Investigating lecturers’ reasons for adoption of mobile learning in higher education: A case study

Abstract

The usage of Mobile Learning (M-learning) has grown among Institutes of Higher Learning worldwide as mobile technologies benefit teaching and learning. Despite this interest, there is a lack of M-learning research in formal educational contexts and the reasons for lecturers to adopt M-learning in a Singapore private education institute have been limited. Furthermore, the Teaching and Learning Division (TLD) of the institution which looks after the professional development of lecturers and sponsors innovative technology-mediated learning initiatives like M-learning is keen to find out how lecturers can be supported to encourage a greater usage of M-learning. After interviewing 10 lecturers, the research found that the following five reasons influence lecturers’ adoption of M-learning from most important to the least: Usefulness in Teaching and Learning, Barriers to using M-Learning, Ease of use of mobile technology, Students’ Motivation and Service quality of the M-learning systems. From this, TLD can identify and develop strategies to support the successful integration of M-learning. The five support aspects considered when implementing M-learning are found to be the following in descending order of importance: Professional Development, Social, Organisational, Technical and Advanced features to support teaching and learning. This research has clarified the existing literature in M-learning especially in formal learning contexts where learning is intentional and recognises the role that lecturers play in the future adoption of M-learning.