Research priorities in mobile learning: An international Delphi study / Les priorités de recherche en matière d'apprentissage mobile: Une étude de Delphes internationale

Abstract

Along with advancing mobile technologies and proliferating mobile devices and applications, mobile learning research has gained great momentum in recent years. While there have been review articles summarizing past research, studies identifying mobile learning research priorities based on experts' latest insights have been lacking. This study employed the Delphi method to obtain a consensus from experts about areas that are most in need of research in mobile learning. An international expert panel participated in a three-round Delphi process involving two cycles of online questionnaires and feedback reports. Participants responded to the question, "What should be the research priorities for the field of mobile learning over the next 5 years?" Ten research categories were identified and ranked in order of priority: 1) teaching and learning strategies; 2) affordances; 3) theory; 4) settings of learning; 5) evaluation/assessment; 6) learners; 7) mobile technologies and interface design; 8) context awareness and augmented reality; 9) infrastructure and management; and 10) country and digital divide. This study also reported expert-generated research statements for each research category and the importance of these research statements rated by the experts themselves. Selected research papers were summarized to help contextualize the discussions of research categories and statements. RésuméAvec l'avancement des technologies mobiles et la prolifération des appareils mobiles et des applications, la recherche consacrée à l'apprentissage mobile a récemment pris de l'ampleur. Si des articles ont résumé les recherches antérieures, les études s'appuyant sur les dernières connaissances d'experts pour identifier les priorités de recherche sur l'apprentissage mobile font défaut. La présente étude a utilisé la méthode de Delphes pour obtenir un consensus des experts sur les domaines nécessitant le plus des recherches sur l'apprentissage mobile. Un groupe CJLT/RCAT Vol. 40 (2) Research priorities in mobile learning: An international Delphi study 2 international d'experts a participé à un processus de Delphes structuré en trois rondes impliquant deux séries de questionnaires en ligne et des rapports de rétroaction. Les participants ont répondu à la question : "Quelles devraient être les priorités de recherche dans le domaine de l'apprentissage mobile pour les cinq prochaines années ?" Dix catégories de recherche ont été identifiées et classées par ordre de priorité : 1 ) stratégies d'enseignement et d'apprentissage ; 2 ) affordances ; 3 ) théorie ; 4 ) paramètres d'apprentissage ; 5 ) évaluation ; 6 ) apprenants ; 7 ) technologies mobiles et conception de l'interface ; 8 ) perception du contexte et réalité augmentée ; 9 ) infrastructure et gestion ; et 10 ) pays et fossé numérique. Cette étude a également repris les déclarations de recherche énoncées pour chaque catégorie par les experts ainsi que le classement par ordre d'importance des déclarations de recherche selon l'avis de ces experts. Quelques articles choisis ont é...

Faculty Perceptions of Smartphones and Smartphone Integration in Faculty Development and the Classroom: A Case Study

“…The device affordances that are unique to smartphones developed as another research theme in this study. Aside from the portability of the devices, the variety of communication opportunities and the convenience of quick access to digital information were also common reasons why faculty preferred their smartphone to other tools, which are in line with past research findings (Hsu et al, 2014). Although the results of the interviews were generally more favorable toward devices with larger screens when working on major projects or compositions, one exception existed.…”

“…Smartphones are ubiquitous (Havel, Powell, Cabaniss (Wu et al, 2012). The smartphone is an ideal device for mobile learning because of its portability, computing capabilities, and real-time connections that enable ubiquitous, collaborative, and contextual learning (Hsu et al, 2014).…”

“…As noted earlier, the smartphone's ubiquitous nature and readily-available technology (Havel et al, 2017;Kearney & Maher, 2013; Kukulska-Hulme, 2012) make it ideal for allowing learners to focus on the task at hand, rather than on the device itself (Koole, 2009). When instructors use smartphones to diversify content and to promote innovation and participatory, collaborative, and contextual learning (Hsu et al, 2014;Isiyaku et al, 2018), they can impact course interactions, information processing, lifelong-learner skill sets, and the roles of teachers and learners (Koole, 2009).…”

“…Another example could be the rate of change with smartphone technology and faculty who are not familiar with quickly evolving Web 2.0 and mobile applications (apps) (Bennett et al, 2012;Isiyaku et al, 2018). Additionally, the disruptive and pervasive nature of smartphones raises concerns about classroom management and ethical considerations (Hsu et al, 2014;Peng, Su, Chou, & Tsai, 2009).…”

“…In an international Delphi study that included 14 mobile-learning scholars, the examination of mobile learning and teaching strategies emerged as the highest ranking priority for future research needs in mobile learning (Hsu et al, 2014). Pedagogically focused mobile technology implementations can change the relationship between instructor and students, ultimately transforming the role of the college professor to one representative of a facilitator or mentor (Idrus & Ismail, 2010;Koole, 2009).…”