Pre-Service Teachers’ Motivation, Practices and Challenges in Using Mobile Learning to Enhance Teaching Activities in Tanzania

Abstract

The study explored the motivation, practices and challenges of pre-service teachers in using mobile learning to enhance teaching activities. The ground of the study was the digital revolution of mobile electronic devices that penetrated to the population and therefore facilitated access to vast online resources as an alternative to traditional resources. A case study design with a mixed approach was employed, involving 110 pre-service teachers who pursued Bachelor of Education programs. Data collection methods involved in-depth interviews and questionnaires. The findings show that pre-service teachers were motivated to use mobile learning by individual factors and contextual situations.  The use of mobile learning involved searching for teaching materials as well as answers to critical and challenging questions.  Further, pre-service teachers learned new methods of managing students and lesson presentations through online lectures. Mobile learning nevertheless faced challenges of poor Internet connectivity in some areas and pre-service teachers’ ability to determine whether the materials accessed came from valid and reliable sources.  The study recommends that pre-services teachers should be trained in the skills of identifying reliable and valid sources of materials for effective teaching. There is also a need to educate pre-service teachers on how to access valid and reliable materials that are aligned to the curriculum and national education goals. Therefore, different sites should be made accessible to teachers to help them improve not only classroom teaching practices but also for learners’ better performance.