Integrating Mobile Learning in an Undergraduate Course: An Exploration of Affordances and Challenges for Learners in UAE

This study investigated students’ perceptions towards the affordances and challenges of integrating mobile learning (m-learning) into an undergraduate course. It also examined the impact of students’ gender on their perceived affordances and challenges. The relationship between students’ perceived affordances and perceived challenges of m-learning was also explored. Questionnaires distributed to 76 students and semi-structured interviews conducted with 17 students were used for collecting data to answer the research questions. The results revealed that students’ perceptions towards the affordances of m-learning were particularly positive. They indicated that m-learning can provide an active, flexible, contextualised, and situated learning environment. However, several challenges are associated with mlearning integration. Most notable are: distraction, small device screens, plagiarism, cost, and parents’ negative attitudes toward m-learning. The study also revealed that students’ gender significantly impacted on the perceived affordances and challenges of m-learning. Finally, a negative significant correlation was found between mobile technology affordances and challenges.