Mobile learning

The deep impact of the mobile since it was invented it has changed the world. Mobile has started to get its place in human societies. Now, in the twenty-one century, mobile became no more a luxury but a crucial tool in our everyday life. In transportation, health, communication, economy, and many fields of every country’s industries, mobile is giving essential contributions. Mobile throughout the world has different shapes, colors, and models. However, they all offer the same opportunities for the user in “anytime and anywhere.” Before having smartphones, we see and use today. Smartphones were developed from the telephone. The telephone is a Greek word means (sound and far). The purpose of inventing the telephone made people hear others’ sounds from a far distance. The telephone was invented in Edinburgh, Scotland by Alexander Graham Bell. In 1876, the first sentence ever transmitted via telephone: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.”. In 1877, the Bell Telephone Company was established as the first telephone company. In the 1890s, there were three different operations used to operate a phone call: The Magneto System, The Battery System, and Automatic System. In the 19th century, telephone devices became less beautifying design and more practical. In 1920, the Candlestick telephone-type was common in cities, and the woodwall telephone-type was common in rural areas. The portable handset telephone was introduced in Europe in the early 1890s but did not become common in North America until the 1920s. Despite the history of the telephone a long time ago, the telephone no longer exists as it used to be. However, now the telephone becomes a small portable device we call mobile. The significant role of mobile all over the world nowadays makes it impossible not to use mobile in everyday life. It is considering that access to many things is at our hands in everyday life. The use of mobile in pedagogy seems quite useful. Nowadays, many are starting to rely on mobile for educational purposes. In this research paper, we will discuss two case studies about mobile learning in a developed country (Japan), and a developing country (Libya).
M-learning is defined as “leveraging mobile devices and empowering students to actively transact with the curriculum in ways that align with the science of how we learn best”(McQuiggan, Kosturko, Mbguggan, Sabourin, 2015) Another definition is “With their ready access to the Internet and their embedded productivity and communication tools, mobile devices create a virtual classroom space via a learning management system app where students can access content, communicate with other students and instructors take tests and complete assignments ”(Sergio, Marybeth, 2018)
Tutors who have used m-learning programs and techniques have made the following value statements in favor of m-learning.
Mobile learning offers new leaning style which are more interactive, imaginative and creative. Even m-learning enables to learners to stimulate experience that they could never achieve in classroom. In case of science class, students can watch massive experience which costs big amount of money. These educational contents by companies and national organization helps students get more interested in the filed.
Stable Accessibility is essential to maximize the outcomes of m-learning. To have mobile learning in our hands, we need to meet some conditions which are the Internet, electricity and wifi environments. We need these three elements to activate mobile phones and to stress freely access the contents. If learners have poor and unstable Internet service, the motivation of using mobile for studying will be decreased because the video stops every 10 seconds and it takes hours to download PDF files. When we discuss a new introduction of technology, physical damage such as eyes and brain is always highlighted and concerned. It is highly recognized that overusing Smartphones makes our eyesight damaged. But, It is not 100% true. If users do not stare phones closely for a long time without any rest, it exhausts their eyes. But using blue light-cut glasses and taking a rest at least every one hour prevents their eyes dry and stressed. Using electric devices for a long period of time exhausts not only our eyes but also our brain.
Since the expectation of m-learning is that learners can use and learn contents via mobile devices individually at any time anywhere, the target should be how individuals can keep learning with high productivity. The gamification theory has been adopted in m-learning because it is likely to feel lonely to study with only mobile devices at home. Gamification is defined as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts to make systems or processes more fun and engaging.”(Denterding. 2011)
The oldest study on “Mobile learning ” was published in 1966 in Proquest. The title of the study is “Auto-tutorial and Mobile-tutorial Laboratory Techniques in Nursing Education.” The number of academic papers on mobile learning from 2010 to 2020 in Proquest is 965. This number is double of the number of academic research from 2000 to 2010. The trend of research in early 2000 was how we, including teachers and parents, can utilize m-learning in early 2000. It gradually shifted to how learners can maximize the use/efficiency of m-learning in late 2010.
Backgrounds It has become popular for digital natives; generations born and raised in the 21st century to get preschool education with tablets or mobile phones. Children who don’t start their school yet stay home with their child givers. In recent decades, their parents, both mothers and fathers are working and have less time to spend with their children. The main reasons why parents actively use mobile devices for their child is that 1) they use educational apps to baby-sit their kids such as making their kids stop crying or calm them down in public places such as in trains 2) applications make it possible to let their children have simulated experience of language, nature, insects and animals that is unlikely to see in urban city. (Hashimoto, 2018)Various applications for children from 1 month to 6 years old are available.
