Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

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Computers in Human Behavior

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators

Hamid R. Abachi, Ghulam Muhammad ⇑
Dept. of Computer Engineering, College of Computer & Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11543, Saudi Arabia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper addresses the notion of the impact of mobile learning technology from the learner’s as well as
Available online xxxx educator’s point of view. The authors have outlined the application of the e-learning in smart classes,
which is followed by a similar argument with regard to the m-learning technology. This is followed by
Keywords: a statistical evaluation of the m-learning which through multiple surveys is conducted among the under-
E-learning graduate and postgraduate students as well as the academics. In conclusion, the outcomes of these
m-Learning surveys are presented in graphical forms that highlight the merits and demerits of the m-learning
Learning system
technology.
Smart class
Learning management system
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Undoubtedly, all the above categories will significantly improve

the applications of the m-learning with regard to the bandwidth,
Mobile technology can provide the complete tools and services speed, and the reliability of the receiving and transmitting of the
for accessing any video and audio materials that are available on online teaching materials.
the public domain. The 3G technology provides services in areas
such as broadband Internet access, downloading music and
1.1. Application of m-learning in smart classes
uploading video clips to name a few. It can easily provide access
to the Wi-Fi networks, but the speed of the connection depends
Recent advancement in the mobile technology and offering of
on the number of users who simultaneously try to have access to
the 4G features resulted in the wider coverage and improving the
the network. This speed would significantly reduce as the number
reception area which has made the m-services in an education
of the user increases (Wentzel, Lammeren, Molendijk, Bruin, &
environment a very suitable choice and attractive option (Andreu,
Wagtendonk, 2005). The 4G, on the other hand, is the fourth gen-
Almonte, & Rejas, 2011; Hosny, 2007). One way to exercise this
eration of cellular wireless standards (Arshad, Farooq, & Shah,
access option for our students is to use the smart class facility
2010). It is based on TCP/IP protocol, which facilitates a provision
(E-podium) to record the lecture materials in real time environ-
of wireless networks in order to improve services in the areas of vi-
ment. This suggests that we can record while we are lecturing in
deo and multimedia applications. The 4G technology which is
the class. Completion of the recording process can be followed by
based on the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
uploading them on the special Learning Management Services
(WiMax) resulted in improving areas such as, speed, performance,
(LMS), which are readily available and utilized by most universities
reliability, fault tolerance, portability, compatibility and latency in
around the world (Leal & Queirós, 2011). The platforms that are
real time applications. In addition, it improves secure and easier
used in this regard include blackboard, WebCT, to name a few.
access for communication purposes (Adibi, 2010).
Once the materials are uploaded into the platform in question,
To identify the main attributes of 4G technology, one can sum-
then students by using their mobile phones/devices and through
marize them as follows (Bai, Kanickam, & Vijayaraj, 2012).
having access to the Internet, can manage to have an easy access
to their lecture materials anytime, anywhere 24/7 as they may
 Faster communication speed.
see appropriate.
 Wider network spectrum.
This paper presents the impacts of m-learning on educators and
 Better image and video transmission.
students by carefully designed surveys. The surveys are conducted
 More flexible communication.
on both the undergraduate and graduate students, as well as on the
faculty members. A detailed findings from the surveys are re-
ported, and some future directions are discussed. The rest of the
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 14696281. paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses a smart class
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H.R. Abachi), [email protected] (G. room environment which is equipped with E-podium and facili-
Muhammad). tated with LMS for e-learning. Section 3 presents the impact of

0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018

Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018
2 H.R. Abachi, G. Muhammad / Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

