Learning with smartphones: a Hong Kong experience

INFuture2015

Zvjezdana DukicThe University of Hong Kong

dana.dukic@gmail.com

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Smartphone penetration 2014Singapore

South KoreaSweden

Hong KongSpainChina

DenmarkUK

NorwayTaiwan

AustraliaNetherlands

IrelandIsrael

SwitzerlandNew Zealand

FinlandUSA

Canada

85%80%

75%74%

72%70%69%68%68%67%66%65%65%

62%60%

58%57%57%57%Source: Google's Consumer Barometer

Hong Kong MTR

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Smartphone use

What?

Where?

Source: data from Morgan Stanley, Google Think and Opera

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Research questions

This study intends to answer the following research questions:• To what extent LIS students use smartphones for

academic leaning?• What typical learning related activities do LIS

students perform with smartphones?• What are possible barriers to LIS students’

smartphones use for learning?

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Research method

• Research method: online survey• Research technique: questionnaire – 17 questions: 15 closed-ended and 2 open-ended– 3 parts: demographic data, smartphone use for daily

needs, smartphone use for learning purposes

• Sample: 93 LIS bachelor and master students – University of Hong Kong

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Sample demographic characteristics

Male

Female

35%

65%

Gender20 - 30

31 - 40

41 - 50

54%

43%

3%

Age

Bachelor degree students

Master degree students

42%

58%

Study level

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Smartphone use for daily needsCommunicate with email, SMS, chat, etc.

Use search engines

Use social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter)

Games, music, movies, TV series, etc

Use productivity tools (calendar, notes etc.)

Casual reading

Find locations (streets, restaurants etc.)

Accessing reference sources (e.g. encyclopedias, dictionaries)

Hobbies, sports, fitness, travel

Academic reading: articles, e-books, websites etc.

95%

89%

83%

82%

75%

75%

59%

52%

46%

40%

Popular activities: talking, sending email, texting, chatting, connecting with social media, using search engines and productivity tools, casual reading

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Smartphone use for learning

Study findings on LIS students’ smartphone use for learning are organized under four major categories: • communication and sharing • browsing, reading, viewing and listening • searching and accessing information and• using productivity tools and recording

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Communication and sharing

Talking to classmates to discuss course materials, as-signment etc.

Using email, SMS, MMS or chat apps for study related issues with classmates/teachers

Posting to class forums on the learning management platform (e.g. Moodle)

Posting or commenting study related items to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

58%

62%

26%

33%

Daily/weekly

• Study participants frequently use smartphones to discuss study related issues by talking or texting

• Extensive smartphone use for study related communication indicates that smartphones facilitate collaborative learning

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Browsing, reading, viewing & listening

Browsing through websites, blogs, wikis, micro-blogs etc.Browsing or reading posts on social networking sites (e.g.

Facebook)Reading articles from academicl journals & magazines

Reading e-books

Viewing a video clip (from YouTube, TED talks or similar)Accessing and browsing learning management platform for

information or resources (e.g. Moodle)Listening to podcasts

68%

85%

22%

23%

55%

24%

22%

Daily/weekly use

• Study participants use smartphones to browse websites, read posts on social networking sites and watch video clips

• Less frequently they read academic literature

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Searching and accessing information

Accessing and searching library catalog

Accessing and searching e-databases

Accessing reference sources (e.g. encyclopedia, dictionary)

Searching with search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo)

28%

20%

44%

79%

Daily/weekly use

• More often they search with search engines than by using e-databases or library catalogs

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Using productivity tools and recording

Planning or checking a personal schedule (e.g. Google calendar, organizers)

Making notes with note taking tools (e.g. Evernote)

Creating documents (e.g. text, presentation, spreadsheets)

Taking photos to record learning materials (e.g. book pages, slides)

Audio recording presentations, seminars, interview, etc.

55%

45%

21%

45%

28%

Daily/weekly use

• Frequently use scheduling and note taking tools• Photo taking is also popular

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Barriers to smartphone use for learning

Screen size is too small

Reading is difficult

Typing is difficult

Web page is not formatted for smartphone

Load time is slow

87%

82%

72%

86%

72%

Medium/high barrier

• Small screen is the major barrier• Web pages not formatted for smartphones and slow load

time are also high barriers

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Conclusions

• LIS students from Hong Kong use smartphones for learning and study purposes

• They use smartphones for browsing, reading or watching study related materials from the Internet but less frequently for reading academic journals and e-books

• Further, they use smartphones for searching with search engines, but less frequently for searching library catalogs and e-databases

• LIS students frequently use productivity tools (e.g. calendars, note taking tools, to-do lists) and photo taking smartphone capabilities

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Conclusions

• Study findings also show that LIS students commonly use smartphones to discuss study relates issues with classmates, therefore, smartphones can be considered as facilitators of collaborative learning

• Major barriers are smartphone small screen, absence of smartphone friendly webpages and too slow loading time

• Findings of the study can be useful for educators and librarians

• Further studies on smartphone use for learning are recommended