Abstract
Large variations in mobile users, mobile devices, and course content make generalizations about mobile learning difficult. Prior to the international pandemic that forced more virtual and mobile instruction, this exploratory study measured how students in one journalism and one English composition course at two universities responded to completing writing assignments using only their phones. Although pre and post differences in student attitudes and engagement between the writing courses were insignificant, further analyses of age differences (freshman vs seniors) revealed significant variance. These results suggest only a 3-year time span could determine how much students embrace mobile assignments.
Introduction
By 2015, researchers exploring the relationships between students’ course engagement and their uses of phones, laptops, and tablets found mobile technology in the classroom was already pervasive (Witecki & Nonnecke, 2015). Specifically, “93% of students were bringing at least one mobile device to one or more lectures each week, and 43.6% were bringing at least one mobile device to every lecture” (p. 79). By 2018, nearly 90% of U.S. college students owned a smartphone, indicating the technology has fundamentally changed how students interact with information.
A 2018 survey of 1,500 “past, present, and prospective full online students” reported 67% completed at least some coursework on their mobile device (Schaffhauser, 2018). Completing coursework was broadly defined, however, as accessing course readings (51%), communicating with professors (51%) or fellow students (44%), accessing a learning management system (45%), researching (41%), or accessing video lectures (31%). Although the report concluded that 40% of students completed assignments on their phones, it was unclear how many assignments, if any, required longer-form compositions.
A 2010 survey of students in 11 interdisciplinary college courses compared results in classrooms that used laptops or tablets with classes without them. Results from the courses using mobile devices generated significantly higher ratings of course satisfaction and overall course efficiency (Yaros, 2010). This outcome suggests that students may become more productive in environments that treat mobile devices as a useful asset instead of a potential distraction.
A subsequent 2019 survey of more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students at partner schools of Barnes & Noble College found 60% of students felt having more classroom technology would improve learning, while 23% thought technology at their school was sufficient (Kelly, 2019). Perhaps this outcome represents the need to find a balance between the convenience of mobile devices with their potential distractions. More than 80% of the students in the same survey believed phones, tablets, and laptops could interfere with learning. This coincides with other empirical evidence showing laptops can reduce attention and performance (Kraushaar & Novak, 2010; Wood et al., 2012).
Chen et al. (2015) found more than a fourth of students surveyed felt their grades suffered as a result of the devices. While about half of the students said they regularly use a mobile device to complete schoolwork, their devices included more than just phones. In class, 70% of students said they used their laptop, 59% used a combination of a phone with laptop, and 35% combined a tablet and laptop.
Another study of 675 students in 26 states found that nearly 90% of students reported possible distraction as the primary reason they do not use a mobile phone (McCoy, 2016). The second reason cited was missing instruction (80.4%). Nearly 40% said mobile devices distract others in a class.
In sum, several opinions exist about devices in college classrooms, and the debate about whether a phone is a friend or foe may explain why at least one in four professors ban mobile devices in their classes (Kelly, 2018). An international pandemic has moved classroom instruction online. The unanswered question is whether more time and freedom students have to use their phone for virtual writing assignments would be welcomed? Will students welcome more time and freedom to use smartphones for virtual assignments? Specifically,
Literature Review
Arguably, the forced move to virtual classes will change college courses, and students’ mobile device usage during this time may alter expectations of future face-to-face college courses. Studies show 7 in 10 elementary school students (72%), two-thirds of middle school students (66%), and more than half (54%) of high school students said they would like to use mobile devices more often in the classroom (Harris Poll, 2015). Other studies reported younger students have positive attitudes toward mobile learning (Attewell, 2005; Basoglu & Akdemir, 2010; Yang, 2012).
These data prompt the investigation of whether the students’ daily use of their phones for a multitude of reasons could transform into more regular use to complete written assignments. If so, such behavior would lend further support to the notion of connected learning, a term that describes a more holistic approach to technology use.
