Mobile Learning as a Solution for Restricted Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The proliferation of smartphones and web technology 2.0 raises the possibilities for supporting mobile learning during the COVID-19 outbreak. This quantitative research attempted to justify the use of mobile learning as a potential tool to fill the gap of restricted learning in higher education during this COVID-19 crisis. Respondents were chosen through multi-stage random sampling. A total of 116 teachers and 291 students from a state university in the Philippines answered the online survey. As results indicated, mobile internet access through smartphones was the primary educational gadget used by the students nowadays. They were familiar with mobile learning however they had little experience in the utilization of it before the pandemic crisis. Most of the teachers and students viewed mobile learning as an indispensable learning tool and agreed about its significance during this time of restricted learning despite some difficulties in implementation. However, some teachers and the majority of the students resisted using m-learning after the crisis. Such reasons must be addressed by the institution to ensure the effective implementation of m-learning for learning continuity nowadays and for the possible transition into m-learning in the future. It is also crucial to consider the qualitative part of this study to shed more light on the perception of the respondents and the veracity of the results.