Student Feedback in Mobile Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Mobile learning is believed the trend for future education. It provides real-time, rich content, interactive, teamwork, and work-integrated learning to learners anytime and anywhere. It makes flexible personal learning available to meet the needs for new generation and special students. It also gives opportunities for good educators and good teaching materials to reach thousands of learners all over the world. However, it has also been criticized as lack of personal contacts, lack of body and facial languages, and lack of control on the quality of teaching. Many empirical studies were focusing on the differences between online or mobile learning and traditional learning methods. They tried to find out what could be enhanced for new developed blended learning or mobile learning programs. To assist student learning for Economics subjects, Tutors in Pockets was designed and developed for iOS and Android devices. This study collected primary data from both Australia and China to identify the students’ attitude toward mobile learning, their using patterns, and learning patterns on mobile devices, and their experience and expectation for the benefits received from Tutors in Pockets. The first section introduces mobile learning and its characteristics. The previous empirical findings are summarized in the second section to compare the advantages and disadvantages for mobile learning compared to traditional learning methods. The third section discusses the design of this study and the mobile program implemented in basic macroeconomic course – Tutors in Pockets. The fourth section presents the sample collected from Australia and China and analyzes the data. The last section summarizes the findings from this study and suggests for future mobile teaching and learning programs.

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

1 Introduction

Mobile teaching and learning (M-learning) is believed the future for modern education (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). It engaged students in their subjects, assisted learning process, enhanced personal learning, and increased discussion and performances (Mishra 2013; Bredl and Bösche 2013; Butoi et al. 2013). Some researchers also found it benefited the lifelong learning (Liaw et al. 2010; Sharples 2000) and benefited special learners (Cumming et al. 2013). There are also some argument on the negative influence brought by mobile devices, such as loose focus and addictive to mobile games instead of learning (Bredl and Bösche 2013).

To assist students learning process, a mobile app (application) “Tutors in Pockets” was designed and developed for Economics subjects for iOS and Android devices (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”). It was introduced to undergraduate and postgraduate students and teachers in Economics subjects from 2011 to 2013 in University of Wollongong. Both qualitative interviews and quantitative online survey were conducted in Australia. The results showed that mobile learning had a positive influence on student’s learning process and performance.

Universities and students are also different in different countries (see Chaps. 35, “Cross-Country University Collaboration Barriers and Solutions”, and 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). To understand the differences on mobile learning in different countries, another survey was conducted in three different universities in China in 2013. The results showed students from different countries and cultural backgrounds have very different expectations on mobile educational apps and different learning styles on mobile devices (see Chap. 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat”). Cross-country and cross-culture educational mobile app designers should take into accounts these differences to reach their students and benefit more audiences.

2 Literature and Empirical Studies

The skills, knowledge, and expectations of students today are different from those of students ten years ago (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). Oblinger and Oblinger (2005) found Millennials (students born since 1982) are very different from the previous students. They are multitask learners. They prefer multimedia courseware than text. They prefer interactive and network in learning. They have shorter attention spans and poorer text literacy. They are usually lack of reflections and quality of sources. Many empirical researchers found similar results in their studies (Rennie and Morrison 2012; Vogel et al. 2009). How to teach the new generation who was born with all the technology and new devices already been adopted from early childhood in their lives is a challenge to all the educators from preschool to universities. Most educators agreed that the old teaching methods have to be changed to suit new situation and help new students in their learning process. The changes are needed, but how? Mobile technology has been introduced in education for several decades. As many other learning methods, mobile learning has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Mobile learning or distance learning was introduced to high education from the very traditional mobile devices with only black and white screens in the 1970s (Alley 2009). But it grows very fast with the new generation of mobile devices, high-speed data transferring capabilities, and multimedia-supported functions provided by device providers, telecommunication operators, service providers, and content providers in the mobile telecommunication industry (Zhang 2012a; see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). Mobile learning is also adopted by educators in universities, schools, and educational associations. Many leading designers and educators adopted mobile learning or blend learning in their subjects in different disciplines (Bredl and Bösche 2013; Cumming et al. 2013; Fernández-López et al. 2013; see Chap. 21, “Adoption of Mobile Technology in Higher Education: Introduction”). Multimedia, social media, new technologies, and new devices were adopted and developed too (Holotescu and Grosseck 2011; Yuh-Shyan et al. 2004; see Chaps. 53, “Advanced Image Retrieval Technology in Future Mobile Teaching and Learning,” 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat,” and 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”). Thousands of students were benefited from these projects, and they are proved to have positive influence on teaching and learning.

