M-learning Solution Research Articles

Millennials' Perceptions of M-learning in Higher Education in Developing Countries: The Role of Social Influence

Technology has brought about various changes in the teaching and learning industry. This has further led to a new form of learning known as M-learning. Meanwhile, the attributes of students have changed over time. A new generation of learners known as millennials have varying demands from bodies of knowledge as compared to their preceding generations. millennials have been acquainted with technology for most of their life. Considering these facts, this study seeks to determine factors affecting millennials’ perceptions of M-learning in higher education. An online questionnaire based on a fusion of the Technology and Acceptance Model with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework was used to survey 103 millennials at a university in a developing country. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyze data. The findings revealed that social influence has a statistically significant impact on millennials’ intention to use M-learning. The geographical location and contextual environment may amplify social influence as a prime factor motivating millennials’ intention to use M-learning. Universities, governments, and other learning institutions should consider this for more suited provisioning of M-learning solutions in higher education.

An assessment of students’ perception and self-efficacy towards mobile learning: A case of University of Zululand

Background: Mobile learning (m-learning) has been recognised as an essential educational technology component in higher education. The use of mobile devices and the prospect to learn irrespective of time and place make mobile learning an important tool for students. Many studies have been conducted because of the importance of m-learning in advancing teaching and learning but few published scholarly studies have focused on perception and mobile self-efficacy. Objectives: The study’s objective is to assess students’ perception and self-efficacy towards mobile learning at the University of Zululand. Method: The study adopted a descriptive survey method and a stratified random sampling technique was used to select 200 undergraduate students from the four faculties for the study. Data were collected using questionnaire. Statistical tools such as frequency count and simple percentage were employed in analysing the collected data. Results: WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube are the top three social media applications mostly used by the students. Results showed that the students have positive perceptions towards m-learning and possess the confidence needed in using m-learning solutions. Conclusion: Perception and mobile self-efficacy towards m-learning technology are important factors that help in determining whether or not students are ready to use m-learning. Hence, this study focuses on investigating the perception and self-efficacy of undergraduate students at the University of Zululand towards m-learning. Therefore, the study concludes that the University management fully integrates m-learning solutions to its academic programmes to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.

Usability and Feasibility of an Innovative mLearning Approach for Nurses Providing Option B+ Services in Manica and Sofala Provinces, Mozambique.

The scaling of Option B+ services, whereby all pregnant women who test HIV positive are started on lifelong antiretroviral therapy upon diagnosis regardless of CD4 T-cell count, is ongoing in many high HIV burden, low-resource countries. We developed and evaluated a tablet-based mobile learning (mLearning) training approach to build Option B+ competencies in frontline nurses in central Mozambique. Its acceptability and impact on clinical skills were assessed in maternal child health nurses and managers at 20 intervention and 10 control clinics. Results show that skill and knowledge of nurses at intervention clinics improved threefold compared with control clinics (p = .04), nurse managers at intervention clinics demonstrated a 9- to 10-fold improvement, and nurses reported strong acceptance of this approach. "mLearning" is one viable modality to enhance nurses' clinical competencies in areas with limited health workforce and training budgets. This study's findings may guide future scaling and investments in commercially viable mLearning solutions.

Readiness to Adopt M-Learning Solutions as the Training Platform among Corporate Companies in Sri Lanka

Employees in corporate companies are frequent travellers and have insufficient time to participate in regular physical training. Thus, looking for a revolutionary technology era where they can learn at any time, anywhere. Mobile technologies and mobile devices are attached to employees’ daily lifestyles. Hence, the best solution is the use of mobile learning as a training platform to enhance employee skills and knowledge. This paper examines the readiness to adopt M-Learning solutions as the training platform for corporate companies in Sri Lanka concerning the factors Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Personal Innovativeness, Performance Expectancy, Social influence, Self-Management of Learning. The factors were based on the Technology Acceptance Model, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and several other factors from the literature. The report discusses the problem statement, objectives and literature review. Specific attention was made to the Sri Lankan context in explaining the current practices. Then factors were analysed based on data collected from 132 participants from 30 corporate companies using a survey questionnaire. Data were analysed using Cronbach's Analysis, Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and ANOVA. Based on the results, critical success factors were identified and the framework was developed. Finally, the recommendations were given, and future research was discussed. The Perceived Ease of Use, Performance Expectancy and Self-Management of Learning were found as the critical factors which influence improving usage of mobile learning. The educational institutions and software development companies should focus on these factors before adopting the learning method and developing educational frameworks. Researchers can focus on M-learning targeting other professions and industries.

