Exploring the uses of mobile phones to support informal learning

Abstract

This paper explores how a group of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use their mobile phones to perform informal learning activities related to the content of their courses outside the classroom. The paper also addresses the usefulness of informal learning activities to support students' learning. The study adopts an exploratory case study design and uses multiple methods of data collection including questionnaires, interviews and diary entries. Main findings suggest that students performed informal learning activities mostly from home, interacting mainly with classmates. It also shows that students were in control of their informal learning activities without teachers' input. However, it was found that students used only a limited number of applications but these were considered useful to their learning. The paper contributes to a discussion of the implications of training and instructor support to help students to take more advantage of mobile phone applications to support informal learning. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

Cell Phones in the Classroom

“…They clearly did not recognize the benefits of texting as presented by Looi et al (20 lo), Thomas and Orthober (20 1 I), Santos andAli (2012), andPlester et al (2009). A much greater percentage of dlgital natives than immigrants were o2posed to texting.…”

New ways of learning : Participatory action research and Kenyan runners’ appropriation of smartphones to improve their daily lives and participation in m-learning

“…Likewise, Santos and Ali (2012) explored how 15 female undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates used their mobile phones outside the classroom to support learning. The study took place during a 15-week university course using the students' own mobile phones.…”

Blending Formal and Informal Learning Networks for Online Learning

“…OLNs are hybrids of CMSs and PLEs "with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to improve learning dramatically" (Mott & Wiley, 2009, p.3). Alternatively, others (Jones, Scanlon, & Clough, 2013;Khaddage, Lanham, & Zhou, 2009;Santos & Ali, 2012), supported the use of mobile technologies since they are part of almost all college students' lives. Facer and Sandford (2010) suggested the creation of a curriculum that links formal and informal learning by including: opportunities for learners to learn and work within meaningful socio-technical networks not wholly within single educational institutions; to be assessed in interaction with tools, resources and collaborators; to develop capacities to manage information and intellectual property, build reputation and trust, develop experience of working remotely and in mediated environments; to create new learning networks; to reflect upon how learning is connected with other areas of personal, social, and working lives and manage and negotiate these relationships; to explore the human-machine relationships involved in socio-technical networks (p.86).…”