students hold the opinion that abolishing computer labs while facilitating laptop use is a bad idea, despite the didactical advantages this may have during lectures. Thus, it appears that the current high ownership rates of mobile IT devices by no means imply students' preference or support for university Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategies.
The changing landscape of learning is helping Asian countries to emerge as technology-driven knowledge-based societies. The success of these societies depends on promoting the acquisition of key competences and broadening opportunities for innovative and more flexible forms of learning for every citizen. Considering that in Asia almost everyone has a mobile phone or will have a mobile phone soon, the author argues that Asian countries can establish and use mobile networks for lifelong learning. The researcher proposes each-one-teach-one mobile networks as an innovative knowledge-access strategy, particularly for Asian countries and in general for all the countries across the globe. The proposed mobile networks will work on the principle that those who want to teach and those who want to learn must have a free and open service to get connected for knowledge sharing.
We report the results of a qualitative research study conducted with university students regarding their phenomenological perspectives of BlackBerry use. Three key themes inductively emerged throughout the interview and analysis process regarding self-perceptions college students reported regarding their own BlackBerry use. First, students offered practical motivations that influenced their decisions to purchase and use BlackBerrys, including the relatively convenient and instant access to email and Internet that BlackBerry offers. Second, all students in our study intentionally compared and contrasted their own BlackBerrys with competing Apple products on the market, specifically the iPhone. In comparison with the iPhone, BlackBerry users in our sample viewed their own phones as only moderately ‘cool’ or prestigious. Additionally, BlackBerry users also seemed to view their phones as less technologically advanced than iPhone technology. Third, students reported particular images they associated with BlackBerry use. These included both a financial ‘stigma’ as well as that of a ‘business person’ stereotype.
In this paper, different perspectives on the role of the teacher in a classroom equipped with personal digital assistants (PDAs) are presented. We report on four classroom studies conducted in two countries, Norway and the USA. The overall aim is to understand the use of new tools in different contexts. The key question that we explore concerns the teachers’ pedagogical use of the new tool and why certain tools are adopted and others are not. In one case, the activities simulated the affordances and constraints of the tools used prior to the PDA. In the other case, the activities harnessed the affordances and constraints offered by the successor tool, the PDA. We raise the question as to why these tools were used in two different ways. We analyse our findings in terms of sociocultural theory and concepts of human–computer interaction. Finally, we summarize our results and discuss some educational implications.
This study examined the factors or determinates that impact the behavioral intention of students to use mobile learning (m-learning) technology. These determinates include performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and self-management of learning, all mediated by age, gender, or both. Regression coefficients showed strong and significant relationships between performance expectancy and effort expectancy and the behavioral intention of using an m-learning strategy, whereas age and gender were determined to have no mediating impact.
Abstract Many researchers see the potential of wireless mobile learning devices to achieve large-scale impact on learning because of portability, low cost, and communications features. This enthusiasm is shared but the lessons drawn from three well-documented uses of connected handheld devices in education lead towards challenges ahead. First, ‘wireless, mobile learning’ is an imprecise description of what it takes to connect learners and their devices together in a productive manner. Research needs to arrive at a more precise understanding of the attributes of wireless networking that meet acclaimed pedagogical requirements and desires. Second, ‘pedagogical applications’ are often led down the wrong road by complex views of technology and simplistic views of social practices. Further research is needed that tells the story of rich pedagogical practice arising out of simple wireless and mobile technologies. Third, ‘large scale’ impact depends on the extent to which a common platform, that meets the requirements of pedagogically rich applications, becomes available. At the moment ‘wireless mobile technologies for education’ are incredibly diverse and incompatible; to achieve scale, a strong vision will be needed to lead to standardisation, overcoming the tendency to marketplace fragmentation.