M-Learning: A New Paradigm of Learning ICT in Nigeria

Abstract—Mobile learning (m-learning) is the study and practice of using mobile devices, such as smart phones, mobile phones, tablets, PDAs, MP3s and pocket PCs in order to support learning for anyone, anytime and anywhere. M-learning has become paramount for developing countries such as Nigeria, as many of these countries have the required infrastructure and a rapidly increasing amount of mobile device users. In addition, the mobile devices are able to support a variety of learning activities and students are also ready to use the devices for learning. In this article, we have enumerated the possibilities and challenges of implementing m-learning in developing countries, specifically in Nigeria, and identified potential m-learning solutions to support learning of ICT in Nigeria. We administrated a questionnaire in order to find out primary school students readiness in Nigeria to adopt m-learning, their preferences to use specific features of m-learning devices in learning situations, as well as their opinions regarding the suitability of m-learning for ICT-related subjects. We also propose a cloud-based m-learning model for learning ICT topics in Nigeria.

Towards interactive open source based m-Learning solution: the m-Chisimba framework

Purpose – This paper aims to present a research outcome to an investigation towards the innovative use of electronic-learning (e-Learning) software solutions to strengthen the interactive component of mobile learning (m-Learning) in university contexts. This work was motivated by observations of interactive limitations in existing m-Learning solutions in well-intentioned software development and e-Learning efforts. The aim of the project, thus, was to interrogate hindrances to the potency of m-Learning interventions. The idea was to strengthen the interactive component, to improve the compatibility of the desktop e-Learning process – with mobile appliances such as mobile phones and, finally, to explore cost minimizing avenues of downloading learning materials over mobile phones. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of the project was twofold: that is, both literature-based and experimental. Literature background offered insight on existing efforts towards interactive m-Learning solutions. Against this background, the project was then designed to explore ways to provide presentations and interactive chats for effective m-Learning over mobile phones. The idea was to reduce the file size of presentations slides for effective display on mobile devices. Finally, the aim was also to minimize airtime costs when transmitting presentation slides and when conducting interactive chats on mobile phones. An experiment research method was, thus, used. In this method, a problem and question were articulated first. Then, a practical technological solution was conceptualized, developed, pre-tested, modified and re-tested until it complied with sought specifications, Finally, the solution was implemented, to confirm its viability and response to a research problem and, ultimately, was reported in the findings. Findings – Slides were developed with light colour resolutions to open effortlessly on tiny mobile screens. The best quality was between 128 and 201.188 (out of 255) pixels (more visible mobile phone screens), using Open Source Software. Clear slides also had a font greater than size 32. The average data per presentation were 9,872.66 bytes, and, when seven learners were chatting, it was 3,686.63 bytes (0.03 megabytes). For airtime costs, the Vodacom rate of R0.46 per megabyte was used. This translates to 0.8 × 0.46 = R0.0368 cost per slide. The m-Chisimba platform therefore, seems to be cost-effective, quality expedient and most appropriate for interactive m-Learning. Research limitations/implications – Existing m-Learning has been inadequate, failing to align adequately the desktop e-Learning solutions with mobile phone platforms. Desktop presentation slides, for example, have been incompatible with mobile phones’ operations and screen sizes. Mostly, content could consume a lot more airtime, owing to large sizes of desktop originated material that was incompatible with mobile platforms. A solution that emerged from original experiments, leading to the enhanced interactive m-Learning solution, the m-Chisimba platform, is, therefore, presented in this paper. The thinking is that mobile applications are convenient enablers which extend access to information. Nevertheless, mobile applications (including m-Learning solutions) cannot be seen as panaceas to solve all learning concerns as literacy and affordability remain challenges in many under-developed social environments. As a newly developed innovation, the m-Chisimba platform offers an improved m-Learning solution for learning activities over mobile gadgets such as mobile phones. Practical implications – The research work offers new innovative solutions in a number of practical ways. It improves the interactivity component of the m-Learning process, to empower educators and learners to effectively engage learning over m-Learning devices. Social implications – The innovation makes it easier to for learning to take place effortlessly, over mobile platforms. Implications are that more people will be able to access learning processes on the move, meaning that obstacles to access learning opportunities are minimised. Originality/value – Existing m-Learning has been inadequate, failing to align adequately the desktop e-Learning solutions with mobile phone platforms. Desktop presentation slides, for example, have been incompatible with mobile phones’ operations and screen sizes. Mostly, content could consume a lot more airtime, owing to large sizes of desktop-originated material that was incompatible with mobile-platforms. A solution that emerged from original experiments, leading to the enhanced interactive m-Learning solution, the m-Chisimba platform, is, therefore, presented in this paper. The thinking is that mobile applications are convenient enablers which extend access to information. Nevertheless, mobile applications (including m-Learning solutions) cannot be seen as panaceas to solve all learning concerns as literacy and affordability remain challenges in many under-developed social environments. As a newly developed innovation, the m-Chisimba platform offers an improved m-Learning solution for learning activities over mobile gadgets such as mobile phones.

