Since 2010, there has been a visible increase in the amount of research focused on mobile learning in higher education in Malaysia. To determine if this increase corresponds to an increase in the use of mobile devices to support student learning, data from two surveys conducted in 2008 and 2013 were compared to determine the changes in rates of ownership and use of mobile devices among students. In 2008, although all students owned feature phones very few had access to other mobile devices and rarely used them to support their learning. In 2013, the picture had changed significantly, with some 80 per cent of students owning smart phones and all had access to mobile devices of some sort. Additionally, students were using these devices to support their learning in a number of ways. The paper concludes with indications and implications for future research. (Abstract by authors)

Learning today is beyond the four walls and the Internet environment. The advancement of mobile technology has opened up a myriad of learning opportunities for students in Higher Learning Institutions who need to cope with a complex and demanding learning environment. With this increasing number of mobile phone owners, especially among the student population in Malaysia, educators should look into the possibility of integrating mobile learning into the academic programmes at Institutions of Higher Learning. This paper focuses on basic readiness, skills readiness, psychological readiness and budget readiness of students at two different universities in relation to mobile learning. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect data for this study. The findings revealed that the students are highly familiar with computing skills and they welcome the integration of mobile learning in education. The study also revealed that the students were uncertain as to how much money they needed to spend for the telephone line and Internet line apart from the software and hardware requirements. A discussion on the implications of the findings will also be presented. (Abstract by authors)

Malaysian HEIs mobile learning initiatives & research finding

This study was carried out in order to investigate whether mobile learning using Short Message Service (SMS) was a method of learning adopted by the students enrolled in the School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia. As adult learners who are in vocation, time and isolation are the bane of self-study. Since all the students own a mobile device that can receive SMS, educational messages can be sent directly to their devices. This experimental study explored the impact of learner’s characteristic, learning design and learning environment to their adoptability. This study utilised two models of data analysis, the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 12.0 and the Rasch model analysis for measurement. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 105 students based on gender, age, ethnicity, programme of study and mobile device ownership. The students were from four different courses which are Bachelors of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Science and Bachelor of Management. The questionnaire-answer session were administered by the respective course managers in their tutorial sessions during the annual residential intensive course in the main campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia. The result indicated that mobile learning has helped them to pace their studies. By using mobile learning, learners easily get any information that they need at anytime anywhere. Learners would also like to take another mobile learning assisted course if the courses are relevant to their learning needs. Furthermore, the SMS educational content received through their hand phone are easily remembered. (Abstract by author)

The purpose of this study is to identify the level of technology acceptance among school teachers from the components of awareness and motivation, training and courses, training design, and supports and facilities. This study also aims to investigate whether teachers’ acceptance of technology could influence their readiness for the pedagogical use of mobile phone technology if it is to be implemented in school. A quantitative questionnaire was administered to thirty eight teachers who teach Information and Technology (IT) subject from different primary schools in Penang, Malaysia during a program on Teachers’ Development. Data revealed that the level of technology acceptance among respondents in terms of awareness and motivation, training and courses, training design and supports and facilities was generally high. Despite this positive acceptance of technology, teachers’ readiness for the use of mobile phone in teaching and learning was found to be at a considerably low level. However, the study identified a significant correlation between respondents’ awareness and motivation towards technology with their readiness for the pedagogical usage of mobile phone. It was also found that gender is a possible factor influencing the respondents’ readiness. As implication, this paper probes the influence of technology acceptance on teachers’ readiness for the pedagogical usage of mobile phone and the possible implications this influence affords. (Abstract by authors)

This article describes Open University Malaysia’s efforts at enhancing the blended learning approach for undergraduate distance learners with the successful implementation of the Mobile Learning via SMS initiative. The pilot project was implemented in the May 2009 semester, and the January 2011 semester was its sixth consecutive semester. Aspects such as the conceptual model, the process flow of group messaging, and challenges faced, as well as effectiveness of the initiative, are discussed. (Abstract by authors)

"The book provides education and IT stakeholders with an overview of what has been implemented with the different types of mobile technologies, their pedagogical differences, evaluations of the learning outcomes, and new ideas for their uses as both pedagogical and research tools"--Provided by publisher.