USING STUDENT’S OWN MOBILE HANDHELD DEVICE FOR MOBILE LEARNING: PRACTICAL ISSUES

The adoption of mobile learning in higher education is growing. The ubiquitous of mobile phone means that most students already own one and this therefore reduces the cost of buying equipment and training. However, students do not like using the devices provided by the institutions (Taylor et al. (2010).

This paper presents the issues encountered during an early trial of a mobile learning project using a mobile Web 2.0 application and students’ own mobile handheld devices. During the mobile learning trial period at a Scottish university, observations and a survey were used to gather data. Students (n=93) were from three schools: Computing, Education and Health, Nursing, and Midwifery (HNM). Tutors’ opinion was also sought. This initial trial identified critical factors such as the importance of the pedagogical integration of the technology into the module, embedding mobile learning activities into the pedagogical design of the module to counter the lack of motivation and engagement from the students and tutors. Student engagement and motivation was affected with external factors such tutor motivation, grades, and peer influence. Tutors may need to rethink their current approaches to teaching. For mobile learning to succeed tutors’ attitudes have to change and how they incorporate mobile learning in their actual module.

This trial was limited. However, the objective was to identify the early issues affecting mobile learning adoption and integration before the main pilot study starts, so that mobile learning can support existing learning and be integrated into current learning activities with low impact on teacher preparation and student learning times.