Student perceptions and uses of wireless handheld devices: implications for implementing blended and mobile learning in an Australian university

If the implementation of blended and mobile learning across disciplines is to be maximized, it is important for researchers to understand how students perceive and use wireless handheld devices, in order to build on those current practices and help to facilitate the next level of adoption. To enhance that understanding, this chapter analyzes data from 228 survey questionnaires conducted in October and November 2008. Students were enrolled in two faculties at the authors’ institution. Questions explored students’ views and opinions about the uses of wireless handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants, handheld PCs, and smart phones, for teaching and learning activities. The chapter draws on a case study method using factor and regression analysis to interpret the questionnaire responses about the uses of wireless handheld devices in higher education. The principal findings included that behavior and attitude contribute strongly to the perceived performance of using such devices in the chosen context, and that facilitating conditions have a more complex and mediated relationship with behavior and attitude on the one hand and perceived performance on the other. The authors elaborate the implications of those findings for increasing alignment across several different interfaces related to blended and mobile learning in the early 21st century

E = mPortfolios 2? Challenges and opportunities in creating mobile electronic portfolio systems for lifelong learning

This paper critically examines the developmental trends of mPortfolios and gauges their impact on newer forms of learning that utilise mobility, portability, and flexibility. Placing this study within the emerging paradigm of futures' thinking, the paper focuses on the environmental factors that shape the direction of portfolio development from electronic to mobile systems using a series of global case studies to illustrate the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead for educators. While mobility and portability emerged as strong elements in design, flexibility remains a key challenge for educators. The analysis also revealed that sector based approaches to developing mPortfolios through research and Community of Practice structures are potentially more beneficial for mPortfolio developers. Yet within these approaches there are clear advantages to be accessed from the communal-dialogical approach found within the Community of Practice approach, which could potentially inform futures' thinkers in relation to strategic planning and forecasting of new trajectories in mobile and lifelong learning