The rapid technical development with new media forms and increased mobility is integrated into our everyday lives, as well as in more digitalized higher education and at distance. A new research area has been developed on mobile learning (m-learning) about the integration of self-directed and motivated opportunities. This chapter describes smart mobile learning activities with an emphasis on the importance of the connection by using resource-enriched and technology-embedded mobile devices for student-centered learning that allow students' to learn self-directed and motivated to obtain learning materials at anywhere and anytime, what learning benefits are being observed among students and teachers, and how different issues are being addressed. Methodically, it illustrates different frameworks for mobile learning and theoretically is the analysis of excerpts based on dialogical theories. The findings display that the space for m-learning offers many opportunities, as well as challenges, to design smart “mobile pedagogy” with a focus on student-centered learning.
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Smart mobile learning offers numerous opportunities for student-centered learning by resource-enriched and technology-embedded enhanced devices such as laptops, mobile phones, and smart mobile phones with Bluetooth, mobile applications and faster internet transmission for self-directed and motivated with adaptive, resource-enriched, and technology-embedded opportunities. The word ‘smart’ is an acronym for self-directed, motivated, adaptive, resource-enriched, and technology-embedded, and refers to wisdom as bounding together the ability of using and motivating self-directed learning, knowledge building, problem solving, critically reflections, collaborating and evaluating different circumstances with resource-enriched and technology-embedded tools (Hwang, 2014; Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016).
Digitization have gone through several paradigm shift where structures, processes and behaviours are fundamentally changed, as well in education as in the society, thereby changing even the teaching. The research of mobile learning has significantly increased over the last decade (Alrasheedi & Capretz, 2018; Baran, 2014; Kearney, Schuck, Burden & Aubusson, 2012; Lee & Salman, 2012; Marin, Jääskelä, Häkkinen, Juntunen, Rasku-Puttonen & Vesisenaho, 2016; Ozdamli & Cavus, 2011). The authors argue that the learning paradigm of higher education has changed with the potential to transform the way to more active student-centered learning with self-directed and collaborative processes with other students. It allows students to adapt and manage the content, scope, and spaces of their learning and have control over the time and place where they can access learning materials and participate, discuss and collaborate, as well as share knowledge and experiences with other peers.
This chapter expands the knowledge about smart mobile learning activities with an emphasis on the importance of the connection by using resource-enriched and technology-embedded mobile devices that allow students to learn self-directed and collaboratively to obtain learning materials at anywhere and anytime. The following questions are addressed:
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In what way can teachers a) design and b) use different smart mobile learning activities and tools that are appropriate for student-centered learning and active participation?
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How do the students experience the smart mobile activities and the smart tools for their learning?
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In what way can the smart mobile activities and tools be analyzed comparing to the students’ performance?
Digital technologies, by contrast to traditional technologies, are unstable because of the rapidly changings, they are changeable and pervasive because of their using in many different ways in everyday life, and opaque when the inner work are hidden from other users (Koehler, Mishra & Cain, 2013). Several boundaries exist, such as lack of resource-enriched and technology-embedded groundings, sustainable integration into formal educational contexts, and, particularly, lack of smart mobile learning pedagogical abilities among teachers (Baran, 2014; Hwang, 2014; Kaliisa, & Picard, 2017; Zhu, Yu & Riezebos, 2016). Likewise, poor attitudes among students and teachers, as well as need of technically and pedagogically support and training in digital competence (Amhag, Hellström & Stigmar, 2019). A high level of digital competence requires an exemplary digital practice, characterized by good technical infrastructure, teachers with high technical-pedagogical knowledge, continuous professional development and a well-functioning technology-embedded mediated communication and administration (Olofsson, Fransson & Lindberg, 2019).