Abstract:

Mobile-learning is still an emergent field of research, especially if we consider the scope of higher education (HE). In fact, few studies have been developed with regard to higher education contexts, namely within Open Universities (e.g. Cardoso & Bastos, 2018; Cardoso & Abreu, 2015). Moreover, as acknowledged by Zhang (2015, p. 13) “online teaching and mobile teaching have been the hot keywords in all educational institutions and will be the trend in the future.” On the other hand, “the potential and use of mobile devices in higher education has been a key issue for educational research and practice since the widespread adoption of these devices. Due to the evolving nature and affordances of mobile technologies, it is an area that requires ongoing investigation.” (Krull & Duart, 2017, p.1).

Therefore, and aiming at contributing to this field of research, we have developed a survey, to identify and characterize perceptions and practices of online adult students, of the Universidade Aberta (UAb, Open University, Portugal), focusing on key aspects in mlearning. In this paper, we will focus on the topic - Using communication devices in teaching/learning contexts. This part of the survey is based on the 3 types of interaction that Moore (1989) has defined - student-student; student-teacher and student-contents – and that are largely discussed and used in online education. But with the introduction of new devices in human communication, what are the perceptions of students regarding the use of these different devices in education.

The survey was applied to a sample of 100 students. The questions focus on the appreciation of the different kinds of interaction for learning purposes through different devices (laptop, desktop, tablet, smartphone). The scale used is semantic based. This approach is also related to the concept of mediated closeness, such as O'Sullivan et al. (2004, p. 471) define it: "communicative cues in mediated channels that can shape perceptions of psychological closeness between interactants". Thus, the analysis of computer-mediated proximity, or the mediation through other devices, including mobile devices (mediated immediacy) should be taken into account in the context of online and open learning.

The data collected in the survey allow us to identify patterns of use in specific contexts (i.e. interaction between colleagues, interaction with contents; interaction with teachers) with a very significant function in defining guidelines in the design of online courses, for specific purposes.

References:
[1] Cardoso T., Bastos G. (2018). Mobile Learning in HE: the case of Universidade Aberta (Portugal). In: EDULEARN18 Proceedings. 529-534.
[2] Cardoso, T., & Abreu, R. (2015). Mobile Learning and Education: Synthesis of Open Access Research. In Y. (A.) Zhang (Ed.). Handbook of Mobile Teaching and Learning (pp. 133-148). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
[3] Krull, G. & Duart. J. M. (2017) Research Trends in Mobile Learning in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Articles (2011 – 2015). International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 18(7, 1-23.
[4] O´Sullivan, P. B., Hunt, S., Lippert, L. (2004). Mediated Immediacy: A Language of Affiliation in a Technological Age. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 23, 464-490. Sage Publications.
[5] Zhang, Y. (2015). Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning. Handbook of Mobile Teaching and Learning (pp. 1-14). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Keywords:

m-learning, Online Higher Education, Universidade Aberta, Mediated Immediacy.