Mobile
learning is gaining remarkable attention in academic platforms due to its
uniqueness in facilitating learning for all levels of education. Many
universities are now incorporating mobile technologies and devices into
learning. The main aim of
this research study is to better understand the prevalence and perceptions of
mobile learning among UPM’s faculty of education students. This paper reports
on the results of a survey of eighty six (86) postgraduate students at
University Putra Malaysia (UPM) about their utilization and perceptions of the
use of mobile technologies and devices in education. An analysis of the
quantitative survey findings is presented focusing on frequency of utilization
of mobile devices for learning, confidence towards using mobile devices and
technologies for learning, impact of mobile learning on students’ performance. The researcher has attempted to determine how this
technology is optimally used to improve student academic performance at the
Faculty of Education at University Putra Malaysia (UPM). Results
revealed that, a majority of the students use their mobile
devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets for writing down assignments,
searching the web for study, accessing the university’s LMS, reading books and
academic papers, email, and
communicating with colleagues on social networks (e.g Face book which is less
often used to communicate with lecturers) (Alvarez, Alarcon, & Nussbaum,
2011).
The majority of students indicated that
mobile learning technologies and devices have improved their academic
performance in different ways. There was higher frequency agreement that social
networking improved students’ learning and Putra LMS improved students’
satisfaction with the courses. The overall interpretation was that mobile
learning has many advantages as it can be used anywhere, anytime while improving communication and
enriching students' learning experiences in their learning.
