Hello Helen,

Good afternoon.

A very interesting question.

While I have not yet done research to shed light on the above, from personal observation I would have to say there are indeed differences.

1. Students who use mobile devices, while studying on campus, do not necessarily use them for learning. They are, more often than not, on all the various social sites/networks of which you can think. If they do use them, they may do so to check emails that may pertain to their classes/studies.

- The mobile device for this set of students is not seen as a learning tool.

2. Students who use mobile devices for off campus/distance learning will see value in the mobile device, as they understand that they are to be used for maximising their educational experiences.

- The mobile device for this set of students is seen as a learning tool.

I hope this helps.

Warm Wishes,

Kerwin.

I did no research on that specifically, but on my experience, the weight of the mobile device and the use play a role. Medical students for example at our faculty do not carry necessarily a complete notebook with them while learning during lectures and so on because most of the time they just need PDF and Internet.

But if they do Group Work and need to do presentations and share documents they use MS Office PPT and MS WORD leading to the use of a full Computer. Typing on mobile devices is not easy and PPT is just not working properly. Furthermore some programs for learning just do not come as an app.

Maybe this can be a topic to look after,

Yours,

Helmut

In my research (we did a survey n=1200) we found that students studying at a distance were more likely to use desktop and laptop computers for learning. Students on campus tended to have more devices and to use them for learning. I was wondering how general this phenomenon was. Thanks Helmut and Kerwin!

Dear Helen Sara

Really, your question is very nice.

I am fully agreed with your question. I also feel the same in my class lecture, if any students used mobile in front of me during the lecture.