Learning with mobile technologies – Students’ behavior

[EN]The increasing growth of mobile technology in our Society has become a reality. This paper was designed to research about the different factors and drivers that could influence students’ behaviour into the usage of mobile technologies for learning. The methodology was based on a quantitative survey grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Data were collected from medical students in University of Coimbra. This model pointed to a behaviour pattern based on the experience and application by medical students, correlating with a strong attitude towards using mobile technology for learning (57%) and willingness to recommend it (40.5%). In line with previous studies, Social Influence raised to be an important factor towards the Attitude and Behavioural Intention of using Mobile Learning. In addition, according to the results, the student’s ease of perception seems to be the main factor affecting the Social Influence (31.9%) and the reliability for recommending this technology for learning was the main factor that affected the Behavioural Intention. Findings provide support for Technology Acceptance Model and the implications of these findings are discussed within the context of Innovation in Education

Learning with mobile technologies: students’ behavior

The increasing growth of mobile technology in our Society has become a reality. This paper was designed to research about the different factors and drivers that could influence students’ behaviour into the usage of mobile technologies for learning. The methodology was based on a quantitative survey grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Data were collected from medical students in University of Coimbra. This model pointed to a behaviour pattern based on the experience and application by medical students, correlating with a strong attitude towards using mobile technology for learning (57%) and willingness to recommend it (40.5%). In line with previous studies, Social Influence raised to be an important factor towards the Attitude and Behavioural Intention of using Mobile Learning. In addition, according to the results, the student’s ease of perception seems to be the main factor affecting the Social Influence (31.9%) and the reliability for recommending this technology for learning was the main factor that affected the Behavioural Intention. Findings provide support for Technology Acceptance Model and the implications of these findings are discussed within the context of Innovation in Education

The acceptance and use of mobile learning applications in higher education

Many individuals are increasingly using ubiquitous technologies, including interactive applications (apps) that are widely available on our mobile devices, including the smart phones and tablets. Therefore, in the last few years, educators and policy makers have introduced mobile learning (m-learning) technologies in order to support their students during their learning journey. A thorough literature review suggests that there are several contributions in academia that have investigated the students’ acceptance and use of technology, in different contexts. In this light, this research has integrated valid and reliable measures from the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior to better understand the university students’ readiness to engage with mobile technologies for educational purposes. Specifically, this study explores the perceived usefulness and ease of use of m-learning technologies. Moreover, it investigated whether the research participants were influenced by their friends, acquaintances and educators to engage with these technologies and / or by the facilitating conditions at their university. The findings revealed that students held positive attitudes toward the m-learning technologies as they perceived them as useful and easy to use. Moreover, the university’s facilitating conditions had a significant effect on the students’ usage of these technologies. This study also reported that the students’ social influences did not have an effect on their intention to use these devices.peer-reviewe

Mobile Learning Technology Acceptance Among Saudi Higher Education Students

The rapid development of technology has encouraged Saudi universities to establish initiatives to improve learning. Mobile learning technology is one of the technologies targeted by eLearning and distance education deanships among Saudi universities. However, few studies have been done in investigating mobile learning technology acceptance in the Saudi context. This study aims to provide policy and decision makers in the Saudi higher education with reliable data in order to employ mobile learning technology in learning process. Therefore, this study modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate students’ acceptance of mobile learning technology. To this end, seven questions were proposed to explore the effect of learning expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, mobile learning technology characteristics, and self-management of learning on students’ behavioral intentions and use behaviors of mobile learning technology. In addition, age, gender, and eLearning experience were proposed to moderate such an effect. This study employed sequential mixed method to procced the exploration. A questionnaire and semi-structured interview were developed to collect the data. 1203 participants were included in the quantitative data collection while fifteen participants were included in the qualitative data collection. Multiple regression analyses were used in the quantitative analysis and thematic analysis was used in the qualitative analysis. The results of this study assert that learning expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and mobile learning characteristics are significant predictors of students’ intentions to use mobile learning technology regardless the moderating effects of gender, age, and eLearning experience. Unexpectedly, the social influence construct is the only construct that was moderated by gender where men show a stronger behavioral intention to use mobile learning than women. Facilitating conditions and self-management of learning in this study were found insignificant constructs in predicting students’ behavioral intention and use behavior of mobile learning technology. These findings are justified in the literature of UTAUT. The exploratory analysis revealed an interesting finding that distance education students showed significantly higher intentions to use mobile learning technology than on-campus students, but there was no significant difference between them in the actual use of mobile learning technology

THE USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR FORMAL LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: INVESTIGATING STUDENT BEHAVIORS AND EXPECTATIONS

The use of mobile devices has transformed the way we live, work, and study. Nearly every student in higher education owns a smart phone and the majority of those that do report that they use those devices, at least in part, to conduct academic work. Institutes of higher education (IHEs) have widely adopted technologies to connect instructors and students, and most instructors incorporate digital materials into their curriculum. However, the selection of these learning technologies is often the domain of the institution or the instructor. Students are expected to provide the personal technology required to utilize these systems, which may include their mobile device. The purpose of this study is to discover what types of academic work students would like to perform on their mobile devices, what barriers to doing so they have encountered, how their learning behavior differs based on the device in use, and students' preferred instructional design practices for designing learning activities on mobile devices. A mixed-methods approach was used to answer these questions. Surveys and focus groups asked students about the personal technology that they own, the learning activities they perform, and how different devices are used to complete those activities. The log data of the Canvas learning management system was also analyzed to detail student behavior in the context of the device being used to interact with the system. The results show that students do use their mobile devices for significant amounts of academic work and consider them to be an important educational tool, but they are generally selective about the types of activities in which they will engage on a mobile device. Students tend to use their mobile devices for activities that are most convenient to them but identified several factors that prevented them from using those devices to engage in more detailed work. This study will inform instructors and instructional designers who produce academic content for students and assist IHEs in their decision-making process when adopting course materials and technologies

