Does Mobile Learning Foster Self-Directed Learning?
With the ever-evolving educational technology trends, distance learning is now able to provide tremendous opportunities of learning that were barely possible before. Despite that, distance education institutions are still continuing the battle with one of their most challenging issue, which is hi...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/884/1/library-document-884.pdf http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/884/ |
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| Institution: | Open University Malaysia |
| Summary: | With the ever-evolving educational technology trends, distance learning is
now able to provide tremendous opportunities of learning that were barely possible
before. Despite that, distance education institutions are still continuing the battle with
one of their most challenging issue, which is high learner dropout. There is a notion
that learners will be more successful and less prone to dropout when their learning is
self-directed (Uba, 1997). Recently, research showed that mobile learning encouraged
learners to be self-directed and there was a substantial decline in dropouts (Attewell,
Savill-Smith, Douch, 2009). This paper is a further effort to investigate the potential of
mobile learning to support self-directed learning and aims to highlight the effect of
mobile learning using short messaging services (SMS) on learners’ self-direction for
learning. In the study, SMS text messages were sent to mobile phones of science
teachers who were undertaking the Bachelor of Teaching Program at Open University
Malaysia. Data was collected using survey questionnaire as well as interview method
whereby 35 participants responded to the questionnaire and two were interviewed. The
assessment of self-directed learning was based on the theories of self-directed learning
suggested by Brockett and Hiemstra (1991) and Candy (1991). The findings show how
learners exhibited ownership of learning due to mobile learning through their goals and
plans for learning, strategies and processes of learning and self-evaluation of their
learning. The study also discusses issues that these teachers faced when using mobile
technologies for self-directed learning. (Abstract by authors) |
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