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Top1. Introduction
Technological advancements in wireless communication have created new possibilities for people to connect and interact. Educators and researchers are becoming aware of how mobile technologies used in our daily life can be utilized for developing new environments that may have a significant impact on learning. They can be used to support various learning activities. The usage of handheld devices may contribute to create new patterns of communication and facilitate social learning process (Liu & Kao, 2007; Roschelle, 2003; Zurita & Nussbaum, 2004).
This study aims to explore mobile technologies as a new potential providing a new interaction for informal learning environment. Advanced Mobile devices represented by iPhone, for example, have been a social phenomenon for the last years and their features have been combined with the latest development in web-based technology. Today, Nielsen report that 31% of US mobile phone owners have a smartphone as of December 2010, and expect smartphones to become the majority by the end of 2011 (onlinemarketing-trends.com).
Almost one in three Koreans now owns a smartphone in 2011 (chosunilbo.com). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship a total of 472 million smartphones in 2011 (idc.com). That figure will nearly double to 982 million by the end of 2015 (mobiletechnews.com).
In the previous studies focusing on mobile, researchers argue that mobile technology can be an effective instructional tool. We, the researchers assume that since mobile device is a tool you carry out all the time every day, it can be utilized the most for informal learning. This study aims, therefore, to explore the nature of users’ experiences in using mobile technology and the meaning of experiences in terms of their everyday learning. The study investigates (a) users’ actual experiences in using mobile, (b) users’ perceptions toward the effectiveness and meaning of mobile for learning, and (c) the characteristics of informal learning appeared through mobile learning. Therefore, the research questions were:
- 1.
What are main communications and features of using mobile technology for learning and users’ experiences related to learning?
- 2.
What are users’ perceptions toward the effectiveness and meaning of mobile for learning?
- 3.
What are characteristics of informal learning appeared through mobile learning?