Mobile Learning in a Mobile World: Understanding the Views of Parents with Mobile Technology in the Singaporean Elementary Classroom

Personal handheld mobile technology represents a growing topic of interest for K-12 educators. Devices such as iPads, tablets, and smartphones, in particular, are becoming more ubiquitous in society and prevalent in classrooms of children of all ages. The ease of access, combined with growing functionality and capacity of these devices creates opportunities that were previously unimaginable. Professional educators are beginning to recognize the value such devices offer for enriching and expanding opportunities for learning both inside and outside of the classroom. The views of educators and students regarding mobile technology have been well documented in existing literature. What is less clear is how parents view personal mobile technology when applied to formal and informal learning opportunities. Using quantitative analysis, this study examines the views of parents when mobile technology is utilized in Singaporean third grade classrooms. This study represents a pioneering effort to better understand the evolving role of parents and serves as a foundation for future research to explore the role of parents as partners when personal mobile technology is used for learning. The constructs identified in this study reveal that parents do believe technology skills are important in the modern age of learning and working