Mobile Learning - Trends & Practices
Review
Mobile learning is a much-debated aspect and influencer in the field of education. The proliferation of mobile devices has demanded a study of the motivations for the use of mobile devices in learning and under what circumstances does mobile learning contribute to education. The author of this editorial, asks the time-honored question of ‘why.’ The question is answered within its portability for the learner, not within the device itself. In addition to its mobility, users of mobile devices find the aspects of communication and collaboration to be just as essential as the ‘just-in-time,’ small-bit learning aspects afforded by device mobility. The question of whether mobile devices help or hinder learning is the concern. The author suggests that mobile devices neither help or hinder the learning experience. An emphasis in the paper focuses on the evaluation of mobile devices for learning, and research continues into the field of mobile devices for education.
Abstract
Mobile learning has become one of the more influential aspects in the field of educational technology given the ubiquity of modern mobile devices and proliferation of educational applications or ‘apps’ for mobile devices. Within this special issue, there are a range of studies and reviews which cover a breadth of current topics in the field, namely user motivations for using mobile learning, issues in evaluation and domain-specific considerations (e.g., use within language learning or audio-based applications). Together these studies represent the synthesis of a range of methods, approaches and applications that highlight benefits and areas of future growth of mobile technologies.
Uther, M. (2018). Mobile Learning - Trends and Practices. Education Sciences, 9(33), 1-3. doi:10.3390/edusci9010033
