Community of Practice: Building a Mobile Learning Community in a Higher Education Institution to Promote Effective Teaching and Learning

Abstract

With the fast development of mobile technologies, mobile learning has been adopted by more and more students and staff in higher education institutions. However, most students and staff tend to explore mobile learning as individuals, and there is a lack of systematic exchange of ideas and strategies related to mobile learning among them. This chapter reports on a project on building a mobile learning community (MLC) to promote mobile learning in a Hong Kong tertiary institution. The research questions are as follows: ‘What are the key factors in building a successful mobile learning community?’ and ‘How can the effectiveness of the MLC be evaluated?’ The key factors identified in building a successful mobile learning community are recruitment of community members, establishment of a mobile learning community website as a platform for exchange of ideas, organization of sharing seminars/workshops, making an impact on students’ learning and on staff development. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the mobile learning community will also be deliberated. It is hoped that this chapter can provide some practical guidance and useful references for those who wish to establish a mobile learning community in their institutions in order to promote Scholarship of Learning & Teaching (SoLT).