m-learning on the students and the educators by some surveys. reader, (viii) keyboard and digital pen, (ix) port to connect to a lap-
Finally, section 4 draws some conclusions. top with the projector screen or the other devices and 8 USB slots.
The software package includes a control screen system that has (x)
students’ attendance display system, (xi) e-notepad, (xii) video
2. Utilization of smart classes using E-podium and LMS in conferencing technology, (xiii) lecture conferencing network tech-
relation to E-learning nology, (xiv) live or recorded video airing icon, (xv) camera docu-
ment icon. Fig. 1 shows an image of an E-podium and its control
An E-podium is a device that controls all the classrooms’ com- system screen used in KSUs’ classrooms.
ponents by an internal control unit along with special software Lecture video recording procedure in which lectures can be re-
for a smart classroom environment. The E-podiums used in the corded and saved on the university servers for the use by the stu-
classrooms at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh are equipped dents can best be explained as follows (E-podium, 2010). The
with the required hardware equipment and software packages professor can turn the video technology (video and audio) of the
(E-podium, 2010). The hardware equipment includes (i) two screen E-podium on, and the whole lecture can be recorded and saved
projectors, (ii) a touch control screen, (iii) projector screen to dis- in an AVI format video. After the completion of the lecture, the pro-
play on the smart board, (iv) digital camera, (v) high quality inter- fessor uploads this video in the corresponding course folder in his
nal speakers, (vi) 3-D highly sensitive microphone, (vii) smart card LMS account. The enrolled students in that course can access this

Fig. 1. Existing E-podium in KSU’s classrooms: (a) hardware and (b) control system.

Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018
 H.R. Abachi, G. Muhammad / Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 3

Fig. 2. A snapshot of recorded lecture in the university server.

video lecture anytime through the Internet. A snapshot of a re- are significantly higher (p < 0.02) than the combined outcome of
corded lecture, which is saved on the university server is shown the other three choices.
in Fig. 2. A flow of the procedure of uploading and downloading/ Fig. 4 shows year-wise percentage of strongly agree and agree
viewing the lecture materials is shown in Fig. 3. It has been stated of the students on the six different items in the survey. As it can
that podcasting, which involves a series of uploading and down- be seen from the result of the survey, students are very much in fa-
loading of audio–video materials, can be effective in m-learning vor of the use of E-podium by the faculty and most important of all
environment (Evans, 2008). their expectations of regular up-to-date of the course materials to
say the least.
2.1. Survey result on technology enhanced learning system On the other hand, there were some concerns with regard to the
easy access to the course materials by using m-services, which
This paper highlights the required steps as how to proceed with needs to receive an immediate attention by the faculty to resolve
different phases of recording the materials and uploading them on this issue in order to make the m-learning highly beneficial. These
the LMS platforms. For examining the outcome and possible merits concerns include but not limited to the improvements of the
of this approach, a survey is conducted among students so that followings.
they could express the effectiveness or otherwise of this approach
towards their better understanding of the subject matter when is  Bandwidth.
compared with the traditional delivery mode of the course materi-  Speed.
als. The outcome of this survey would also shed some lights as  Wide network coverage.
whether or not is it feasible to continue (time wise and financially)  Security.
towards improving any shortcomings that the LMS facility may  Reliability of service provider.
have. The survey is conducted at the end of every semester from
year 2010 among all the undergraduate and graduate students. Ta- Undoubtedly improvements in the above areas would attract
ble 1 gives the description, and the results of the items used in the more m-learning users, which is supported by the outcome of
survey. Each item has five choices, which are strongly agree, agree, the following surveys.
neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. The pool of the students
being surveyed were 35 in first semester in 2010 for this particular 3. Using mobile technology in m-learning environment
survey, which is highlighted in Table 1. The course and the year for
which the survey was conducted was Introduction to Control Sys- At present, one of the most effective tools that contributes to-
tem for the final year undergraduate students. Strongly agree and wards further inspiration and development of students’ willing-
agree are considered positive outcomes of the survey. Statistical ness to enhance their learning activates is, through the use of
analysis (t-test) shows that positive outcomes of all the six items mobile technology in the form of m-Learning.

Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018
4 H.R. Abachi, G. Muhammad / Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Fig. 3. An illustration of the usage of e-technology and m-technology in KSU LMS domain.

Table 1
A sample of survey on technology enhanced learning.