Students’ Perception in Learning English through Blended Learning

Mobile technology plays an equal role with face-to-face interaction in the learning process in this current era. One of the most commonly utilized technologies is the use of social media integrated with the face-to-face teaching and learning as called a blended-learning. This recent study aims: (1) to investigate how the blended learning process is operated, (2) to determine students’ perceptions in learning English through blended learning. This study was an explanatory mixed-method research design using observation, questionnaire, and interview as instruments to collect data from the purposively selected 26 students. The results of this study indicated that the process of learning English through blended learning both offline (face-to-face) and online (WhatsApp application) was well-implemented. Besides, students also showed a lot of positive perceptions when learning English through blended learning utilizing social media of WhatsApp and through the face-to-face form of language learning interaction. Thus, the researchers concluded that blended learning maintains essential behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects in English learning.Mobile technology plays an equal role with face-to-face interaction in the learning process in this current era. One of the most prevalent utilized technologies is the use of social media of WhatsApp application in the online learning integrated with the face-to-face teaching and learning as called a blended-learning method. This recent study aims: (1) to investigate how the blended learning process is operated, and (2) to determine students’ perceptions in learning English through blended learning. This study employed an explanatory mixed-method research design using observation, questionnaire, and interview to collect data from the purposively selected students. This study indicated that learning English through blended learning showed positive behavior like attending the class regularly and enthusiastically. Besides, students felt comfortable and enjoyed learning English, showing their English language skills and favorable learning in the form of well-implemented blended learning. Thus, researchers concluded that blended learning established essential behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects of students in English learning

The students’ acceptance and use of their university’s virtual learning environment

The proliferation of digital and mobile devices, including; smartphones and tablets has led policy makers and practitioners to include these ubiquitous technologies in the realms of education. A thorough review of the relevant literature suggests that both students as well as their course instructors are becoming increasingly acquainted with the adoption of education technologies in the higher educational context. Hence, this study explores the university students’ readiness to engage with the virtual learning environment (VLE). The methodology has integrated measuring items that were drawn from the educational technology literature, including the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, to better understand the students’ perceptions towards VLE. It investigated whether they were influenced by their instructors or by fellow students to use VLE. The results suggest that most of the research participants were using this technology as they believed that it supported them in their learning outcomes. The findings also revealed that the students were not coerced by their course instructors or by other individuals to engage with VLE. Moreover, the university’s facilitating conditions had a significant effect on the participants’ usage of VLE. In conclusion, this contribution puts forward key implications to practitioners. It also clarifies the limitations of this study and proposes future research directions.peer-reviewe

To take or not to take the laptop or tablet to classes, that is the question

In recent decades, so-called mobile learning or m-learning has become a new paradigm in education as a consequence of technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and for communication. In this context, this paper analyzes different profiles depending on students’ preferences for taking mobile devices (specifically tablets and/or laptops) to economics classes at the University of Seville (Spain). A survey-based field study of a sample of 412 students and the application of bivariate probit models show a low level of mobile device integration in teaching (devices taken to class by only 29.8% of respondents) with a slight predominance of laptops. The results also show differences between users of the two types of devices. Students who take their laptops to class usually live at home with their family, have already used them in pre-university levels, and are concerned about recharging their devices in class. However, although users who take their tablets to class also live with their parents, they are much more active on social network sites and more concerned about the quality of the internet connection. These findings enable the design of strategies to encourage students to attend class with their own mobile devices

An exploration into the use of the digital platform Slack to support group assessments and feedback and the impact on engagement - Working Paper

Funded by Teaching Innovation Project (DMU)Assessment and feedback is consistently highlighted as an area where students feel Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) could improve and regularly scores lowest of the key criteria for student satisfaction (Grove, 2014). Furthermore, group assessment, where students not only need to learn assessment requirements, but also social skills required to work collaboratively (Reiser, 2017), can create additional challenges. The majority of university students have grown up as digital natives, with 81% of students reporting use of mobile devices whilst studying (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2016). There is a requirement to consider more brave and innovative technological approaches to supporting students. This working paper explores whether adopting an industry tool Slack, a Computer-Mediated Communication platform, can be an effective tool in group assessments. More specifically, can Slack facilitate an innovative and collaborative group learning community for mediating and supporting group assessments amongst level 5 undergraduate marketing students and additionally develop graduate competencies. Proposing a programme of qualitative inquiry, using a multi-method case study approach, data will be collected through six focus groups of 8-10 students and two semi-structured individual interviews with members of the teaching team in order to evaluate the use of Slack in supporting and engaging students in group assessments

Factors influencing students' acceptance of m-learning: An investigation in higher education

M-learning will play an increasingly significant role in the development of teaching and learning methods for higher education. However, the successful implementation of m-learning in higher education will be based on users' acceptance of this technology. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to study the factors that affect university students' intentions to accept m-learning. Based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003), this study proposes a model to identify the factors that influence the acceptance of m-learning in higher education and to investigate if prior experience of mobile devices affects the acceptance of m-learning. A structural equation model was used to analyse the data collected from 174 participants. The results indicate that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, influence of lecturers, quality of service, and personal innovativeness were all significant factors that affect behavioural intention to use m-learning. Prior experience of mobile devices was also found to moderate the effect of these constructs on behavioural intention. The results of this research extend the UTAUT in the context of m-learning acceptance by adding quality of service and personal innovativeness to the structure of UTAUT and provide practitioners and educators with useful guidelines for designing a successful m-learning system