The benefits from mobile learning include correcting misconceptions; increasing learning efficiency; increasing understanding (on complex concepts); facilitating learning from anywhere, anytime; increasing communication between students with their peers and students with teachers; helping students with special needs; engaging students in their studies; enhancing their final performance; helping understand the tasks in real world; enhancing teamwork skills; and benefiting the students’ lifelong learning (Akamca et al. 2009; Evans 2008; Fernández-López et al. 2013; Oblinger and Oblinger 2005; Slavin 1980; Sung and Hwang 2013; see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). There are many new benefits that are linked with multimedia learning and learning with social media (Collins et al. 2006; Kennedy et al. 2013; Alley 2009; Vogel et al. 2009; Zhang 2012b). With new technologies and devices which have been introduced into mobile learning, it is expected to bring more benefits to the students and learners. Although mobile learning brought many benefits to educators and students, it is limited by some technical and ethic barriers (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”; Zhang 2012a).

Current technologies still cannot fulfill a real “anytime” and “anywhere” learning due to the quality of signal connection, software and hardware barriers, wireless security issues, and high costs of wireless connections (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). The national security issues, political considerations, and monopoly power in telecommunication industries also influenced the adoption of mobile learning anywhere and anytime (Zhang 2012a). In addition, the high costs on smartphones and wireless data transfer are barriers for mobile learning. Some empirical studies also found that not all the students have smartphones or prefer mobile learning method (Peter and Gina 2008; McCombs 2010; O’Day 2010; see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). There were discussions on if young kids should be have too many screen times per day as it may affect their eye health. Online learning and mobile learning are criticized for its lack of facial and body languages and eye contacts during the teaching process as well as reducing the time for real face-to-face social communications (Qiu and McDougall 2013; Rennie and Morrison 2012). Mobile learning, as most of the other learning methods, does not satisfy the needs of everyone due to its current limitations and individual preference (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”).

Some educators also combined mobile technology with social media to implement their teaching designs (see Chap. 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat”). How could we expect the current mobile services and social networks now from 10 years ago? Mobile technology is changing the way people think, learn, and work. It has changed people’s life. With new technologies and advanced mix educational methods developed, most of these issues are expected to be addressed in the future (see Chap. 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat”). However, social media are different in different countries due to language, cultural, and political reasons (see Chap. 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat”; Zhang 2012a).

To bring the technology into one of the most traditional disciplines, Economics, a mobile app, is designed and developed for both iOS and Android version (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”). The mobile app, Tutors in Pockets, has been introduced to first year and third year undergraduate Economics students and postgraduate students in University of Wollongong from 2012 (the iOS version) to 2013 (the iOS and Android version). This project is expected to help students on their understanding of basic economic conceptions, engage students in their economic studies, correct misconception problems, and improve subject performance for Economics subject in the University of Wollongong. The project was also greatly supported by internal and external development team and business. Each version was introduced to students for one session, and the evaluation was then released and collected through online surveys and face-to-face interviews in the end of the session.

Both qualitative and quantitative studies were conducted to evaluate the result of this project to give a combined objective and subjective results on the TIPs evaluation. The results are expected to shed a light on future mobile learning system design and development. To study the different views on mobile learning from different countries, another survey was also conducted in three different universities in China. The compared results are given in the following sections.

3 Qualitative and Quantitative Study on Tutors in Pockets

3.1 Qualitative Interview for Multimedia Teaching

To assist students’ learning in Economics subjects, a mobile application, called “Tutors in Pockets” or “TIPs,” is designed and developed (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”). The iOS version for TIPs is developed in 2012 and introduced to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. TIPs is designed to help reduce the learning barriers and enhance learning experience via multimedia teaching materials and mobile technology. Multimedia teaching materials with real case studies were developed first for 200 economic basic conceptions. These materials are reviewed by students and staffs (lectures and tutors) from Economics and other disciplines through face-to-face interviews. Table 1 shows the interview results from this study.

