The use of mobile learning in PK-12 education

TLDR: The findings reveal that 40% of the time researchers designed mobile learning activities aligning with the behaviorist approach to learning, which has the students consuming knowledge and not using the full potential of the mobile devices to have students become producers, collaborators, and creators of knowledge.

Abstract: With the increase in mobile device affordances, there has been a concomitant rise in the level of interest in investigating the breadth, purpose and extent of mobile learning in education. This systematic review provides a current synthesis of mobile learning research across 20102015 in PK-12 education. This includes a aggregated quantitative and qualitative analysis of the specific mobile learning activities as they connect to learning theories, specifically behaviorist, constructivist, situated, and collaborative learning. Major findings include that the majority of the studies focused on student learning followed by designing systems. Science was the most common subject researched and elementary schools was the most often studies setting. The findings reveal that 40% of the time researchers designed mobile learning activities aligning with the behaviorist approach to learning. This has the students consuming knowledge and not using the full potential of the mobile devices to have students become producers, collaborators, and creators of knowledge. Qualitative coding show 40% of researchers designed mobile activities that fit with the behaviorist approach to learning.Science was the most common subject researched at 53%.Elementary schools were the most often studied setting comprising 56% of the studies.63% of the studies focused on the student learning rather than the device.The majority of the studies took place in formal educational contexts at 50%.