An empirical analysis of mobile learning app usage experience

Abstract

The study analyzed the reviews and ratings of mobile learning apps. Word frequency analysis, sentiment analysis, and content analysis were performed on 2000 reviews of four highly rated, downloaded, and reviewed mobile learning apps on the Google Play store. The results revealed that the most frequently mentioned topics included mobile applications, courses, and teaching. The majority of the reviews had a positive sentiment. Trust, anticipation, and joy were found to be the prominent emotions. Further, the text was coded to three themes (app quality, app suitability, and influence to use) and ten sub-themes. We found that seven identified sub-themes (technical quality, customer support quality, content quality, teaching quality, usefulness, compatibility, and learner influencing others), learners' sentiment, and length of review influence star ratings of apps. The star ratings and emotions of joy, trust, disgust, and sadness were moderately associated. The association was strong between the emotions trust and joy, sadness and fear. Further, there was a significant difference between star ratings based on the apps' sector (public or private) and based on the apps' education level (school or higher). The article concludes with a discussion on the learners’ experience using mobile learning apps, implications for practice, limitations, and future research directions.