Table 1 Interview results on multimedia teaching materials

3.2 Survey for Tips iOS Version

With all these positive responses and supports, TIPs (iOS version) was finalized and released to students in June 2012. Figure 1 shows the poster for TIPs. To reduce the access barriers, a QR code was adopted in this project. Students can easily scan this code from their iOS mobile devices (iPhone or iPad) and download TIPs from UOW server automatically if they do not want to input the download link into the web browser in their mobile devices.

Fig. 1

TIPs poster for iOS devices in 2012 (Source: developed by the author for TIPs)

The first version (iOS version) is designed with online part only. Students can view all the text contents in this application. But for any figure or animated materials, students need to have access to mobile signal to learn from it (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”). A total of 80 animated cartoons or figures were developed for 200 economic conceptions in the first version. Students can learn from the lists or search concepts in the application. Some concepts have tables, animated cartoons, formulas, or case studies. One has video linked to the server, and some of them have links to outside authorities (such as Reserve Bank of Australia or Australian Statistics websites). The update function is also available for any new contents in the knowledge database. Students can update their knowledge by clicking the “update” button in the settings page of the application. It is usually recommended that the students have a Wi-Fi connection when they update the application or view videos during study because of the high costs of mobile connection (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”; Zhang 2012a).

TIPs was introduced to the first year undergraduate, third year undergraduate, and postgraduate Economics subjects in 2012. More than 500 students got access to the application. However, not all of them have iOS mobile devices, which is required for the first TIPs version. The real adoption rate is also limited by students’ personal preferences, class attendance, information sharing between students, and technology issues during download and first access. A quantitative survey and qualitative face-to-face interviews were designed and adopted in the end of the session where TIPs was adopted.

Figure 1 shows the first poster designed form TIPS iOS version release. The poster was introduced in class and also posted in campus to facilitate students’ access and download. This is greatly supported by ITS (Information and Technology Service) from the University of Wollongong (UOW). They have implemented an app site for all the UOW teaching and learning apps, with TIPs on the lists. The server space provided by ITS also helped on TIPs download and access. However, as the first version is required to be used as internal app, they are not allowed to be downloaded by public audience. Students or staffs from UOW must log in with their university account to download this application to their mobile devices.

A quantitative survey was conducted in August 2012 to collect the feedback from all subject students. Due to the survey, a total of 56 students attended the study online, including 22 male students and 25 female students. All of the surveyed students have mobile devices, and 64 % were using iPhone. A total 79 % of sample students have difficulties in understanding some economic concepts before.

As a result, students indicated that TIPs had positive influence on their learning efficiency (82 %), utilizing small time slots (82 %), increasing interest in economics (73 %), assisting lectures and tutorials (64 %), helping study anytime and anywhere (64 %), engaging discussion with peers and teachers (55 %), and enhancing subject performance (45 %). Due to the strong needs of Android version by students, the second stage of the project was designed and developed in 2013.

3.3 Survey for TIPs 2 (iOS and Android Versions)

The Android version of TIPs was developed and introduced into Economics subjects in 2013. The iOS version of TIPs was also revised with some functions improved and an online-offline strategy adopted (to achieve a real anytime-and-anywhere study). More multimedia teaching materials were developed for TIPs 2. Some suggestions from students and staffs were taken into accounts in the revision of TIPs iOS version and development of Android version. After the condensed developing and testing processes with great supports from a business partner and all team members in University of Wollongong, the TIPs 2 (both iOS and Android versions) was released to students in July 2013. Both online and offline functions were designed and developed in the second version to improve the learning anytime-and-anywhere experience. Students do not need access to mobile signal connection to learn from their mobile devices now. All text, figures, and animations are installed into the students’ mobile phone in the first download. The connection with server via mobile Wi-Fi or cellular signal is only required when there are new contents that need to be updated. The real benefits from mobile learning were enhanced in the second version. The second version on Google Play is also accessible by all public audience for free. Figure 2 shows the poster for TIPs 2.