In Libya, the mobiles were introduced in 2006 (Hamdy, 2007). However, mobiles were not used for learning and education purposes. Libyan used mobiles as a way to communicate with people. Up to date, Libyan do not use educational apps for babysitting their kids. Opposite from Japan, educational apps are not popular among Libyan children from one month to 6 years old.

The list of m-learning contents for preschool education is like... Language education Storytelling... users can listen to the story in native language repeatedly with a subscription. Vocabulary... users can play card games and see the picture cards that are displayed randomly and guess the letters or spell. Phonics... users can listen to the native language Ex. Duolingo ... is an American platform that includes a language-learning website and mobile app, as well as a digital language-proficiency assessment exam. Mathematic Counting and Number Concepts - learn to write and count numbers. Calculation - practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and word problems. Mathematical Logic - number-based memory games and pictographs. Geometry - Learn basic geometry, such as drawing and learning shapes. Clocks & Calendars – learn days of the week, months of the year, and how to tell time. Ex. TODOMATH... This application got more than 7 million downloads over the world. It offers 2,000+ interactive and comprehensive math activities for Pre-K through 2nd grade. Common Core State Standards-aligned curriculum is integrated. 5,000+ elementary classrooms have used Todo Math. Intellectual training Classic music... letting children listen to classical music such as Mozart is known to be good for their intelligence and emotion.
The principle of gamification is highly appreciated in this industry. The design of the display is carefully made and colorful. All contents are made to be entertaining. Most applications have a personalized dashboard to visualize the progress of learning.
According to the guideline by WHO, “Screen time is not recommended for 0 year old children.” “For 1-year-olds, sedentary screen time (such as watching TV or videos, playing computer games) is not recommended either. For those aged 2 years, sedentary screen time should be no more than 1 hour; less is better.” The survey in Japan by Hashimo in 2018 revealed that 34.9% of Japanese mothers of zero year old babies answered “Yes” to let their children play on mobile devices. In the case of America, more than 60% of parents use their phone when they play with their children. (Amy) The effects of smartphones on children’s brain is still unknown and it is risky to endanger their children. Criticisms against smartphone parenting is that it harms children's communication skills. It causes children not to look at eyes during the talk, talk more one-directively and selfishly and not stay patiently. The cause of those negative influences are believed to be due to less face to face communication with parents. The age between 0 to 6 are known to be golden era for children to learn non-verbal and verbal communication skills.
As technology developed, there’s always controversy on how we can control the use of technologies in our lives. Mobile learning is one of the advanced educational technologies which allows all of us no matter where we live to easily access high quality education at any time. If we can self-manage the use of mobile phones, we can receive more benefits from this IT-based learning. However, when users are children whose brains are not grown yet, who are immature, shortsighted and unlikely to self-control due to their development age, adults; caregivers must protect children from misuse of mobile devices. Setting rules is one of the solutions. Limit the time children can use mobile devices and stay close and observe them when they are using the devices. Some may claim that children do not let go of games so easily once they start. Adults must be aware that these m-learning is made to be attractive and fun. Therefore, it is natural that children are obsessed with application games. Tips for child giver would be “let them know the time to end is coming 5 minutes before.” The characteristic of children is that they are likely not ready for sudden psychological and environmental changes. Notifying early eases the mental impact because they can get time to understand and be prepared.
The internet and communication services in Libya are not with good quality as in other developed countries. According to the Libyan Gate Site (2010), the Internet was introduced late in Libya due to the international ban in 1990. The Libyan government controls the internet services through a semi-private company called Libya Telecom and Technology (LTT), which controlled Internet use in Libya. In 1999, the LTT company was established, and it is considered the first the internet and communication company. Gaddafi's eldest son Mohamed is running the LTT company. In 1999, the Internet connection was introduced in Libya with a small number of users, but in 2000 Internet use rapidly increased, especially when mobile was introduced in Libya. In 2005, The Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) improved Internet connection services in Libya. Internet services were all under Gaddafi's government. According to the International Telecommunication Union [ITU] (2012), usage of mobile phones increased rapidly from 1% in 2001 to 171% in 2010, showing multiple subscriptions per person.
Mobile phones are much more available than land-based Internet access, and much Libyan access the Internet primarily through their mobile devices. Mobile phone in Libya has grown dramatically in the last decade. Mobile technology has its most significant impact in the developing world. In 2011, the Libyan revolution increased the number of Libyan who has a mobile phone. In 2011, the escalation of the armed conflict in Libya had closed all the universities all over Libya. The significant impact of the conflict has resulted in using the mobile phone to study at home and using the mobile phone to seek information about opening the educational institutions. Mobile phones have played a significant role in helping the organizations of the Libyan revolution in February 2011 (Libyan Ministry of Communication and Informatics, 2012; Jones et al., 2012). In Libya, the mobile phone made social media becoming popular in Libya. Social media such as Facebook was beginning to go viral with the beginning of the Libyan revolution. In late January 2011, a group of Libyans created a page on Facebook under the name “The Uprising of the 17th of February”, and the page received more than 80,000 followers in less than one month. Libyans started to use Facebook more than usual, and many Libyans started to create Facebook accounts. Therefore, Facebook’s sudden activity did not last for too long after February 2011. Gaddafi decided to cut off all internet services in Libya. Gaddafi knew that the role of social media such as Facebook would play an essential role against him in 2011. (Elmahjub 2013, Philip 2017).
