Abstract:

In tandem with the advancement of technologies, the use of mobile devices in educational field is getting more prominent nowadays. In response to the migration of learning contents into mobile devices, a new educational concept with its attendant principles has taken shape in the educational realm—the mobile learning (m-learning). In essence, m-learning refers to the use of a variety of handheld technologies, together with wireless or Internet connection to facilitate, support, enhance, and extend teaching and learning. Invariably, most of these principles are generic, catering only the needs of general student population. However, the requirements for students with learning disabilities (SLDs), such as students with dyslexia (SwD), are seldom considered in the development of novel learning methods. In view of this dearth of special requirements, the urgent need to develop learning tools that are appropriate to these students becomes more and more imperative. More precisely, special methods of teaching and learning for SwD should be addressed given their unique characteristics and different learning styles. In this regard, m-learning seems a potent platform to fill in the void; however, current designs of m-learning settings are meant for normal students—thus, entailing a specific, customized computerized setting for SwD. As the proliferation of mobile applications become more intense, a coherent guideline to evaluate the interface of these applications for SwD should be developed to guide applications developers. More importantly, research on human factors and learning disabilities, which inherently have an impact on the learning and teaching process, should be first dealt with to ensure mobile applications become effective learning tools (as informed through relevant theoretical underpinnings) in m-learning to better serve SwD.

Keywords:

Mobile devices, adaptive devices, mobile applications, mobile learning, student with dyslexia, teaching and learning.