Research Critique: Exploring the uses of mobile phones to support informal learning (Santos & Ali, 2011).
by Donggil Song, 2011.
In the target study, ‘Exploring the uses of mobile phones to support informal learning’, the authors (Santos & Ali, 2011) investigated how a group of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use mobile phones to perform informal learning related to their courses. The authors adopted an exploratory case study design and used questionnaires, interviews, and diary entries. The results showed that the participants performed informal learning activities without teachers’ guidance. In addition, the participants used only a few applications but these were considered useful to informal learning. Informal learning could not be measured by means of indicators traditionally used in the field of education (Skule, 2004). Thus, it was a progressive approach to measure informal learning activities of learners with mobile devices. Considering the significance and novelty of the research topic, it is suggested that this study could contribute to the mobile learning field. Result interpretations, and logical connections, the trial and the findings are significant to the field of mobile learning and informal learning.
