Mobile Learning Technologies for Education

Mobile Learning Technologies for Education: History

Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Subjects: Computer Science, Information Systems | Others

Contributor:

The digital revolution is transforming education by using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve student's learning outcomes. In the last 50 years, changes can be seen in every area of society, such as culture, entertainment, and social interaction. However, the current educational model is very similar to how it was back then. Due to the characteristics of mobile devices, and the inexperience of teachers and educational institutions, students may experience distractions in their learning and may be involved in inefficient educational methodologies. Digital revolution is transforming these educational models, involving students, teachers, and educational institutions in this process[3]. The appropriate use of digital technologies and a pedagogical approach in the design of learning models could generate an improvement in the learning results of the students. Today’s world demands more efficient learning models that allow students to play a more active role in their education. Technology is having an impact on how instruction is delivered and how information is found and share. Until very recently, the educational models encouraged memorization as an essential learning skill. These days, technologies have changed the educational model and access to information. Knowledge is available online, mostly free, and easily accessible. Reading, sharing, listening and, doing are currently necessary skills for education. The study of innovation in education systems has increasingly attracted the attention of academics around the world. Educational innovation refers to new ways of delivering education in a way that impacts new generations of students. The educational model in higher education institutions (HEIs) was not designed for this generation of "digital natives". Therefore, HEIs face the challenge of improving their teaching strategies and making them attractive to students and their needs. Mobile devices have become a complete set of applications, support, and help for educational organizations. By conducting an analysis of the behavior and use of mobile devices on current students, efficient educational applications can be developed. Although there are several initiatives for the use of mobile learning in education, there are also issues linked to this technology that must be addressed.

mobile learning
learning
education
mobile education
technologies

1. Introduction

Nowadays, learning using portable digital devices, such as mobile learning (m-learning), expands into all daily activities that are related to acquiring knowledge^[4]. The study of educational innovations has become increasingly important in educational research. Mobile devices, clearly, are growing faster than the world’s population. Cisco, in its Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) published in March 2020, forecasts that smartphones will have the second-fastest growth by the end of 2023. As seen in Figure 1, mobile subscriptions will increase at a 2 percent annual growth rate. This means that more than 70% of the world’s population will have a mobile phone in 2023^[5].

Figure 1. Global device and connection growth (Source: Cisco Annual Report, 2018–2023^[5]).

Certainly, the penetration of mobile devices has a direct impact on the way young people access information^[4]^[6]. Mobile devices allow students to improve the way they acquire knowledge. Education is there to ensure all students can benefit from a learning experience. To do so, when considering our ever-changing world, teachers and educational institutions should embrace technology, as an innovative new methodology, to enable their students to achieve their goals^[7].

2. Use of Mobile Devices in Education

According to Kukulska et al.^[6], students use mobile devices mainly for learning, social interaction, entertainment, and work. In general, the most prominent uses in the area of learning are: immediate access to information and answers, reading e-books, lis-tening to podcasts, using applications for learning purposes, educational videos, educa-tional games, serious games, accessing documents or document libraries, participating in online lessons and tutorials, receiving live-streamed lectures, accessing video clips or au-dio libraries, reading asynchronous publications, participating in virtual learning commu-nities, etc^[8]. An advanced m-learning technique is an augmented reality (AR). This technique shows digital infor-mation on images captured by a mobile device^[9]^[10].

3. Issues of using mobile learning in education

Issues

4. Benefits of using mobile learning in education

Benefits

5. Conclusions

The general analysis of the research indicates students are predisposed to use their mobile devices in the teaching-learning process because they are familiar with their utilization. Moreover, the success of m-learning is highly dependent on the educational institution, the teachers involved, and the students. Due to the physical characteristics of mobile devices, technological limitations are one of the main issues this technology has for its use in the educational area.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/app11094111

References

Fombona, J; Pascual, M. A.; Ferra, M. P.; Analysis of the educational impact of M-learning and related scientific research. J. New Approaches Educ. Res 2020, 9, 167 - 180, 10.7821/naer.2020.7.470.
Alhumaid, K; Four Ways Technology Has Negatively Changed Education. J. Educ. Soc. Res 2019, 9, 10-20, 10.2478/jesr-2019-0049.
Krull, G.; Duart, J. M.; Research trends in mobile learning in higher education: A systematic review of articles (2011 - 2015). nt. Rev. Res. Open Distance Learn 2017, 18, 1-23, .
Criollo-C, Santiago; Luján-Mora, Sergio; Jaramillo-Alcázar, Ángel; Advantages and disadvantages of m-learning in current education. Proceedings Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 19 IEEE World Engineering Education Conference 2018, 0, 0, 10.1109/EDUNINE.2018.8450979.
Annual Internet Report (2018 - 2023) . Cisco: Annual Internet Report. Retrieved 2021-5-7
Kukulska-Hulme, A.; Pettit, J.; Bradley, L.; Carvalho, A.A.; Herrington, A.; Kennedy, D.M.; Walker, A. Mature Students Using Mobile Devices in Life and Learning. Int. J. Mob. Blended Learn. 2011, 3, 18–52.
Sobral, S R; Mobile learning in higher education: A bibliometric review. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies 2020, 14, 153-170, 10.3991/ijim.v14i11.13973.
Sattler, B; Spyridakis, N; Ramey,J; The learning experience: A literature review of the role of mobile technology. IEEE Int. Prof. Commun 2010, 0, 38-45, 10.1109/IPCC.2010.5529811.
Bucea-Manea-Tonis, R; Bucea-Manea-Tonis, R; Simion, V.E.; Ilic, D.; Braicu, C.; Manea, N; Sustainability in higher education: The relationship between work-life balance and XR e-learning facilities. Sustainability 2020, 12, 5872, 10.3390/su12145872.
Sattler, B; Spyridakis, N; Ramey,J; The learning experience: A literature review of the role of mobile technology. IEEE Int. Prof. Commun 2010, 0, 38-45, 10.1109/IPCC.2010.5529811.

© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.