The Educational Affordances of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM)

Abstract

The popularity of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) has prompted educators to integrate it in teaching and learning in higher education. WhatsApp® is a multi-platform instant messaging application widely used worldwide, however, there is still little applied research on its use as a platform for educational activities in management higher education. In this article, the authors present a quantitative and qualitative assessment of a concrete experience of WhatsApp® use that involved 140 undergraduate management students. Data were collected through questionnaires answered by the participants after the end of the experience of use, and also via content analysis of their conversations inside their WhatsApp® groups. The results indicate five main educational affordances of MIM that can be considered in management education: interactivity, knowledge sharing, sense of presence, collaboration and ubiquity. The article also explores the limitations of this tool and provides suggestions of good practices of MIM use for teaching and learning.