Mobile learning in Chinese higher education: student perspectives, advantages and challenges

Abstract

The focus of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Chinese university students towards mobile learning and their perceived advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning. A random sample of 104 students from a public university was asked to answer a questionnaire on mobile learning. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: closed-ended questions and open-ended questions. The closed-ended questions were based on a Likert scale and were about the students' attitudes towards mobile learning. The open-ended questions were about the advantages and challenges of mobile learning. First the researcher conducted a descriptive analysis of the data collected through the Likert scale, which was carried out using SPSS(Statistical Product and Service Solutions). In addition, this study also conducted a thematic analysis of open-ended questions on the benefits and problems of mobile learning using NVIVO software. The results of the survey showed that the majority of students were more positive about the effectiveness of mobile learning, while most of them also felt that mobile learning was accompanied by additional distractions. In addition, the responses to the open-ended questions collected showed that the advantages of mobile learning as perceived by the students included convenience, environmental friendliness, rich learning resources, facilitation of communication, educational equality and accessibility, ease of review, personalized learning and facilitation of time management. Additional challenges to mobile learning include: distractions, threats to privacy, health issues, device failure, high costs, difficulty in replacing writing, poor supervision, uneven information on the internet and software adaptability. This study has important implications for future policy makers or headmasters to further improve the effectiveness of mobile learning for university students. Future research should adopt a larger sample size methodology to provide more detailed and comprehensive survey data.