Fig. 2

TIPs 2 poster for iOS and Android devices in 2013 (Source: developed by the author for TIPs 2)

To reduce the access barriers, two QR codes were adopted in this project. Students can easily scan the codes from their mobile devices and download TIPs from UOW server and Google Play automatically. It was introduced into three tutorials of a first year undergraduate subject to compare the differences of adopted and not adopted groups. To make it available to more students (with other mobile devices or no mobile devices), the developed teaching materials are also adopted in class for these groups. Animations and figures were adopted in lecture slides. The evaluations of the use of animations were summarized in the following section.

A survey was conducted to collect the students’ feedback for TIPs 2 in September 2013. A total of 54 students attended the study online, including 31 male students and 23 female students. Most sample students have one or two smartphones, and only two students indicated that they have no smartphone. There were 74 % students with iOS devices, followed by android devices (24 %), and others (7 % for Nokia, Win Phone, and BlackBerry).

As a result, students indicated that TIPs had positive influence on their learning efficiency (38 %), utilizing small time slots (32 %), increasing interest in economics (26 %), assisting lectures and tutorials (38 %), helping study anytime and anywhere (56 %), engaging discussion with peers and teachers (9 %), and enhancing subject performance (26 %). The results are different from the first year’s results. One possible reason is that the sample group is first year undergraduate students only in 2013.

3.4 Objective Evaluation for TIPs 2

To evaluate the objective results of adopted and non-adopted groups, the tutorial tests, essay assessment, and final exam results of each group were also compared. The results are showed in Table 2. The marks are from the first year Macroeconomic students in spring session 2013. There are 446 students with all marks in 24 groups (tutorials). The performances were evaluated in their average marks for tutorial preparation, in-class quiz, essay assessment, final exam, and overall marks for all the previous assessments.

Table 2 Compare the average group performance with and without TIPs

The results indicated that groups with TIPs adopted in class have higher performance in each of the individual assessments and overall marks. The average marks for groups with TIPs adopted were 4.24 higher than those without TIPs adopted. One of the students also indicated to anther Economics teacher: “I had no idea what economics is but now I am interested in economics.” Students from the “TIPs” groups were engaged in more group discussions and provided more suggestions. They focus longer than the other groups. Some of them gave feedback during class and in the next class. Two students found few typing errors in the mobile application. Their names were also updated in the contributors’ list in the settings page of the application.

It shows that TIPs has very positive influences on students’ performances and increases their understanding and interests in the teaching materials. There are also positive results from the tutorial class with animated lecture slides from TIPs materials. Students were more engaged and indicated that the materials were very helpful to their studies. Although most materials are basic conceptions and case study on threshold concepts instead of solving difficult questions or practice questions for exams, students were very active in discussion. As in Table 2, the objective performance from tutorial marks, essay marks, and final marks is much higher than the groups that did not adopt these teaching materials, which shows the multimedia materials are not only useful on mobile devices but also helpful in normal class.

Figure 3 shows some cartoons adopted in the lecture slides and TIPs mobile application. They give examples of basic economic conceptions: inflation, demand curve, and monetary policies. Some misconception problems are also indicated in these figures. A picture is worth a thousand words (Larive 2008). One cartoon can present the basic conception, hypothesis of the situation, cases to help understanding, and formula for calculation in some cases. Other animated cases can be found in Tutors in Pockets application from Google Play (see Chap. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics”).

Fig. 3

Some animated cartoons and figures in Tutors in Pockets (Source: From Tutors in Pockets developed by the author)

During the interviews with individual students and staffs in 2012, some international students and staffs indicated that multimedia teaching materials and mobile learning methods can benefit international students and assist their learning with a nonnative language. To understand better the differences of local students and international students, another study was conducted in June–July 2013.

As the number of Chinese students in Australia increased dramatically in recent years, the survey was conducted in three different universities in China. They are East China Jiaotong University (in Jiang Xi province, China), Beijing Information Science and Technology University (in Beijing, China), and University of Science and Technology of China (in Anhui province, China). Both undergraduate and postgraduate students are invited to attend this study.

The result of this survey is compared with the Australian survey result collected for TIPs 2 to identify the different using patterns of mobile devices, mobile learning, and expectation of mobile learning applications from Australian and Chinese students. They are introduced in the next section.

