Potential Of Mobile Phones Research Articles

The Attitudes and Self-Efficacy of English Department Students Towards the Use of Mobile Phones for Learning Language

This research aims to know the students’ attitudes and self-efficacy toward the use of mobile phones as a means of learning a language. Descriptive quantitative was used in this research to address the stated questions. Seventy-three samples were taken at the English Education Department by using a stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used was only a questionnaire with close-ended questions, which contained a 5-point scale. The researcher collected data using a questionnaire adapted and modified from previous studies. The researcher did a pilot study to try out a certain research instrument to check the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. After collecting the data, the data is analyzed using descriptive statistics. This research found that the students’ attitudes towards mobile phones as a means for learning a language were found with an overall percentage is 78.6%. The students’ self-efficacy was also reported as having an overall percentage of 80.9%. It summed up that students had positive attitudes toward the potential of mobile phones that help them keep great at solving problems faced in learning a language. Despite that, the high level of self-efficacy in utilizing mobile phones for learning purposes revealed that students could face any problem for learning the languages even had to use mobile phones

Enhancing English Language Vocabulary Learning among Indigenous Learners through Google Translate

The emergence of new technologies has brought massive changes to teaching and learning processes. In recent years, mobile phones have evolved into effective teaching tools; when used practically, they could improve learning outcomes. The potential of mobile phones as a learning platform has led to a proliferation of research into their effectiveness. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of the Google Translate mobile application (hereinafter “app”) in improving indigenous learners’ English language vocabulary. Fifteen Iban participants with low English language proficiency from rural schools were chosen through purposive sampling. The data were collected by comparing scores in the pre-test and post-test. In addition, the data were triangulated through structured interviews. Key findings indicated that almost all participants achieved high scores in the post-test. The interviews also revealed that all participants affirmed that Google Translate supports their English language proficiency, and only one participant was unsure of its effectiveness. Thus, the findings of this study imply that Google Translate could be an effective teaching tool to enhance learners’ English language vocabulary. Future research could examine the effectiveness of the app in teaching vocabulary in different contexts.

Diabetes and TelecommunicationS (DATES) study to support self-management for people with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThe increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and suboptimal glycaemic control in Kuwait requires novel, wide-reaching, low-cost interventions to motivate and mobilise individuals towards more effective self-management. More than 2 million people in Kuwait own mobile phones. We will test whether automated personalised health text messages based on principles of motivational interviewing and are responsive to biodata delivered remotely is potentially effective in improving glycaemic control compared to usual care.MethodsThis is a two-arm parallel single-blind randomised controlled trial of 572 individuals with type 2 diabetes in Kuwait. We will develop a culturally appropriate database of text messages supporting positive lifestyle changes in type 2 diabetes. A computer programme will deliver over 400 text messages over a 12-month period using algorithms which provide participants with information on diet and physical activity as well as personalised messages regarding motivators to change behaviours. Individuals aged 18–75 years with established type 2 diabetes who are fluent in Arabic or English and officially resident in Kuwait will be identified via screening of hospital diabetes clinic and primary care practices and invited to participate. A sample of 572 participants will be randomised to usual care or usual care plus the DATES text message intervention. Randomisation will be conducted by an independent Clinical Trials Unit and researchers collecting baseline and outcome data will be blinded to treatment allocation. The primary outcome is change in HbA1c and weight at 12 months in both study arms. Secondary outcomes will include changes in physical activity, fasting lipids and quality of life in both study arms.DiscussionThe potential of mobile phones in improving diabetes self-care in settings with a high prevalence of diabetes and widespread mobile phone usage has face validity. Mobile phones and text messaging are an understudied virtual communication media which can deliver discrete focused psychological support to motivate and enable diabetes self-care changes.Trial registrationISRCTN10342151. 11/03/2015.

Impact of Mobile Intervention in Indian Agriculture

The major challenge in India’s agricultural sector is to create and improve the existing agriculture infrastructure which can improve the livelihood of rural masses. Penetration of mobile phones in India in the last 10 years has grown tremendously. Many service providers have emerged as players in this market providing a portfolio of services to consumers. Mobile-enabled information services have been introduced in agri-business to empower farmers with updated information related to farming and marketing of agricultural produce. The objective of this paper is to explore the potential of mobile phones and mobile-enabled agricultural services in improving the agricultural performance of farmers. Farmers are benefiting from better access to information through mobile phones on seed variety selection, weather update, crop diseases and getting a better market price for their produce. Farmers equipped with information have a stronger bargaining position within existing trade relationships. The study adopted the constructs of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) such as perceived usefulness, ease of use, self-efficacy, attitude of the respondent (farmer) and behavioural intention to measure mobile adoption behaviour of farmers in agriculture. Factor analysis and regression analysis are used to identify factors significantly affecting behavioural intention of adopting mobile technology and reach an effective conclusion.

