Is Learning as Effective When Studying Using a Mobile Device Compared to Other Methods?

Background

Most students have a mobile phone or access to one. It was estimated in 2003, that there were over 300 million world-wide users of mobile phones (Leung & Chan 2003). However, a report from the International Telecommunications Union in 2008 estimated there are 3.3 billion users (ITU, 2009). Many also have iPods and mp3Players; ready access to which makes these devices ideal as a mobile learning tool (Stockwell, 2007). In 2006 the Technology Advancement Centre at East Carolina University conducted a survey to assess the mobile needs of distance education and campus learners. Of the 4,000 students who responded to the survey 94% owned cell (mobile) phones and the preferred communication device carried by campus students was a mobile phone (DuVall, Powell & Lucier, 2006). There are several advantages to using a mobile learning device. First, mobile devices are more portable because of their small size and when combined with access to wireless networks, educational activities can occur in locations beyond the classroom, embedding the learning situation within a real-life context that can enhance the relevance of the learning situation for students (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003; Liu, Tao & Nee, 2007; Motiwalla, 2005). Mobile learning can also promote immediacy of learning by allowing learning to operate in real time (any time), so that students can access information as urgently as required (Fallahkhair, Pemberton, & Griffiths, 2007; Triantafillou, Georgiadou, & Econimides, 2006). With a mobile learning device, students no longer need to record a question and later refer to a textbook or wait for an opportunity to access information online (Chen et al., 2003; Leung & Chan, 2003; Liu et al., 2003).