The Utilisation of Mobile Technologies in Higher Education: Lifebuoy or Constriction?

Author(s):  
Sunet Eybers ◽  
Apostolos Giannakopoulos
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5923
Author(s):  
Liliana Mâță ◽  
Otilia Clipa ◽  
Venera-Mihaela Cojocariu ◽  
Viorel Robu ◽  
Tatiana Dobrescu ◽  
...  

Our study aims to identify students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technologies (MT) during learning activities in higher education. Data were collected using the Mobile Technologies Questionnaire/MTQ, a ten-item brief questionnaire that was designed to determine attitudes towards the use of mobile technologies in the learning process among university students and academic staff. The MTQ was completed by 575 students from a state university in the northeastern region of Romania. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two latent factors: MT facilities for study resources and communication and MT facilities for learning. Along with general analysis of the statistical indicators regarding the attitude towards the use of MT, the relationships between the use of MT and five socio-demographic variables (gender, age, place of residence, year of study, academic status and study program) were analyzed. Comparative data showed some statistically significant differences but with small or modest effect sizes, depending on age, year of study, place of residence, academic status and the study program in which the students were enrolled. This study provides additional support for the construct validity of a brief tool that was designed to measure students’ attitudes towards the use of MT during learning activities carried out in higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
N. G. Bondarenko ◽  

The growing availability of modern mobile smartphones and tablet computers is leading to an increase in the volume of content users consumed, including educational content. The development of mobile technologies opens up many opportunities for learning in higher education institutions. However, the use of mobile learning in student training should not be a spontaneous process, it is necessary to create pedagogically substantiate approaches and training methods. This article analyzes and interprets the results of existing research in pedagogy regarding the didactic potential of mobile learning in higher education system. A classification of didactic properties and functions of mobile learning is developed and proposed. The main didactic properties of mobile learning include: by the didactic feature of mobile learning — ten properties; by the technological feature of mobile learning — eleven properties. The main didactic functions of mobile learning are: by the didactic feature of mobile learning — eleven functions; by the technological feature of mobile learning — five functions. The didactic potential of mobile learning, due to its inherent didactic properties and functions, makes the educational process more effective, as well as contributes to the guaranteed achievement of students’ educational goals and planned learning outcomes.


Author(s):  
Elena Dolzhich ◽  
Svetlana Dmitrichenkova ◽  
Mona Kamal Ibrahim

<p class="0abstract">The higher education system around the world is being rapidly developed towards digitalization – from computers to laptops, from laptops to tablets and smartphones. Accordingly, traditional delivery of instruction is being shifted towards blended learning that is being gradually replaced with distance learning, i.e. higher education is moving forward with mobile learning (m-learning) technologies. The introduction of mobile learning became the most topical event in 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to which many countries had to completely move to distance learning in higher education. The purpose of the study is to analyze the prospects for the widespread use of mobile applications in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Russia to Russian and Arab learners. In the course of the study, an online survey based on a questionnaire consisting of four open and closed questions was conducted. An empirical method was applied to collect the research data.  The survey was conducted at the Department of Foreign Languages of the Engineering Academy of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (EA PFUR). The total research sample included 200 participants and consisted of: 50 potential employers, 50 Russian and Arab students of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia studying Linguistics (training program code 035700), 50 faculty members, namely teachers of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, as well as 50 administrative staff of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. The purpose of the survey was to collect information about the use of mobile applications (Smartphone Apps) and the introduction of mobile learning technology (m-learning) in the process of teaching EFL to students. According to the results of the survey, instructors are actively using mobile technologies in their professional activities and all participants in the learning process are receptive to their introduction in education. At the same time, respondents believe that technical challenges are the major obstacle to the adoption of mobile applications; these problems must be overcome in order to enable more productive use of mobile applications. In this regard, the study of mobile applications that are suitable for specific aspects of learning a foreign language, such as spoken language, reading comprehension, listening or writing, can be considered a promising research area.</p>


Webology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (Special Issue 04) ◽  
pp. 687-699
Author(s):  
Sergey Evgenievich Shishov

The digitalization of higher education has led to the emergence of new teaching methods, including mobile learning methods. The purpose of the study is to determine the prospects, advantages, and obstacles to the introduction of mobile learning in the university educational process in the context of the digitalization policy of education. The study presents the prospects for the introduction of mobile learning in the university educational process; identifies the main components of mobile learning, which ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of mobile technologies and types of mobile content that can be used in the university educational process; an analysis of each type has been carried out; the advantages and obstacles of the introduction of mobile learning are highlighted. In conclusion, mobile technologies allow introducing new forms of training organization, involving the interaction of learning subjects with each other not only during lessons but also outside them.


Author(s):  
Khalil Alsaadat

<p>Technological development  have altered the way we communicate, learn, think, share, and spread information. Mobile technologies are those that make use of wireless technologies to gain some sort of data. As mobile connectedness continues to spread across the world, the value of employing mobile technologies in the arena of learning and teaching seems to be both self-evident and unavoidable The fast deployment of mobile devices and wireless networks in university campuses makes higher education a good environment  to integrate learners-centered m-learning . this paper discusses mobile learning technologies that are being used for educational purposes and the effect they have on teaching and learning methods.</p>


Author(s):  
Lisbeth Amhag

The aim of this study is to analyze mobile technologies for student centered learning in a distance higher education program with a focus on mobile online webinars (web-based seminars or conferencing) using mobile applications such as laptops, smart phones, or tablets. As wearable technologies continue to grow it could very well extend to smart glasses, smart watches etc. These tools can provide face-to-face interactions, recording flipped classrooms and parallel chat communications. The data collection consists of observations of ten online face-to-face webinars with 22 students, six interviews, and two surveys. Theoretically, the study joins the research tradition of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning with emphasis on collaboration, and Computer Self-Efficacy concerned with individuals' media and information literacy. Important conclusions from the study demonstrated mobile interactions increased student centered learning on theoretical concepts, assisted in the ability to review information critically, and provided experiences bridging professional teaching practices.


Author(s):  
Andreas Ahrens ◽  
Jeļena Zaščerinska

Mobile technologies are widely employed in distance learning in higher education to provide students with an opportunity to learn regardless of time and place in order to obtain a higher education degree. However, little attention has been paid to a comparative study of business and engineering students' attitudes toward mobile technologies. The aim of the chapter is to compare business and engineering students' attitudes toward mobile technologies in distance learning, underpinning elaboration of a hypothesis. The meanings of the key concepts of distance learning, blended learning, and attitude are studied. Moreover, the study demonstrates how the key concepts are related to the idea of mobile technologies and shows how the steps of the process are related: students' attitudes toward mobile technologies in distance learning? empirical study within multicultural environments ? conclusions. The results of the present research show that both business and engineering students' attitudes toward mobile technologies are positive.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document