4 Compare the Differences from Australia and China

To study the influence of cultural differences on mobile learning, two surveys were conducted separately in China and Australia. The Chinese survey was collected from 183 postgraduate and undergraduate students from East China Jiaotong University, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, and University of Science and Technology of China in June–July 2013. The surveyed universities are located in Beijing, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces, which are far from north to south of China. The results are believed to represent the most general university student groups in the Chinese universities.

The Australian survey was collected from 54 first year undergraduate Economics students (majority of the students are local students) in the University of Wollongong in September 2013. Instead of evaluating TIPs only, this study focuses on the different views of students on mobile device usage, how they learn on mobile, and what are their expectations on mobile educational applications. The last part of the questionnaire was designed to evaluate the results of TIPs. But some of the surveyed students did not have access to TIPs or were not using TIPs in their studies. The results show many differences from Australian and Chinese students, which also shed a light on future design and development of cross-country mobile teaching and learning systems and applications.

Firstly, the market share of mobile devices in China is different from those in Australia due to the different choices of mobile devices available in the market, preferences from different cultural backgrounds, and different prices of mobile devices in different markets. Figure 4 shows the differences from the surveys. The majority of Australian students (74 %) were using Apple (iOS) mobile devices (iPhone or iPad). The Android mobile devices (24 %) and Apple mobile devices were used by 98 % of the Australian students.

Fig. 4

Mobile devices by learners in China and Australia (Source: Author)

In China, Android mobile devices had the biggest market share, which was 34 % only. Students used Apple mobile devices (24 %), Nokia mobile devices (19 %), Motorola mobile devices (5 %), and other devices (18 %). Nearly half of the mobile devices in the Chinese market are not iOS or Android mobile devices, which should be taken into account when designing a mobile educational application for global market. One possible reason for this is the price difference for iPhone and other mobile devices in the Chinese market. The variety of mobile devices that supported Android system and the free mobile applications for Android devices are also the factors that improved their market share in the Chinese market.

Secondly, the usages of mobile phone in different location and scenarios are different in Australia and China. The different preferences, cultural backgrounds, and policies and rules in different countries are the major factors that influenced the usage. Figure 5 shows the differences.

Fig. 5

Mobile device usages by learners in China and Australia (Source: Author)

As shown in Fig. 5, the frequency of using mobile devices by Australian students was much higher than those of their Chinese peers. One possible reason is the strict restriction of mobile phone usage in classrooms in China. Most Chinese students are not supposed to use their mobile phone either for play or search information in class. The use of mobile devices in class is regarded as disrespect to the teacher or lecturer in China. Due to the cultural difference in universities and at home in different countries, the uses of mobile devices in class (restricted in most universities and schools in China) and during part-time jobs (Chinese students are not suggested to do part-time jobs during study years) in China were very rare. Chinese students usually use their mobile devices in their spare time after class. As Chinese students usually live with their parents until they finished university studies, the use of mobile devices at home is also less than those of Australian students (due to the preference of the Chinese parents on mobile phone).

Thirdly, due to the cultural differences as discussed above, mobile learning was not adopted by majority of students in China. Only 9 % of the surveyed Chinese students adopted mobile learning, and 61 % of students adopted online learning (some are required by schools). Students still prefer traditional teaching methods or online learning methods. However, in Australia, students learned from variety of mobile and online sources. They are more active in searching information, downloading learning materials, and doing assessments on mobile devices compared to their Chinese peers. They also adopted different social media and platforms in their study. Figure 6 shows the percentage of students using different sources of online and mobile learning.

Fig. 6

Sources of mobile learning from Australian students (Source: Author)

Google is the first choice by 91 % Australian students. E-learning site by universities (57 %, required by some universities or subjects), YouTube (55 %), and Wikipedia (34 %) are also popular for Australian students. However, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Google are all blocked in mainland China. Instead, Chinese students usually use local social media platforms to communicate with friends and get information, such as WeiBo, WeChat (WeiXin), or RenRen (see Chap. 25, “Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat”). The most popular video website in China is Youku Tudou. There are also many different social media and video sites for different groups. For example, the 56 video is more popular in Chinese universities as they target on the young audience in China. Some of the on-site events, like the university film making competition and mobile sharing rewards, also increased their subscriber numbers from university students. The popular social media are expected to be different in different countries or even different regions. New replacement effect due to the development of new technology, new devices, and policies also influenced the penetration rate of mobile learning adoption in different countries. To suit the fast changing rules and technologies, educational application designer for international market should also take these differences into account.