Item no. Item description Strongly agree agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
1 The system should use a variety of teaching methods to enhance understanding of the topic 25 6 4 0 0
2 Faculty member should update the course materials through its web site 28 2 5 0 0
3 Faculty member should interact with the students through LMS 26 3 6 0 0
4 Faculty member should use E-podium in the classroom 32 3 0 0 0
5 Faculty member should record his lecture through E-podium and upload it in LMS 35 0 0 0 0
6 The student has easy access to the course materials via m-service 24 4 2 3 2

m-Learning concentrates on the modifications in the learning provided that the libraries have the license to store them electron-
environment by focusing on proliferation and development of ically on their servers and provide accessibility by the students
new technologies that best can satisfy the consumers’ educational through their mobile devices.
expectations (Ertl, Ebner, & Kikis-Papadakis, 2010; Korucu & Alkan, Improving and providing higher resolution for the cameras
2011). This undoubtedly will affect the ways the students use their (higher pixels) adopted in the mobile phones, facilitates sharper
mobiles for learning and educators for teaching purposes (Bodea, images and would reduce any noises and unwanted distortions that
Dascalu, & Lytras, 2012). otherwise would disturb the image and make it unclear for medical
On the other end of the spectrum, one can argue that the use of diagnoses (Lea & Callaghan, 2011). This is quite evident when, an
m-learning has had similar effect and significant influence on the x-ray or a medical picture is transmitted from a remote medical
manner for which the disadvantaged students utilize m-devices center to a highly specialized clinic in big cities so that the medical
in their learning environment. For example, students with speech experts can provide a diagnosis and second opinion for the treat-
or language impairment which adversely affects their educational ment of a patient. The authors believe that as a new approach one
performance can use the applications’ library of symbols and can include all the past and present medical information of a pa-
text-to-speech conversion to communicate easily and naturally tient, including all his diagnoses tests, x-ray and treatment history
with others, especially in an educational environment. In this sce- and the prescriptions used, on his/her mobile phone. This informa-
nario, this interaction could be with their fellow students or his/her tion are encrypted and can only be used by the owner of the mobile
professor in order to discuss any ambiguity that may arise from phone through his/her finger print sign in approach and the user
studying lecture materials or during the process of completing a name and a password to increase its security. This means if and
laboratory session. There are several factors behind the adaptation when the person in question is away from his/her home and needs
of m-learning, such as, perceived short-term or long term useful- to see a medical practitioner, all the medical history is available and
ness, and personal creativeness. Therefore, m-learning should be can be accessed and provided to the doctor upon patient’s approval.
designed in line with the Technology Acceptance Model (Liu, Li, This is a very valuable application that mobile phones can provide
& Carlsson, 2010). in the area of medical education and treatment of the patients,
There are a growing number of academics accepting the fact especially when a patient is away from home or getting a second
that today’s mobile devices are tomorrow’s textbooks. (Kim, Mims, opinion is of the highest importance.
& Holmes, 2006). Many eBooks manufacturers do see eBooks as a
trend going forward to replace the hardcopy version of publica- 3.1. Some statistical results and comparisons
tions with the electronic version (eBooks). In addition, the experts
in this area claim that these electronic books are not only accessi- Several surveys were conducted to verify the effectiveness of
ble by the eBooks readers yet they are accessible by the m-devices the m-learning at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in

Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018
 H.R. Abachi, G. Muhammad / Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 5

Fig. 4. Percentage of strongly agree and agree responses for the same course in
three different years.
Fig. 5. Response of the undergraduate students to the survey in Table 2.

