Mobile Learning: Benefits, Challenges, And Effectiveness For Improving Learning Activities - Study Results

Benefits of Mobile Learning

The number of cellular network subscribers stands at close to 7 billion in 2022. The number of internet users is about half of the number of cellular network subscribers. Technology has been found to transform people’s lives and the world through connectivity, communication, and cooperation. With the use of the internet, mobile internet devices such as computer tablets and smartphones have been largely used to motivate innovation in learning and teaching methods. Although research has demonstrated that mobile technology cannot replace formal learning, it has been found that mobile learning methods support learning activities outside the classroom and therefore helps improve the quality of education among learners.

Mobile learning involves different methods of remote studies. Traditionally, mobile learning majorly entailed e-learning over school or academic websites. However, with the increasing advancement in the field of mobile technology, software and web developers have come up with mobile and computer applications aimed at improving the quality of learning [1]. Such applications make it possible to easily and instantly access learning materials anywhere and at any time. These developments help in enriching learners’ knowledge, satisfying curiosity, increasing collaboration with other learners, and enriching learners’ experiences among other benefits. Studies on mobile learning have demonstrated that people in virtual learning environments and those in the real world are able to connect with each other over the web or via mobile learning applications. It is therefore possible to create learning communities among mobile application learners.

The digital age is characterized by widespread use of mobile devices. Through social networking sites, which have become indispensable with Web 2.0 technologies, teachers and students are more likely to adopt mobile devices [2]. Student attitudes toward courses can be improved by using mobile devices both in and out of the classroom. The advantages of mobile learning include increasing students' motivation and interest. As a result, students are more likely to participate in learning activities thanks to the use of mobile devices. As a result, students and educators may need mobile devices for teaching and learning purposes in the future.

Although mobile learning applications present a series of advantages and benefits, this development also presents some challenges and disadvantages to both learners and researchers. Studies on mobile app learning aim at ensuring that mobile learners gain new skills, knowledge, and experiences. Mobile technologies are rapidly advancing, but this can be a disadvantage to researchers and students alike. Students need to familiarize themselves with new devices. Studies to evaluate the effectiveness of learning apps are longitudinal in nature and these types of studies pose challenges for researchers due to the length of time involved in observing participants for changes in the outcome variable. Another challenge of mobile app learning is that it is difficult to control the usage of mobile devices for other purposes other than learning [3]. People who own mobile devices could find themselves using the devices for other purposes while also learning. This could have an overall impact on the quality of learning. This, therefore, poses a challenge to research on how best to evaluate the effectiveness of mobile learning apps while controlling for other variables.

Challenges of Mobile Learning

In the past, researchers majorly focused on the design and development of the hardware for e-learning. In the recent past and currently, however, the focus has shifted to the design of the software and the content of learning materials. This has led to a rise in the number of empirical researchers studying the effectiveness and quality of e-learning platforms with an aim of making improvements to mobile learning applications.

It is thought that the use of learning apps has an impact on students’ academic performance. The present research, therefore, seeks to compare students’ math scores before and after using a learning app. This is done by conducting an analysis to test the significance of the difference in average scores before and using the learning app.

The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a learning app on students’ academic performance. This is achieved by conducting a statistical analysis to compare the math scores of 40 Year 5 school children before and after using the learning App.

Based on the aim of the current research, the study seeks to answer the following research question;

Is there a significant difference in student math scores before and after using the app?

The following hypothesis is evaluated;

Null hypothesis (Ho): There lacks a significant mean difference in math scores before and after using the app.

Alternative hypothesis (Ha): There exists a significant mean difference in math scores before and after using the app.

First, the study involved subjecting the study participants (40 year 5 children) to a math exam. The exam was marked and the results recorded. Secondly, the study involved having the students use a learning app for a period of time, then subjected to a math exam. The exam was marked and the results recorded.

The study conducted an analysis to investigate differences in scores before and after using the app. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed in o9rder to answer the research question.

To test the hypothesis, a paired samples t-test was conducted. All analyses were conducted using excel.

The study found that the mean math score after using the app (M=15.30, SD=3.91) was higher than the mean math score before using the app (M=12.75, SD=4.10). The distribution of scores before and after using the app can be represented in the below box plot.

In order to evaluate whether or not there exists a significant difference in mean math scores before and after using the app, a paired samples t-test was conducted. Below are the results.

 The analysis found a test statistic, t = -4.153 and a p-value = 0.0002. Since the p-value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected at the 5 % level of significance in favor of the alternative hypothesis. The results of the analysis therefore imply that there exists a significant mean difference in math scores before and after using the learning app.

The study sought to investigate the effectiveness of the learning app on math performance among 40 year 5 children. Results of the paired samples t-test suggest that there exists a significant mean difference in scores before and after using the learning app. Since the descriptive statistics show that the average score after using the app is higher than the average score before using the app, the study can infer that the learning app is an effective tool for improving students’ math academic performance.

Effectiveness of Mobile Learning

The findings of the present study are consistent with those of [4] who sought to investigate the impacts of mobile phone apps on student academic performance. The researchers established that using mobile learning applications increase student engagement and overall academic performance. The researchers further argued that when compared to traditional learning methods, mobile learning presents significantly higher academic scores. Similarly, [5] conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the impacts of mobile phone applications on academic performance among students drawn from different grades. The researchers established that students have a positive attitude towards mobile learning. They also found that mobile learning not only catches students’ attention but also increases their success.

The results of the current study are, however, contrary to those of [6] who established that mobile learning presents a negative effect on students’ learning processes due to the inappropriate design of mobile app learning design and cognitive overload orchestrated by the multi-usage of mobile phones.

Conclusion

The study concludes that there is a significant impact of the mobile learning app on students’ academic achievement. The research, therefore, recommends that the mobile app be used for learning purposes since it was found to improve performance. In order to eliminate the negative effects associated with the cognitive overload of mobile phone usage, learning apps should be designed in such a way that there will be control over which mobile apps could be accessed by students while learning.

The study was limited in that only children in year 5 participated in the study. It is, therefore, not clear whether similar results would be found with children in other years of study. Further, the app’s effectiveness was only tested on math scores. There, therefore, lacks clarity on whether similar results would be obtained while testing for the effectiveness of the app on the scores of other subjects.

In order to ensure more accurate results, future researchers should conduct cross-sectional studies to investigate the effectiveness of the learning app on the academic performance of children across different years of study and across different subjects.

References

[1] Sumuer, E. (2021). The effect of mobile phone usage policy on college students’ learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 33(2), 281-295.

[2] Kuznekoff, J. H., Munz, S., & Titsworth, S. (2015). Mobile phones in the classroom: Examining the effects of texting, Twitter, and message content on student learning. Communication Education, 64(3), 344-365.

[3] Kuznekoff, J. H., & Titsworth, S. (2013). The impact of mobile phone usage on student learning. Communication Education, 62(3), 233-252.

[4] Pechenkina, E., Laurence, D., Oates, G., Eldridge, D., & Hunter, D. (2017). Using a gamified mobile app to increase student engagement, retention and academic achievement. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(1), 1-12.

[5] Quispe, B. M., Casas, L. A., Oviedo, O. A., Quispe, J. H., Chavez, C. V., Pucho, R. V., ... & Joaquín, B. D. (2018, October). Influence of the use of educational apps on smart mobile devices in the academic performance of students. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Education Technology and Computers (pp. 341-346).

[6] Hsiao, K. L., Shu, Y., & Huang, T. C. (2017). Exploring the effect of compulsive social app usage on technostress and academic performance: Perspectives from personality traits. Telematics and Informatics, 34(2), 679-690.