Trends and research issues of mobile learning studies in hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism education: a review of academic publications from 2002 to 2017

Abstract

ABSTRACTBased on the Technology-based Learning model, the present study reviews the published papers on mobile technologies in Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism (HLST) education in the Scopus database from 2002 to 2017. Various dimensions, including application domains, research issues, research sample groups, research methods, adopted technologies, and learning strategies are taken into account. It was found that, since 2010, the research issues of mobile technology-supported HLST education have become increasingly diverse. Most of the studies investigated learners’ affect issues, while there was also a focus on learners’ attitudes, motivation and learning experiences. Moreover, wireless Internet locating (e.g. Bluetooth or Zigbee) was adopted more frequently in mobile technology-supported HLST education, while sensing technologies were seldom adopted. As for mobile devices, with the development of technologies, smart phones and tablet computers became the main devices. In addition, such extensively adopted mobile learning strategies as synchronous sharing, issue-based discussion, computers as mindtools, and game-based learning were not adopted in the studies, indicating that most previous studies focused more on learners’ learning perceptions, knowledge delivery and skills training, while less effort has been made to cultivate learners’ higher order thinking, such as problem solving, critical thinking and collaborative competences. Accordingly, potential research issues and practitioner notes of mobile technology-supported HLST education are proposed as a reference for researchers, teachers and decision-makers.