ABSTRACT Mobile technology is becoming prevalent in today’s society. Yet despite the widespread use of Internet-accessible mobile devices, very little research has been undertaken to examine the value that mobile technology may have (Cheung & Hew, 2009), especially within the milieu of higher education. With ever-expanding technological capabilities and rapidly increasing student use of sophisticated mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets (Chaffey, 2017; Chang, Lai, & Hwang, 2018; Guri-Rosenblit, 2009; Peng et al, 2009), it is imperative that educators consider the impact that these devices may have—particularly when it comes to the affordances such devices provide for mobile learning in the digital classroom (Demmans Epp, Watanabe, & Swann, 2017). This paper reports on the demographic and descriptive findings from a three-year study on online graduate-level students’ perceptions and experiences with mobile devices that provides some insight into the relationship between graduate level learners, their online learning contexts, and their use of mobile devices for learning. The results indicate that: (1) the use of mobile devices for learning is common among these students, and (2) these devices and how they are being used are rapidly evolving to provide nearly seamless continuity of formal learning for the increasingly mobile learner.

1. A presentation by Dr. Mohamed Ally and Dr. Norine Wark
Athabasca University, Canada
November, 2018

2. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
➢Introduction
➢Literature review
➢Research method and data collection
➢Findings
➢Discussion
➢Conclusion
Presentation Overview

3. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
INTRODUCTION

4. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
• Widespread use in Western society
• Most large distance education (DE) institutes do not offer learning through
mobile devices
• Little attention paid to impact of latest technological development in DE
• Even less research conducted on mobile technology in online learning
Mobile Device Use

5. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Presentation reports on descriptive data gathered during 3-year mixed methods
research project at one Canadian online educational institution; sought to
determine how mobile communication technology could assist learners in an
online Community of Inquiry (CoI; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001)
Discussion focuses upon online graduate level students who used mobile
devices.
This presentation answers the following research questions:
1. What mobile devices do students use when they learn online?
2. What is the frequency of mobile device use when learning online?
3. What activities do students engage in when using mobile devices for online
learning?
Our Study

6. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
LITERATURE REVIEW

7. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Few Canadian studies on mobile device use for learning; recent systematic review
= 44 studies on mobile device use in education settings (Cheung & Hew, 2009)
Only two studies focused on the use of mobile devices in Canadian education
system:
• One was in a middle school classroom setting (Allan, Carbonaro, & Buck, 2006)
• One sampled first year university students (McCracken, Withers, & Fee, 2007)
Handful of studies on student attitudes and opinions towards mobile technology;
findings suggest that mobile devices can enhance learning experiences (e.g., Al-Fahad,
2009; Daher, 2009; Dearnley et al., 2009; Koole, 2009; Grant et al., 2015; Motiwala, 2007; Pawluk, Palalas, & Wark,
2018; Philip, 2017)
Mobile learning benefits: Affordability and portability (Attewell, 2006; Chee, Yahaya, Ibrahim,
& Noor Hassan, 2018; Gartner, 2017)
However, not much is known about how the widespread use of mobile devices
affects DE; one aim of this study was to shed light on respondents’ perceptions
on and experiences with mobile devices for learning.
Mobile Device Use for Learning

8. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
DATA COLLECTION

9. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Data collected from numerous online graduate programs over five semesters
This presentation reports on demographic and descriptive data gathered from
online questionnaires completed by volunteer respondent groups:
• Questionnaire 1: Two groups - mobile device users and non-users (n=695; 28%
response rate)
• Questionnaire 2: Mobile device users only (n=389; 72% response rate of Questionnaire
1 mobile device users)
• Used SPSS v. 23 software to produce frequency and descriptive data reported herein
Demographics:
• 54% between ages 35 – 49; 21% between ages 44 – 49
• 62% female; 38% male
• 2 out of 5 lived in large urban centers (pop. > 500,000); nearly 1 out of 5 lived in
medium urban (pop. 100,000 – 499,999), small urban (10,000 – 99,999), or rural areas
(within 2 hours commute from an urban center)
• 47% completed 7 or more online courses before the study began
Respondents and Instruments

10. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
FINDINGS

11. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Learning Environment
Questionnaire 1 - All respondents:
1. Most-used communication & interaction tools:
• Email (89% of respondents)
• Hard copy texts (78%)
• Online chat or instant messaging (55%)
2. Most-used Learning Management System (LMS) media:
• Course homepage (>93%)
• Assignment drop box/course management tools (92%)
• Asynchronous text posting (89%)
3. Group activities:
• 73% whole class activities
• 44% small group activities
4. Assignments:
• >99% individual assignments
• 48% group assignments

12. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
78% (n=389) of respondents currently used 1 or more mobile devices
71% used mobile device for their current course (99% voluntarily; 1% mandatory)
Those who were not using their device in the course gave these reasons:
1. Device too small to input (63%) or view (60%) information
2. Incompatibility with other hardware (e.g., printers; 17%)
3. Software issues:
• Shortage of apps (28%)
• Incompatability with learning management system (19%)
4. Cost:
• Internet connection fees (20%)
• Loss/theft (5%)
5. Miscellaneous:
• For work purposes only (7%)
• Living in countries like Saudi Arabia and China, prefer computer, keep coursework on one
device, etc. (5%)
Introducing the Topic of Mobile Devices
(Users & Non-users)

13. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Expanding the Discussion with Users
6%
4%
12%
13%
17%
29%
19%
Length of Time Using Mobile Devices
(General Use; by Percent)
0-6 months
7-12 months
1-2 years
2-3 years
3-5 years
5-10 years
>10 years

14. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
General Use of Mobile Devices
23%
35%
24%
18%
Number of Devices Currently Used
(By Percent)
One
Two
Three
Four or More

15. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
The following results are based upon the device that respondents most often
used for learning purposes.
1. The most common brands were Apple iPad (38%) and iPhone (27%)
2. This device was most often used for:
• School (88%)
• Pleasure (85%)
• Work (73%)
• Socialization (65%)
3. 43% of respondents had been using this device
for 1-2 years
4. 90% of respondents used the device daily
Student Use of Mobile Devices

16. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
DISCUSSION

17. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
- Almost 4 out 5 respondents use mobile devices
- Device use is not mandatory in school; 7 out of 10 use these devices for online
learning
- Respondents expect future online courses to be mobile device-friendly
Implication:
Program infrastructure and course re-design to enable seamless access to
learning anywhere, anytime via a variety of platforms
Discussion

18. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Although device size deterred student use, as pervasiveness of smartphones has
grown, so have screen size, battery life, and memory (Gartner, 2017; Statista, 2017)
Mobile devices are increasingly multimedia, multi-computing hybrids (Taylor, 2014)
Android and Microsoft products are increasingly wireless, cross-platform, and
interface with a growing number of plug-and-play devices
App explosion: Over 2.2 million GooglePlay and almost 2 million Apple apps (Saifi,
2017)
Changing Landscape for Mobile Learning

19. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
General Use vs Student Use of Mobile Devices
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
G-Mobile Phone S-Mobile Phone G-Tablet S-Tablet G-Portable Media
Player
S-Portable Media
Player
General and Student Use of Mobile Devices:
Most Frequently Used (By percent)
G-Mobile Phone
S-Mobile Phone
G-Tablet
S-Tablet
G-Portable Media Player
S-Portable Media Player
Key:
G - General Use
S - Student Use

20. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
CONCLUSION

21. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
May be first large, longitudinal study involving Canadian online graduate level
learners’ general and school-related use of mobile devices, thus provides
valuable insights and recommendations for mobile learning in similar contexts
- Educational institution should take advantage of this online and always-on era
by delivering mobile device accessible courses
- Mobile device-friendly learning management system (LMS) and courses
designed for multi-platform delivery
- Student choice of devices to use; learning materials accessible on a variety of
screen sizes
- Integration of emerging wearable and virtual technologies with existing
technologies will enhance mobile learning opportunities for all, including
special needs groups
Final Thoughts and Recommendations

22. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Possible research projects include:
- Determining how to design mobile device-friendly courses and to how
promote high-level learning through interactive strategies (Suárez, Specht, Prinsen,
Kalz, & Ternier, 2018)
- Exploring how students use mobile devices in a variety of learning contexts to
enhance future mobile learning opportunities
Future Research

23. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
Dr. Mohamed Ally Dr. Norine Wark
mohameda@athabascau.ca norinewark@gmail.com
Athabasca University
Athabasca, Alberta
Canada
Thank You
This project was made possible through a funding grant from
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada

24. ONLINE STUDENT USE OF MOBILE DEVICES FOR LEARNING
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