Can Mobile Learning Maturity Be Measured? A Preliminary Work

Abstract

New mobile platforms, connected seamlessly to the Internet via wireless access have become increasingly more powerful and have found usage in a diverse set of application areas. On such area that has seen exponential growth in the use of mobile devices is the educational sector. Learning facilitated by mobile phones mobile Learning (m-Learning) is increasingly being adopted as an alternative way of imparting education by several institutions. The educational institutions are becoming more open to embracing new learning platforms, which in turn has sparked the interest in developing new assessment frameworks. The increasing popularity of m-Learning in universities necessitates the development of a process maturity evaluation methodology that would help in successful adoption of the new learning platform within universities. Accordingly, this paper presents a maturity model for evaluating the maturity of universities while adopting the m-Learning platform. This is a preliminary framework based on the current understanding of the issue. Later versions are expected to be more detailed and robust with the availability of empirical data from users. Additionally, there is also is a lack of comprehensive assessment and evaluation methodology for m-Learning platform, which is considered to be one of the major roadblocks in implementing the technology. The present paper addresses an important question: Can m-Learning maturity be measured? One viable solution for the question is adapting the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) framework to design and propose a capability maturity model suitable for m-Learning within educational institutions.

Mobile learning anytime, anywhere: What are our students doing?

“…One of the most consistent conclusions of these studies is that there remain a number of barriers that influence the adoption of mobile learning initiatives, both at an institutional and at a user level. Higher education institutions are cautious about investing in programs to provide students with mobile devices for learning, due to the rapidly changing nature of mobile technologies (Alrasheedi & Capretz, 2013). Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) refers to the use of a student's own mobile technologies for learning and has been identified as a viable and cost-effective alternative to institutions supplying technologies for learning.…”

Trends in Students Media Usage

“…Higher education institutions are cautious about investing in programs to provide students with mobile devices for learning, due to the rapidly changing nature of technologies (Alrasheedi & Capretz, 2013a). The acceptance of technology-enhanced education by students has increased in recent years, but not all services are equally accepted (Alrasheedi & Capretz, 2013b). It has become clear that simply using media and adopting e-learning does not necessarily make a difference in student learning.…”