Informal learning with PDAs and smartphones

TLDR

Informal learning has attracted growing interest, yet little is known about how adults use their own mobile devices to support it. This study surveys experienced mobile users to assess intentional, opportunistic, and collaborative informal learning practices. Participants were recruited from web forums and business contexts and asked about their use of mobile devices for informal learning. The survey uncovered diverse learning uses, from unchanged device functions to adaptations that better fit learner needs, forming the basis of a flexible mobile learning framework that can evolve with mobile and Web 2.0 technologies.

Abstract

Abstract There has been increasing interest in informal learning in recent years alongside interest in how such learning can be supported by technology. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which adults make use of their own mobile devices to support informal learning. In this study, a survey was used to investigate whether, and to what extent, experienced users of mobile devices use their mobile devices to support intentional informal learning. If so, do they make use of mobile device connectivity to support opportunistic informal learning and does such connectivity support or encourage collaborative informal learning? Experienced mobile device users were recruited from web forums and business, and asked whether they used their devices to support informal learning. A pattern of learning uses emerged, some of which deployed the mobile device capabilities relatively unchanged, others triggered adaptations to typical learning activities to provide a better fit to the needs of the learner. These informal learning activities provided the basis for the design of a flexible mobile learning framework that can be extended to support developments in mobile technology, and increasing use of Web 2.0 technologies by informal learners.