Student Perspectives on MLearning for Local Cultural Studies in Malaysia

Abstract

Notwithstanding the high penetration of mobile phones in Malaysia, especially amongst the contemporary generation of Malaysian students, who are technology savvy and use them with versatility, students’ acceptance of the possibility that mobile phones can be employed for learning (mLearning) with locally developed content is still largely invisible. A major factor is the lack of availability of local mobile content for learning about Malay culture. This research attempts to understand the perspective of students in Malaysian public universities on what mLearning could contribute to the study of local culture. It does this through qualitative data from 15 focus groups comprising students who had taken part in an mLearning activity. The results provide themes and directions for how mLearning can contribute to local cultural studies, and highlight benefits and challenges. This paper provides a holistic point of view of mLearning in Malaysia, whereby the local students’ preferences and requirements for mLearning are acknowledged.