AN EFFECT OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN A DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Mobile technology is an essential for everyone's daily use, especially in distance education. Learning with mobile technology is a solution to distance learning problems for students to be able to study anywhere and at any time. This paper presents an implementation of a distance education model with mobile technology, designed to include input, process, output, and feedback to help teachers support distance learning of undergraduate students who are studying one of the three majors within Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University's School of Liberal Arts. Input consists of learners' analysis; determining learning objectives; teachers, learners and supportive staff; organizing learning environment and technologies to support learning; and media of distance education lessons through mobile technology. Process consists of conducting teaching and learning activities with step one: preparation of teachers and learners, step 2: conducting learning activities, and step 3: measurement and evaluation. Output consists of learning achievement and the efficiency of a distance education model. Feedback consists of information reaction from students. In addition, distance education lessons were developed for students to learn through the MOODLE learning management system, which includes mobile technology. Students can select their learning options with infographics pages or video clips. Social networks were provided as available channels for students asking questions or giving feedback at any time. Moreover, pre-tests and post-tests were included for assessment by themselves. Finally, students had made significant progress in their studies and were satisfied with the teaching and learning via mobile technology at a high level. Another important consideration is that some students dropped out because of their family and work responsibilities. That is why this paper intends to propose the use of mobile technology to support and stimulate the teaching and learning of students to successfully graduate as intended. In further research, this distance education model could possibly be applied to other schools of undergraduate and graduate students who study in a distance learning environment.