Learning at Your Own Pace: M-Learning Solution for School Students

Today's computing trend is more towards anywhere anytime computing. Nowadays m-learning is one of the hot topics in the educational sector and UNESCO believes that mobile technologies can expand and enrich educational opportunities for learners in diverse settings due to the increase in usage of mobile handheld devices. More and more applications are being developed to make the knowledge accessible from anywhere and at any time. The main goal of our work is to observe the usage of m-learning solution in a developing country. Our focus was making recommendation towards the design of self-directed learning. With the help of Quizlet application, we analyzed the effect of m-learning solution in the rural context of Mpumelelo secondary school, Zimbabwe from both teacher's and student's point of view.

Global MedAid

This paper outlines an m-learning solution, ‘Global MedAid', which aims to provide learning resources and tools for personnel in various roles in disaster or emergency situations. It outlines the development process and presents the design considerations and solutions for developing a cross-platform application combining a wide range of media types for on-line and off-line use, depending on whether or not there is access to a data signal. The design process took into account current mobile health and related applications, addressing the ways in which both educational resources and performance support tools could be combined and accessed in the field. The paper also shows how partners and users have been involved in the design process and in the evolution of the app. The resulting Proof of Concept has been evaluated with over a hundred users across 21 countries, and initial findings show that users thought it was both useful and effective.

MLearning: pedagogical, technical and organisational hypes and realities

PurposeThere are two purposes to this article. First, to explore the hypes and realities around theoretical, technical and organisational aspects of the fast evolving field of MLearning as a complementary paradigm to online and classroom learning. Second, to review challenges and the future of MLearning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews literature related to: the mobile phone and learning with a view of bringing out its capabilities and capacities for use in learning; theories and pedagogies of learning with the view of imbuing them for MLearning; applications; and challenges of MLearning with a view of gauging its acceptability.FindingsThe development of successful MLearning solutions requires a better understanding of its pedagogical, technical and organizational setting in order to contextualise it for learner‐centeredness. Literature reveals that MLearning is taking root in all aspects of learning.Practical implicationsIt is not only the rapid developments in mobile device technologies that will propel MLearning to maturity. Similar developments should take place in its theoretical, pedagogical and philosophical underpinnings.Originality/valueThis paper integrates different theoretical, technical and organizational requirements for understanding hypes and realities surrounding MLearning.