Facebook private groups for mobile learning

Is mobile learning necessary for colleges and universities (Cheon, Crooks & Song, 2012)? The higher education industry in Hong Kong is increasingly competitive due to low birth rates and new local & overseas competitors. The decrease in student enrolment has a significant financial impact on universities. Meanwhile, the advancement in internet and mobile technologies has urged universities to employ and integrate the latest technologies in teaching and learning, to improve the student learning experience. Researchers have evidenced that some secondary schools in Canada support the use of social media, for instance Facebook, in the classroom setting because the student learning enhancement is congruent with the school vision, including fostering classroom communities, improved teacher-student communication, improved trust and connectedness of students (Fewkes & McAbe, 2012). Thus, using Facebook private study groups for mobile learning would be an option for teachers and universities. Scholars have evidenced that Facebook and mobile learning could improve student learning motivation and engagement (Lam, 2012; Lam & Ng, 2015; Cheung, Chiu, Lee, 2011; Madge et al., 2009; Roblyer et al., 2010). Therefore, it is recommended that teachers should consider the use of Facebook private study groups for mobile learning as a complementary activity in the classroom environment so that students can have more fun and learning benefits.

The results of this research have provided important insights about mobile learning in practice. Firstly, the research findings have showed significant associations of seven factors to the behavioral intention to use Facebook for mobile learning. Therefore, it is necessary to implement mobile learning by emphasizing these factors in order to improve students’ learning experiences. Though most students have solid experience in using Facebook and smartphones, training in the use of Facebook and smartphones in learning can strengthen their experiences and hence their performance expectancy (Schwoerer et al., 2005). The effort expectancy can be improved with proper

instructions and mobile applications in the classroom. For example, (1) the teacher should prepare useful online resources, including websites or YouTube videos, in the form of QR codes so that students can simply visit the websites or watch the videos using a QR code reader mobile app (Louho, Kallioja & Oittinen, 2006); (2) the teacher should instruct students about the use of mobile applications in learning, for example, Google translate, Oxford dictionary, Graphic calculator, Image editor, … etc. (Godwin-Jones, 2011). In terms of habit, though using smartphones and Facebook is part of the daily lives of most students, it is necessary for the teacher to guide them so that they can build up the habit of using smartphones and Facebook for learning. The teacher can prepare daily online short revision exercises so that students can do the revision every day and their results can be part of the continuous assessment for the course (Wang et al., 2009; Huang & Sun, 2010). For device usability, since smartphones have physical limitations, the teacher should not require students to type lengthy paragraphs or read too many articles using smartphones (Schaub, Deyhle & Weber, 2012). Instead, the teacher can consider instructing students to write down their opinions on paper, take a photo of it and post the photo online for sharing. If students are required to read an article using their smartphone, the teacher should make sure the online document supports ‘zoom-in & zoom-out’ and ‘rotate screen – change orientation’ modes, so that students feel more comfortable (Bevan, 2001). As an alternative to reading articles, the teacher may consider searching relevant learning videos on YouTube.com for students (Liu, 2010). For social presence, it is necessary for the teacher to establish a supportive online platform like a Facebook private group for students so that they can feel comfortable and safe to express their ideas and study collaboratively (Ally, 2004). In terms of interactive learning, the teacher should design online learning activities that can make use of Web 2.0 technologies, i.e. communication, interaction and collaboration, so that students can gain the greatest learning experiences (Brown, 2010; Rhih, 2011; Irwin et al., 2012). For hedonic motivation, the teacher should make sure the learning activities are entertaining, which does not mean funny games. Instead, the learning activities should be designed so that the level of difficulty matches the level of skill and knowledge of the students. This t is because if the learning activities are too easy or difficult, they may feel bored. Therefore, appropriate learning activities can promote a positive learning environment so that students can create a sense of achievement and joy (Wang, Wu, Wang, 2009). Secondly, the research results indicate that there are age group differences in

performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, device usability, social presence and interactive learning. The teacher should consider adjusting the implementation of Facebook for mobile learning. Apart from strengthening the seven factors as illustrated above, the teacher should consider the differences between different age groups. In terms of social presence, the teacher should establish the environment, i.e. the Facebook private study group, and emphasize the learning platform so that the sense of online community can be built up and also the social presence (Ally, 2004). As mentioned above, the hedonic motivation of students can be improved by using relevant learning activities matching their knowledge and skills (Wang, Wu, Wang, 2009). The teacher should also be careful about the limitations of smartphones and instruct students to make use of their smartphones for searching for information on the internet, using mobile applications for learning, taking photos of their writing to share on the Facebook study group and watching learning videos so that the smartphone becomes a powerful learning device (Bevan, 2001). Past literature has evidenced that old users are skeptical about using new technology (Venkatesh & Morris, 2000; Liaw, 2002; Chung et al., 2010). It is therefore necessary for the teacher to provide proper training and assistance so that older students can manage mobile learning whereas younger students can accept mobile learning easily. Besides, inconsistent age group responses on performance expectancy and interactive learning may imply that different course arrangement for mobile learning should be made. The teacher should pay attention to the instructions given so that different cohorts of students can follow the learning instructions and participate in mobile learning activities successfully (Rowan, Correnti & Miller, 2002).