Predicting acceptance of mobile phones usage as an aid to teaching and learning

Abstract

The usage of mobile phones is becoming increasingly popular as an aid for teaching and learning. The hand-held device is used for receiving and making calls, receiving and sending text messages, playing games, browsing the internet, getting up-to-date news etc. Its usage depends on individual need and purpose, for instance, the students may engage their mobile phones on surfing the Internet for knowledge acquisition, knowledge discovery, improve efficiency, research exploration, facts finding, chatting with peers, receiving and sending educational materials from the lecturers, assignment distribution and up-to-date information from both the lecturers and students. Lecturers get involved in downloading and mailing the educational materials to the students, collection and collation of teaching materials, online response to the students’ needs and schedule of lectures among others. Mobile phone has been identified to play a major role in achieving and synchronizing the learning and teaching activities between the students and lecturers. In this paper, the relationship of the usage of mobile phone by the students and lecturers for academic purposes was examined at Lagos State University (LASU), Nigeria. A web-based questionnaire deployed over the mobile device was designed for learners’ and lecturers’ participation. A survey of eight hundred and ninety students and twenty five academic staff spreading across two faculties were conducted. Data captured were analyzed and the results proved that the use of mobile phone has significantly enhanced the educational performance of the students.

Keywords: Mobile phone, Mobile education, Mobile learning, Mobile teaching, Mobile computing