After 2011, when the Libyan revolution was over, the impact of social media and mobile learning in Libya encouraged many Libyan citizens to use mobile in education and learning support. After the Libyan revolution 2011, Libyans start relying on mobile phones as a tool for education and learning. Facebook is known as one of the most used mobile applications in education. Facebook has many tools that can be used in learning effectively, like Moodle. Facebook is a free app. It is one of the apps used in many educational institutions in Libya to help students access information. In 2015 and 2019, millions of schools’ textbooks burned and destroyed when a rocket hit the ministry of education buildings during the fighting in Tripoli. A Facebook page called Libyan initiatives for e-learning helped the students to provide them with their school textbooks by uploading the textbooks as a PDF on the Facebook page. A medical group in Libya called MY HOSPITAL. It has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook. The followers are mostly medical students and medical instructors. Students try to ask their instructor if they have any concerns about a lesson or the exam. This Facebook group makes learning continue even outside the classroom.
Thou to the current situation in the country, the Facebook mobile application made the learning process in Libya effective and remarkable. In Libya, where mobile learning is counted as one of the essential success factors in building the new Libya, mobile learning technology could offer a much more convenient and affordable option to the Libyan educational institutions (Rhema, & Miliszewska, 2012).
In Libya, mobile applications for infants and babies are not as popular as in some countries like Japan. However, mobile applications for junior, high school, and university students are famous in Libya. After the Libyan revolution, many Libya educators and researchers started to realize the huge impact of the mobile phone on learning. Some of those educators used the mobile in many tasks during their study period at the university. That inspired them to create and develop software on mobile to help students in the learning process. At the beginning of 2018, at the third Libya Startups EXPO. A new startup company is known as Gantsu Sensei, founded by Marwa Grain. The company aimed to redesign the school textbooks into enjoyable and exciting ways for the students to make them enjoy the learning process. The company aimed to make a mobile application and upload the animated school textbooks in it. At the beginning of 2019, at the fourth Libya Startups EXPO. Another startup company is known as i-study, founded by Zakaria Gwaila. The company designed software for android and IOS mobile users. The software aims to make a connection between teachers, students, and parents. Students can log in to the app using their ID, and their parents can log in to the app using their ID. Parents can check the absence, grades of their children in all subjects without any need to visit the school and talk to the teachers.
Although, mobile learning in Libya is trying to improve the usage of mobile phones in education in Libya. Mobile learning is encouraging the students to study and obtain a degree, especially during the civil war that is happening now in Libya. The lack of prior research studies about mobile learning in Libya was one of limitation. During the phase of collecting information for the study, the researcher found a relatively small number of researches about mobile learning in Libya and online learning in Libya. After 2011, the impact of mobile learning in Libya now during the civil war encouraged many of the Libyan students to access efficiently to knowledge and information. Due to the current situation and condition in Libya, mobile learning in Libya is still in it is early stages. Possibly in 2030, more studies about mobile applications and the usage of mobile phones about learning in Libya will be found.
Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted, so that students are introduced to the learning material before class, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities facilitated by teachers. (AdvanceHE) In major ICT devices used in Flipped learning is mobile devices. Students watch video contents or podcasts before coming to school. In case of Japan, the application called “スタディサプリ” (Study SAPURI) collaborates with local schools.
If the definition of m-learning is that any kind of learning with mobile devices, VR/AR should be one of m-learning.
Virtual Reality (VR) is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment to let users experience things that are difficult to have in daily lives such as a roller coaster, visiting foreign places(lost architecture, museum, and mountain) and the world view of insects and so on. Unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user stand as if they were inside the virtual world. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. By simulating as many senses as possible, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell.
Even though shared contents that we can learn via mobile devices and personal computer such as image, audio, and video are the same, some doubt that learning outcome may be different. However, it has proven to be wrong. The research by lifework BLOG shows that there's significant differences of learning outcome. Rather users of mobile devices answered more flavorfully in learning and had longer studying hours thanks to its mobility.
As we see the high potential in mobile learning, there’s more need in academic research how m-learning associated with new pedagogy and technologies affects learners motivation, academic competence, physical damages and understanding of contents. Not only the learner’s perspective but also educators and organizers’s perspective such as what educators are required to be or have skills in teaching with mobile devices in the classroom and what kind of course design improves outcomes of e-learning.
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