The Potential of Mobile Phones to Transform Teacher Professional Development to Build Sustainable Educational Futures in Bangladesh

Futures thinking is used by governments to consider long-term strategic approaches and develop policies and practices that are potentially resilient to future uncertainty. English in Action (EIA), arguably the world's largest English language teacher professional development (TPD) project, used futures thinking to author possible, probable and preferable future scenarios to solve the project's greatest technological challenge: how to deliver audio-visual TPD materials and hundreds of classroom audio resources to 75,000 teachers by 2017. Authoring future scenarios and engaging in possibility thinking (PT) provided us with a taxonomy of question-posing and question-responding that assisted the project team in being creative. This process informed the successful pilot testing of a mobile-phone-based technology kit to deliver TPD resources within an open distance learning (ODL) platform. Taking the risk and having the foresight to trial mobile phones in remote rural areas with teachers and students led to unforeseen innovation. As a result, EIA is currently using a mobile-phone-based technology kit with 12,500 teachers to improve the English language proficiency of 700,000 students. As the project scales up in its third and final phase, we are using the new technology kit — known as the 'trainer in your pocket' — to foster a 'quiet revolution' in the provision of professional development for teachers at scale to an additional 67,500 teachers and nearly 10 million students.

Global health and natural disaster alerts: preparing mobile phones to endure the unthinkable

Despite the increasingly positive role of portable communication technologies for socioeconomic development and their growing use in global health and other emergency contexts, several challenges still hinder exploring the full potential of mobile phones as effective mitigation tools in natural disasters, public health emergencies and in the aftermath of extreme disruptive events. Mobile devices are designed and advertised to withstand predominantly the demands of normal daily situations, being fraught with fragilities that limit their utility for effective communication and coordination of help in emergency situations. We discuss ways to overcome some of these limitations in the future by the incorporation of features to increase their resilience and effectiveness as aid tools at relatively low cost. Improvements in autonomous energy generation and use, based on existing and rapidly emerging technologies, as well as further improvements in physical durability and off-line operability are encouraged. We also identify the possibility to combine capabilities from other devices, such as space-based telecommunication systems and traditional two-way radios, to enhance the utility of mobile devices for these applications. The solutions we propose can help millions of citizens around the world to manage the risks and impacts of natural and health-related hazards. They should also promote further resilience to avoiding and recovering from such events, especially in vulnerable regions with limited infrastructure.

Using mobile instant messaging to leverage learner participation and transform pedagogy at aSouthAfricanUniversity ofTechnology

AbstractOne of the most complicated academic endeavours in transmission pedagogies is to generate democratic participation of all students and public expression of silenced voices. While the potential of mobile phones, particularly mobile instant messaging (MIM), to trigger broadened academic participation is increasingly acknowledged in literature, integratingMIMinto classrooms and out‐of‐the‐classroom tasks has often been confronted with academic resistance. Academic uncertainty aboutMIMis often predicated on its perceived distractive nature and potential to trigger off‐task social behaviours. This paper argues thatMIMhas potential to create alternative dialogic spaces for student collaborative engagements in informal contexts, which can gainfully transform teaching and learning. An instance of aMIM,WhatsApp, was adopted for an information technology course at aSouthAfrican university with a view to heighten lecturer–student and peer‐based participation, and enhance pedagogical delivery and inclusive learning in formal (lectures) and informal spaces. The findings suggest heightened student participation, the fostering of learning communities for knowledge creation and progressive shifts in the lecturer's mode of pedagogical delivery. However, the concomitant challenge of usingMIMincluded mature adults' resentment of the merging of academic and family life occasioned byWhatsApp consultations after hours. Students also expressed ambivalence aboutMIM's wide‐scale roll‐out in different academic programmes.

The promise and challenges of using mobile phones for adult literacy training: Data from one Indian state

Worldwide, 800 million adults are illiterate; a vast majority of them reside in India. A problem on this scale requires solutions that are scalable and cost-effective. Due to their fast growth, portability, and technical capabilities, mobile phones may play a role in devising such a solution. Yet illiteracy itself may be one of the central barriers that could prevent the effective use of these phones. This study based on data from a 2010 survey of 409 illiterate men and women from semi-urban locations in one Indian state seeks to understand the potential of mobile phones to address adult illiteracy. The results show a mixed promise for using mobile phones to alleviate adult illiteracy.

Technology and health care in the developing world

Jennifer Manne and Walter Curioso look at innovative projects that exploit the potential of mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and the internet

Mobile Phones as Traffic Probes: Practices, Prospects and Issues

The provision of road‐based travel‐time information often relies on speed data collected from inductive loops imbedded in the pavement. While inductive loops are commonly installed on urban freeways, they are neither configured nor ideally located to provide speed data on arterial roads. Dissemination of dynamic, network‐wide travel information to road users is, therefore, likely to require alternative data collection techniques. This review considers the state of practice in relation to using mobile phones as traffic probes, assesses the prospects for this data collection option and identifies unresolved issues that may have implications for obtaining real‐time traffic information using mobile phones as probes. The use of mobile phones as traffic probes is appealing because the necessary infrastructure is already in place in most urban areas. Traffic speed information can be obtained by passively monitoring data transmission in the mobile phone network. International experience provides encouraging signs about the potential of mobile phones as traffic probes. Issues still to be resolved include potential public concerns about privacy, growing awareness of the road safety implications of mobile phone use and the need to understand better the quality of the data obtained from mobile phone probes.