Introduction
Recent advances in mobile technologies have made handheld devices an integral part in the lives of most people. While the primary use of these mobile devices has been communication and entertainment, the education sector is beginning to make use of mobile technology.
Mobile applications enable students to utilize their mobile devices for academic work. These applications build on the popularity of mobile technology among the youth.
To cater for this demand, many developers have emerged offering a wide variety of applications that purport to support the classroom needs of the student.
This paper will discuss mobile application technology and its current use in education. An examination of the positive and negative aspects of this technology will be provided and future possibilities proposed.
Overview of Mobile Applications
Mobile devices are typically hand held devices that are characterized by portability, social interactivity, connectivity, context sensitivity and individuality. Mobile applications are programs developed to perform specific functions through these devices.
Recent year improvements in wireless technologies and networking infrastructure have had significant impact on mobile applications. Jeng (2010) elaborates that because of these improvements, applications that require higher memory and bandwidth resources can be implemented and used for educational purposes.
Even so, mobile applications have to contend with the limited screen size and computational power of mobile devices when compared to desktop computers.
Mobile applications take into consideration the capabilities of the target devices and the information is therefore presented in a manner that is appropriate for the diverse mobile devices (Jeng, 2010).
Mobile Applications in Education
Kiger, Dani and Prunty (2012) document that almost every student in the US owns at least one mobile device and they invest considerable time, effort, and resources in their mobile devices. For this reason, application developers see the potential that the educational field has.
Hundreds of the mobile applications developed are focused on education. Mobile applications can be exploited in a number of ways in the educational setting. Some of the applications are created to implement context-aware ubiquitous learning.
These applications also enable seamless learning since many students carry their mobile devices everywhere they go. As smart phones become more popular with students, learning institutes are looking for ways to incorporate them in the learning experience of the student.
Positive Impacts
Mobile applications make learning interesting by means of diverse presentation styles, which increase enjoyment of the learning experience. This is a significant consideration since maintaining the interest of student’s is integral to increasing their understanding.
Cheng, et al. (2010) notes that some subjects are taught using uninteresting topics in a passive classroom context and this has an adverse effect on the interest and achievement levels of the students.
Many mobile applications are designed to be interesting and enjoyable for the user since most application developers are motivated to increase sales and therefore their profits and a captivating product will be more appealing to the user.
Mobile applications are predominantly focused on user driven interaction in accessing the learning material. The user is able to access information as they see necessary and learn at their own pace. This is very important since each individual has his/her own preferred learning style and pace (Gibbons, 2008).
Mobile applications therefore increase learning efficiency and effectiveness by letting each user adopt the learning model and pace that is best suited for him/her.
By enabling students to set their own pace and level of challenge, mobile applications assist in building of self-confidence among students and makes learning fun instead of frustrating.
Jeng, et al. (2010) note that mobile applications are also able to provide personalized learning experiences for the student, which increases understanding.
Students are given greater levels of freedom in their learning by mobile applications. Many applications make it possible for the user to download educational contents into a local database on the mobile device. A person can then access the data directly at their discretion.
Cheng et al. (2010) highlights that this feature of mobile applications encourages exploratory learning where the user can learn independently using mobile devices.
Mobile applications enable students do engage in continual knowledge construction. Since the mobile application is contained in a device that the student has with him/her throughout, the learner can keep on adding to the knowledge gained in class from any other location.
The user of the application therefore becomes a knowledge builder who uses material obtained from the internet as resources to support what is studied in class (Kiger, et al. 2012). The student is able to access this information in seamlessly while in class and this enables continuous learning.
Negative Impacts
Mobile applications give students too much autonomy and the teacher is often unable to monitor what the student is doing. Kiger et al. (2012) points out that this can cause major problems since tutor supervision is desirable in order to gauge student progress.
Mobile applications can tempt students to veer away from the content being taught in class. The small size of the mobile device makes it impossible for the teacher to monitor the student’s screen in the same manner that he/she would if the student was using a laptop.
Such a lack of accountability by the student will be detrimental to the overall learning experience.
A significant negative aspect of mobile application in the classroom setting is that some applications lack credibility and the information they offer can therefore not be trusted. In the traditional approach to education, students had to rely on textbooks from credible publishers for their studies and research work.
The expansion of the mobile application market has led to many developers coming up with applications. Jeng et al. (2010) assert that mobile applications must be seen as valid sources of information by the user in order for them to have the desired impact.
Due to the presence of multiple applications in the marketplace, many applications of little or no educational value have emerged. This had led to a decrease in the user perception of the usefulness of mobile applications.
Research by Chen and Huang (2010) demonstrates that the user perception plays a significant role in the acceptance of mobile application technologies.
When the user views the mobile application as hard to use, he/she will be opposed to it and this will greatly decrease its efficiency. In addition to this, the perceived lack of usefulness of some of the mobile applications negates the positive impact they can have on education.
Future Possibilities
In the technology-oriented economy of the 21st century, mobile applications in the education field are of great importance. Majority of the efforts to utilize mobile applications are made by the students. While this user driven approach is desirable, greater benefits can be reaped if educational institutes played a primary role in it.
Educational institutes need to train students on how to use mobile applications. Chen and Huang (2010) suggest that such an approach would enhance the abilities of students to manage knowledge and use it appropriately in problem solving.
Educational institutes also need to be more involved in the development of mobile applications. This involvement will ensure that developers stick to set standards. Boticki and Wong (2011) state that such an involvement will increase the validity of the applications and hence increase their usefulness in education.
Involvement by educational institutes will also lead incorporation of mobile applications in the curriculum and this will increase the number of students who benefit from the applications.
Conclusion
This paper set out to discuss the merits and demerits of mobile applications in the education setting. It begun by illustrating what mobile devices are and the reasons behind the prevalence in mobile applications in recent years.
The paper has underscored how mobile applications enhance learning motivation and increase the rate of understanding in students. The applications have provided students with greater levels of freedom, which has enhanced their learning experience.
Continuous learning has also been made possible by the ubiquitous nature of mobile computing. However, mobile applications also have some demerits such as decreasing the influence of the teacher in the classroom and lack of validity in the eyes of students.
A brief future of mobile application in the educational context has also been given and it has been predicted that this applications will continue to play a significant role in education.
However, for this to happen, education institutions need to invest time and resources in training students and imposing standards on application developers. If this is done, the education sector will benefit greatly from these novel applications.
References
Boticki, L. & Wong, L. (2011). Supporting Mobile Collaborative Activities through Scaffolded Flexible Grouping. Educational Technology & Society, 14 (3), 190–202.
Chen, H.-R., & Huang, H.-L. (2010). User Acceptance of Mobile Knowledge Management Learning System: Design and Analysis. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (3), 70–77.
Cheng, S.-C., Hwang, W.-Y., Wu, S.-Y., Shadiev, R., & Xie, C.-H. (2010). A Mobile Device and Online System with Contextual Familiarity and its Effects on English Learning on Campus. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (3), 93–109.
Gibbons, A. (2008). Understanding models for learning and instruction. New York: Springer.
Jeng, Y., Wu, T., Huang, Y.M., Tan, Q., & Yang, S. J. H. (2010). The Add-on Impact of Mobile Applications in Learning Strategies: A Review Study. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (3), 3–11.
Kiger, D., Dani, H., & Prunty, D. (2012). Examining the Influence of a Mobile Learning Intervention on Third Grade Math Achievement. JRTE, 45 (1), 61–82.