We know that students use mobile phones for everything from instant communication to entertaining themselves, so why is it that they have not ‘caught on’ as learning tools? I have often pondered this question when I am designing units of learning for my students, and I think the answer lies in the technology’s multimedia and interface design. Both Ting (2012), and Tan et al (2012) see the greater difficulty in reading text on a mobile phone (as a result of its small screen size) as well as the lack of mouse and keyboard as major limitations to the use of mobile phones in learning. They also point out the graphical limitations of mobile phones in displaying pictures and images as further barriers. It would seem that mobile phones are great for on-the-go, instant communication but not necessarily good to enhance learning…at least not
We know that students use mobile phones for everything from instant communication to entertaining themselves, so why is it that they have not ‘caught on’ as learning tools? I have often pondered this question when I am designing units of learning for my students, and I think the answer lies in the technology’s multimedia and interface design. Both Ting (2012), and Tan et al (2012) see the greater difficulty in reading text on a mobile phone (as a result of its small screen size) as well as the lack of mouse and keyboard as major limitations to the use of mobile phones in learning. They also point out the graphical limitations of mobile phones in displaying pictures and images as further barriers. It would seem that mobile phones are great for on-the-go, instant communication but not necessarily good to enhance learning…at least not