Investigating student perceptions on effective use of smartphones for mobile learning

Abstract

The current trend in educational institutions worldwide is the use of smartphones and smart devices to enhance student learning, which has many intrinsic benefits in improving students learning abilities, academic success, and engagement. The important features of education mobile applications boost student engagement through skills-oriented activities. It makes learning ubiquitous, provides access to the latest assorted learning materials, and reduces the communication barrier between students and education institutions. However, many important factors must be taken into account for the successful implementation of mobile applications by the mobile learning industry. This work investigates the factors influencing student perceptions of effective use of smartphones for mobile learning, by exploring theory of planned behaviour, technology acceptance model, expectation confirmation model, flow theory, and will, skill and tool model. A new structural model has been developed based on the factors satisfaction, continuous intention and effective use that can be applied to explain the effective use of smartphones for mobile learning. Data were collected from a survey population that represents 569 students studying at the university to validate the developed model. The technique of variance-based structural equation modelling was used for testing both the measurement and structural models to establish the full predictive power and reliability of the developed model. The results obtained are highly encouraging, giving predictive capability, reflecting that satisfaction and continuous intention to use are the most important predictors of the effective use of smartphones for mobile learning. These capabilities will enhance student learning skills to achieve better academic success through the exploration of the effective use of smartphones for mobile learning.