Last but not list, the expectation of mobile learning is different in Australia and China. It could be different in other countries too. Figure 7 shows the differences in detail. Australian students appreciated more convenient functions that assist study anytime and anywhere, learning in class, and learning performances. Chinese students, on the other hand, preferred educational applications that assist learning in shorter time slots and increasing learning efficiency. One possible reason for these differences is the usages in different scenarios in China and cultural preferences in the Chinese culture. Australian students focus more on efficiency and study in short time slots. Chinese students focus more on the performance of the subject and learning in class. Students in China have higher price elasticity to mobile applications and devices. In other words, when the price increased a small amount, more students will leave the customer group from using the mobile device or mobile applications compared to Australian students. Therefore, the designers and developers should also take into account these cultural differences in their cross-country educational system design. The results also shed a light on other commercial mobile application design across countries.

Fig. 7

Different expectations for mobile learning in Australia and China (Source: Author)

Although the major results are very different in Australia and China, there are some similar answers from Australian and Chinese surveys. The average learning time lengths per day on mobile devices were similar in Australia (40 min) and China (30 min), which was only 1/8 or 1/9 of the lengths of mobile usages per day in both countries. People usually get tired after focusing on a small mobile screen or hold a mobile device for half an hour. Mobile devices are not considered as a major source for study in current stage due to the technology, ethics, and high costs of mobile learning (see Chap. 2, “Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning”). But the situations are expected to change with more advanced mobile devices invented (like wearable mobile devices, new screen technology, or 3D technologies), more mobile educational applications developed, and more university-adopted mobile learning strategies (see Chaps. 19, “Tutors in Pockets for Economics,” and 53, “Advanced Image Retrieval Technology in Future Mobile Teaching and Learning”).

Mobile learning is regarded as a complimentary learning method to face-to-face learning than supplementary method in current stage. There are still technology, ethics, and policy limits and barriers for the adoption of pure mobile education in universities or schools. A blended learning method is still preferred by both educators and learners in current stage.

5 Future Directions

Mobile teaching and learning has been the trend for modern education. Although it brings many benefits to students and educators, they are still limited by current technology and ethics issues to achieve real “anytime” and “anywhere.” With the development of mobile technologies and globalization, these barriers will be diminished in near future.

The qualitative and quantitative studies on mobile educational application for Economics – Tutors in Pockets (TIPs) – showed very positive results for students’ learning process and performance. It corrected misconception problems, increased learning efficiency, increased understanding, increased in-class discussion and reflection, helped students with special needs, engaged students in Economics, and enhanced students’ individual and final performances in the subject they studied. Staffs from Economics school and other disciplines also gave high evaluations on TIPs.

The developed multimedia materials cannot only be adopted in mobile application but also tutorial discussion, lecture slides, and exam questions to help in understanding, engage in-class discussion, and enhance students’ subject performances. Students also indicated that they were interested in the subject with all these materials adopted in class.

The results from Australia and China studies showed that learners are different in terms of mobile device adoption, usage, pattern of mobile learning, and expectations for mobile educational applications in different countries. An international mobile educational application designer should take into account the cultural differences and political barriers to reach the global market and make a real international program. The results from this study combined both qualitative and quantitative results to give a more reliable evaluation on mobile teaching and learning. It also studied the influence of cultural differences on mobile teaching and learning, which shed a light on cross-country mobile educational system design and develop in the future.

6 Cross-References

• Adoption of Mobile Technology in Higher Education: Introduction

• Advanced Image Retrieval Technology in Future Mobile Teaching and Learning

• Characteristics of Mobile Teaching and Learning

• Cross-Country University Collaboration Barriers and Solutions

• Mobile Education via Social Media: Case Study on WeChat

• Tutors in Pockets for Economics