Mobile Learning: Overview of Current Trends and Developments

In the year of 2019, we have seen a homegrown education company BYJU’s becoming the official sponsor of Indian Cricket Team with a record fee of 1079 INR crores, which its predecessor Oppo- a Chinese mobile maker thought was expensive and unsustainable. The story of a mobile app development company acquiring a wealth of 37000 INR crores in eight years may fascinate us, but in reality, mobile learning is still at its infancy. The trend is as addictive that the market is predicted to have a 36% growth annually with no end in sight. Trends in mobile learning education are presented in this essay to briefly show the main changes in digital education era. 

While mobile learning as a concept is been there for almost a decade, there has been a steep acceleration in its adoption in the last few years. The vision of the 'Street Smart University' effectively explains the attractive features of mobile learning in one sentence- “World-class learning in the palms of millions”.

M-learning educators have been using videos, other multimedia resources, three-dimensional apps, animations, games, quizzes, real-time discussions and data-driven assessments, successfully to provide effective learning experience for their learners. However, as new and innovative technologies are introduced, educators have to reinvent their approaches, to fully realize the benefits of advancing technology in order to provide authentic and deeper learning experiences. New trends in mobile learning focus on this aspect, using the latest technologies like Artificial Intelligence(AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), voice assistant and 5G connectivity.

It is acknowledged that learners’ prior knowledge, experience, intellectual capacity, and emotional state can significantly influence learning. An Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) is on its way to address this element in mobile learning. It uses Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to track and suggest the learning path for individual learners.

Other interesting developments in mobile learning are the methods to help learners to consume episodic memory, which is grounded in actual, personalized, and contextually relevant experiences. Integrating augmented reality and virtual reality technologies in mobile learning, help in achieving this goal. Advancements in these fields will ensure that the learners are able to experiment in a risk-free environment that creates an authentic experience. Location is also important in personalization. Increased GPS capabilities on mobile devices enrich the learning experience by personalizing the learning to the desired geographic location.

Voice assistant is an innovative technology that is being used in smartphones, tablets, etc. Voice assistants and smart speakers can be used effectively to enhance the learning experience and learners’ participation by integrating short interactive quiz or narration. This again can be integrated with AI, so that based on the responses of the learner the narration or the questions of the quiz can be modified.

Effective measures need to be taken to ensure the retention of the knowledge for a long period. A new trend can be seen in this field. Mobile micro assessments are developed, where 2-3 questions are rolled out to the learner on a periodical basis. This enables the instructor to identify how much information is retained and which areas they need to brush up.

Conclusion

All these new developments in m-learning are possible if the connectivity is ensured and is trouble-free. 5G supporting hardware and processors on mobile devices are already on its way, which will boost mobile learning further. Rapid changes are seen in m-learning in the last few years. Automated and technology-enhanced m-learning can be seen as the new trends in this field, which will take it to the next level to hit new heights.  

References

1. Sharples, M., Taylor, J., & Vavoula, G. (2007). A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age. In R. Andrews & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Elearning Research (pp. 221-247). Sage Publications.

2. Traxler, J. (2010). Students and Mobile Devices: Choosing which dream. In J. Herrington & C. Montgomerie (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2010 (pp. 3224-3233). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

3. Ally, M. (2009). Mobile learning: Transforming the delivery of education and training. Athabasca University Press.

4. Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., & Hall, C. (2016). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. The New Media Consortium and Consortium for School Networking.

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5. Ogata, H., & Yano, Y. (2004). Context-aware support for computer-supported ubiquitous learning. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 7(3), 53-64.