How Do Students Use Their Mobile Devices to Support Learning? A Case Study from an Australian Regional University

Abstract

Though universities are eager to leverage the potential of mobile learning to provide learning flexibly, most balk at the cost of providing students with mobile hardware. The practice of 'bring your own device' (BYOD) is often mooted as a cost-effective alternative. This paper provides a snapshot of student ownership of mobile devices at a regional Australian university. Our research shows that students do have access to and use a wide range of devices. However, the delivery of learning is challenged when students try to access materials and activities using these devices. Course materials are rarely optimised for use on smartphones, navigating websites and learning management systems becomes a scrolling nightmare, and interacting with other students is often impractical using prescribed systems. Most concerning is that none of the students surveyed were participating in educator-led mobile learning initiatives. The paper concludes with the proposal of some practical, low-cost tactics that educators could potentially employ to begin engaging with mobile learning, leveraging what students already do.

Affordances of mobile devices and note-taking apps to support cognitively demanding note-taking

“…In another example, Alvares et al (2011) mention that tablets can be used to improve the sharing of ideas when students work in groups. It thus seems as if many of the brick-and-mortar classroom boundaries disappear when mobile devices are used in an educational setting, and, as an added bonus, this learning environment without boundaries moves with the students wherever they go (Martin and Ertzberger 2013;Farley et al 2015).…”

“…This trend of owning a smartphone also seems to be true for university students. Research done at universities in the United States (Poll 2015), United Kingdom (Deloitte 2016), Australia (Farley et al 2015), Saudi Arabia (Alfawareh and Jusoh 2014) and South Africa (Potgieter 2015) shows that between 86 and 94% of all higher education students own a smartphone. Although Statistics South Africa shows that only 35% of South Africans own a smartphone (Poushter 2016), in comparison with the 95% that own a mobile phone (Statistics South Africa 2014 2013), Potgieter's (2015) research shows that there seems to be more smartphone users at South African universities (86-94%).…”

Utilization of Smartphones in Learning

“…Although it might be difficult for instructors to engage smartphones in learning, entering mobile learning communities can help them to develop their skills. (Farley,Murphy, Johnson,Carter, Lane, Midgley, Koronios, 2015).…”

“…Although student use of smartphone need a wireless access point (WAPs), and strengthening the network system to protect it. (Farley,Murphy, Johnson,Carter, Lane, Midgley, Koronios, 2015). However, some universities have established online services of the library as a respond to student interest.…”

Developing a typology of mobile apps in Higher Education: A national case-study

“…Relatively low cost of telecommunications, the spread of high-speed wireless internet and the increasing quality and functionalities of mobile devices all contribute to the proliferation of m-learning practices among learners and educational institutions alike (Park, Nam, & Cha, 2012). In particular, the increasing presence of m-learning policies in higher education (HE) institutions (Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada, & Freeman, 2015) can be interpreted as indicative of universities' growing interest to use mobile technologies in teaching and learning (Coffin & Lyle, 2013;Farley et al, 2015;Roberts & Rees, 2014).…”