Abstract
Mobile technologies have helped establish new channels of communication among learners and instructors, potentially providing greater access to course information, and promoting easier access to course activities and learner motivation in online learning environments. The paper compares motivation between groups of learners being taught through an online course based on an e-learning system with and without the support of mobile communication tools, respectively. These tools, which are implemented on a mobile phone, extend the use of the existing Moodle learning management system (LMS) under the guidance of a mobile communication tools framework. This framework is considered to be effective in promoting learner motivation and encouraging interaction between learners and instructors as well as among learner peers in online learning environments. A quasi-experimental research design was used to empirically investigate the influence of these tools on learner motivation using subjective assessment (for attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and social ability) and objective assessment (for disengagement, engagement, and academic performance). The results indicate that the use of the tools was effective in improving learner motivation, especially in terms of the attention and engagement variables. Overall, there were statistically significant differences in subjective motivation, with a higher level achieved by experimental-group learners (supported by the tools) than control-group learners (unsupported by the tools).
Highlights
Online learning increases learners’ ability to learn at their own convenience; the physical separation from their peers and instructors that online learning involves may result in a lack of communication and interaction and a weaker sense of belonging to a classroom community
The Online Course Motivation Survey developed for this study on the basis of these previous instruments consists of 45 items grouped onto five motivation scales, namely attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and social ability
The results revealed that the means of all motivation measures in learners who used the proposed tools as part of the online course were higher than in those who did not
Summary
Online learning increases learners’ ability to learn at their own convenience; the physical separation from their peers and instructors that online learning involves may result in a lack of communication and interaction and a weaker sense of belonging to a classroom community. These affect learners’ motivation and can lead to poor performance, dissatisfaction, and dropout (Balaban-Sali, 2008; Hirumi, 2002; Rau, Gao, & Wu, 2008). Mobile learning gives students the ability to interact with their instructors and fellow learners immediately—at any time and place—and adapt content to their individual needs, which in turn facilitates sustained connections between learners and instructors. This may include content or processes where appropriate knowledge needs to be quickly and accessible and where a large volume of introduction or context is not needed; topics where the viewpoints and opinions of recognizable instructors with whom the students have had the opportunity to have fulfilling interactions; topics where advice, tips, and best practices can be presented and packaged, for example in areas such as recruitment and coaching; topics where capability to locate them at a certain place or time adds value, for example, location-specific access; and topics where the student will almost certainly benefit from access to learning on the move—this may include learners such as field engineers and salespeople (Ufi & Kineo, 2007)
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