AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF USING MOBILE DEVICES IN TEACHING COMPUTER SCIENCE AT LEBANESE PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES CURRICULUM

An estimated 90% of Lebanese universities’ students rely on their mobile devices in their daily communications, like phone calls, internet surfing, e-mails, and social activities. Approximately 55% of professors in Lebanese private universities rely on social networks to communicate with their students. Universities can benefit from mobile education (M-Education) to provide an innovative learning method for students. This paper discusses the role of mobile devices and their use effect on the teaching of computer science in the Lebanese private universities. It is organized as follows: 1) A literature review to define M-Education, illustrate its advantages and point out its effects on the computer science teaching, 2) a review of the common features in the different computer science curricula of selected private Lebanese universities, 3) an online survey is used to assess the readiness of these universities to integrate M-Education in their computer science teaching, and finally 4) a conclusion with a work plan to adopt the innovative use of mobile devices.