Table 2
The items of survey on m-learning from undergraduate and postgraduate students’
the majority within the range of 80–90% has responded with
perspective. strongly agree or agree option, which supports their willingness
to have augmented reality technology incorporated into their
Item Item description
no.
course materials. With regard to the second item, the breakdown
of the percentages is as follows: undergraduate and postgraduate
1 How favorable are you to receive your lecture materials combined with
animation features (augmented reality technology)?
students support the idea of receiving regularly an updated of their
2 How favorable are you to receive an updated version of your course course materials through m-learning by more than 80%. To this ef-
materials through m-learning environment every semester? fect, on a similar concept, the educators have responded favorably
3 How favorable are you to receive regular notification regarding your by 70%, whereas 30% responded neutral or disagree.
educational matters through mobile devices?
On the other hand, item 3 results indicate that the students are
4 Are you in favor of E-podium facilities in serving your educational
purposes through m-learning? between 85–95% in favor of receiving regular notification (for
5 How satisfied are you with the existing bandwidth of your mobile in example, group SMS or email to the students) in relation to their
conjunction with your m-learning facility? educational matters through mobile devices, whereas the educa-
6 How quality wise satisfied are you to receive guest lecturer presentation tors have less willingness to the effect of 73% with this regard.
in real time mode through your m-devices?
However, so far as the fourth item is concerned, majority of the
students in the range of 80–90% are in favor of academics using
E-podium for the purpose of recording the lecture materials in real
the department of computer engineering at KSU. The surveys were time and uploading to LMS facilities in order the students to re-
mainly arranged to get feedback from the undergraduate and post- ceive them through their mobile devices. Nevertheless, the re-
graduate students as well as the faculty members, who are two of sponse of the academics in this regard ranges over 66.66% as
the basic elements of m-learning (Ozdamli & Cavus, 2011). Wu being strongly agree and agree, and 33.33% either neutral or dis-
et al. (2012) found that m-learning is most effective in higher edu- agree. The latter result is mainly due to the fact that some of the
cation institutions rather than elementary education institutions. academics are heavily involved in administrative role or research
In our survey, we mainly focus on higher education at different lev- activities.
els. Tables 2 and 3 give the item descriptions of the surveys con- Furthermore, participants’ response in item 5 ranges between
ducted on the students and the educators, respectively. There 50% (for undergraduate) to 60% (for postgraduate) and 66% (for
were five options for each item similar to the survey in Table 1, educators) for strongly agree and agree options. The reason behind
which are strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly dis- having this low percentage result is due to insufficient and weak
agree. The item 1 in the survey is to find the response of the reception that students receive, which undoubtedly will improve
enhancing the learning through m-devices using 2D or 3D anima- as the mobile industry enters into 4G and higher technology as
tion (Cadavieco, Goulao, & Costales, 2012). The other items are to well as more advanced communication technology. Finally, we re-
find the participants’ opinion about regular updating the materials, ceived a very favorable result with regard to item 6, which indi-
receiving in real-time, having a guest lecturer available on m-de- cates more than 90% of participants are enthusiastic about
vices, etc. receiving guest lecturer presentation through m-devices.
Figs. 5–7 show the trend of the participants’ response with re- In summary, the graphical presentations as depicted in Figs. 5–7
spect to the surveys in Tables 2 and 3 for two different courses indicate that the undergraduate and postgraduate students as well
at undergraduate and graduate levels during the first semester of as the academics are very much in favor of using m-learning tech-
2012 academic session. As far as the first item of the survey with nology for their educational purposes. Nevertheless, still there are
respect to the different classes of participants is concerned, nearly some reservations among participants when an inquiry was made

Table 3
The items of survey on m-learning from educators’ perspective.

Item no. Item description

1 Are you in favor of using augmented reality technology (for example, 3-D area calculations) in conjunction with your lecture materials?
2 Are you in favor of regular updating of your course materials by using m-learning technology?
3 Are you in favor of regular communication with the students through mobile facilities?
4 Are you in favor of using E-podium for real time recording of your lecture materials and uploading them through m-devices?
5 Are you satisfied with the degree of the security implemented in your m-devices?
6 Are you in favor of using Distributed Multimedia System using m-devices to conduct your lecture materials in conjunction with the multi-campus universities?

Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018
6 H.R. Abachi, G. Muhammad / Computers in Human Behavior xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

important m-services in the knowledge society can be related to,

when, where and how to access the stored information. At present,
the use of knowledge and the latest communication technology in
learning and teaching environment is not only a beneficial tool to
enhance educational methodology, yet its variety, equips students
with the opportunity to choose and ultimately utilize the best
technology available to them towards achieving the best learning
outcomes.
In order to clearly justify the claims made in this regard, the
authors have conducted a series of surveys at KSU, department of
Computer Engineering among the undergraduate and postgraduate
students as well as the academics to receive a clear indication with
this regard. The outcome of these surveys clearly indicates that all
Fig. 6. Response of the postgraduate students to the survey in Table 2.
participants, whether learners or educators are in favor of utiliza-
tion of m-technology in an educational environment where they
have expressed some security and coverage concerns, which need
to be addressed accordingly.

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Please cite this article in press as: Abachi, H. R., & Muhammad, G. The impact of m-learning technology on students and educators. Computers in Human
Behavior (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.06.018