Evaluating Available Educational Options for M-Learning Applications

Mobile learning has appeared on the market as an attractive educational option and has produced some promising results, but it is still in the experimental stages and many problems need to be worked out to allow for full-course delivery. At present it functions best as a learning support tool. M-devices are still in the first generation and their full pedagogical potential is yet to be explored, but it appears that m-learning is on the edge of becoming an exciting educational alternative. M-learning developed in response to the great popularity of m-devices in our hi-tech society, especially among the young. It also has promise as an option for providing continuing education and training for adults; an important area since upgrading of work skills is increasingly demanded by employers in a rapidly innovative society. Moreover, education has become “life-long” and with increased leisure people are interested in self-improvement learning. Other target groups identified as amenable to e-learning are nontraditional learners, drop-outs, and the learning impaired. The paper evaluates the role mlearning has assumed as an educational option and examines some of the groups, environments, and application formats that this technology has served. It also looks into the future and the applicability of m-learning to the emerging nations whose weak telecommunications infrastructure makes this type of learning especially relevant. The paper sees m-learning as a clearly dominant trend in a rapidly developing innovative society whose long-term impact and consequences are as yet unforeseen