[Paper Review] Evaluating m-learning in Saudi Arabian higher education: a case study

Salem Alkhalaf|arXiv (Cornell University)|Oct 12, 2015

Mobile Learning in Education30 references3 citations

TL;DR

This study evaluates mobile learning (m-learning) implementation in a Saudi Arabian university course at Qassim University, involving 100 students across the 2014 academic year. Using a questionnaire survey of 90 valid responses, the research demonstrates that m-learning enhances reflective thinking, peer collaboration, and social knowledge construction, though limited wireless bandwidth remains a key barrier to wider adoption.

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, mobile devices have become increasingly a part of education for those who study or teach at the university level and school levels. The support of electronic learning (elearning) is essential to making mobile learning (m-learning) successful. This paper presents a study that applies mlearning to a course at Qassim University, where 100 students attended during the academic year 2014, including summer courses. The study aims to demonstrate that m-learning provides students with the ability to engage in reflective thinking, to share information among peers and to facilitate the construction of social knowledge. 90 student questionnaires were filled correctly, remaining 10 had various anomalies and thus were not considered. The study also aims to demonstrate that learning provides methods for education strategies to be easily and rapidly applied. Such strategies include team work, time management, etc. In order to judge the feasibility of applying m-learning widely, a questionnaire was developed. The results indicate that m-learning helps make the process of education more convenient than in the past. A major disadvantage of applying m-learning is inadequate wireless network bandwidth.

Motivation & Objective

• To assess the effectiveness of m-learning in enhancing student engagement and knowledge construction in a university-level course.
• To examine how m-learning supports educational strategies such as teamwork and time management.
• To evaluate the feasibility of scaling m-learning across Saudi Arabian higher education institutions.
• To identify technical and infrastructural challenges, particularly related to wireless network bandwidth.

Proposed method

• A case study approach was applied to a single course at Qassim University during the 2014 academic year.
• M-learning was implemented using mobile devices to support learning activities, including content access and peer interaction.
• A custom questionnaire was developed to collect student feedback on m-learning experiences.
• 90 valid responses were analyzed from a total of 100 distributed questionnaires, after excluding those with data anomalies.
• Data analysis focused on assessing perceived benefits in reflective thinking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
• The study used qualitative and quantitative feedback to evaluate the practicality and impact of m-learning in a real-world higher education setting.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 To what extent does m-learning support reflective thinking among university students in Saudi Arabia?
• RQ2 How effectively does m-learning facilitate peer-to-peer information sharing and social knowledge construction?
• RQ3 What are the perceived benefits of m-learning in supporting educational strategies like teamwork and time management?
• RQ4 What are the main technical barriers to implementing m-learning at scale in Saudi higher education?
• RQ5 How feasible is the widespread adoption of m-learning in the Saudi university context?

Key findings

• M-learning significantly enhanced students' ability to engage in reflective thinking, as reported in the survey responses.
• Students reported improved opportunities for sharing information and collaborating with peers through mobile platforms.
• The use of m-learning supported the practical application of educational strategies such as teamwork and time management.
• A major technical limitation identified was insufficient wireless network bandwidth, which hindered consistent access and performance.
• Despite challenges, students perceived m-learning as making the educational process more convenient than traditional methods.
• The study concluded that m-learning is a viable and beneficial approach for higher education in Saudi Arabia, provided infrastructure issues are addressed.