Connected Learning
Some argue mobile devices can impact education through constant connectivity. Writing tasks performed on a phone benefit from the ability to instantly connect to the outside world, opening the classroom to support from others. If phones are to impact classroom learning positively, the barrier of distraction needs attention. Witecki & Nonnecke (2015) reported that only “7% used a cell phone for at least one purpose related to course goals and 72.8% used a cell phone for at least one purpose unrelated to course goals” (p. 81). However, when course-related tasks were assigned in different disciplines, students engaged with a variety of media in richly productive and collaborative ways (Sharples et al., 2009). Phones are used for video, photos, and online research. Mobile apps and media also function as building blocks for personalized productions outside the classroom and can elicit a sense of community with others in and out of the classroom. These variables—combined with many other uses for mobile phones—exemplify the notion of what some call “connected learning” (Ito et al., 2013). Phones can enable a sense of connected learning through their immediate access to related information and the phone’s ability to facilitate collaboration.
The concept of “connected learning” is one solution to revolutionize today’s classroom environment. We chose connected learning as a basis for this study because mobile devices define today’s connections to the digital world. Some argue connected learning is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunities. Ito et al. (2013) states that some learning principles appear to flourish in out-of-school spaces, but there are fewer articulations of how connected learning could help shift existing teacher practices. Connected learning, which occurs in the holistic environment of a student’s daily life with social networks, can support a learner at all times as interests, passions, and behaviors are synthesized with formal course assignments that include the production of texts with or without multimedia.
Since most college students (86%) now own at least one mobile device (Dahlstrom & Bichsel, 2014), some believe connected learning strategies could transform classroom spaces and shift the expectations of content production. Connected learning could also lead to new methods and expectations for reading, composing, submitting, and sharing content. Instead of applying earlier traditional models of education, they argue teachers are also learners in newer connected learning environments. Garcia (2014) wrote, I believe connected learning principles can provide a vocabulary for teachers to reclaim agency over what and how we best meet the individual needs of students in our classrooms. With learners as the focus, teachers can rely on connected learning as a way to pull back the curtain. (p. 7)
But how can educators meet the needs of students when mobile devices are often negatively associated with distraction? Are students even comfortable completing more than text-message length assignments on their phones? In recognition of these challenges, this study asks if written assignments that integrate mobile phones not only align with the tectonic shifts in today’s mobile environment but also reveal new opportunities for innovative teaching methods. Mobile phones enable connected learning and engagement both in and out of the classroom.
Previous research probed teaching strategies and student learning using mobile texting and social media (Yaros, 2012a, 2012b), but studies have not yet focused on student attitudes for completing longer-form writing assignments on their phones. This study measures students’ attitudes for such assignments and whether attitudes vary across different course content.
The justification for this research is an increasing number of middle and high school phone users entering college. One might expect the attitudes and behaviors related to mobile learning will change. College courses in virtually all disciplines require some writing, but there has been little to no research investigating whether a “threshold” of acceptance exists for students using their phones to complete longer written assignments.
The dimensions of the connective learning concepts measured in this study include:
Student attitudes, perceptions, and emotions toward mobile writing assignments.
Levels of student engagement with mobile writing assignments.
Productivity completing writing assignments using mobile devices.
Method
Design
This collaborative research evolved after the English professor contacted the journalism professor at another institution following an article on mobile learning published by the journalism professor. The researchers decided the identical measures in their classrooms would be their students’ mobile behaviors, attitudes, and productivity. A within-subjects independent variable (pretest versus posttest) was time, and the between-subjects variable was course type (English vs journalism). The general education English composition course is open to all students, but the writing-intensive journalism course is designed for journalism seniors.
Sample
Undergraduate students (N = 75) were recruited from the two writing-intensive courses taught in the same semester at two eastern U.S. universities. The “English class” (n = 48) is referenced to differentiate from the “Journalism class” (n = 27). In total, females (n = 57) outnumbered males (n = 14), and one participant indicated “other.” Three did not report gender. By class ranking, the English course was primarily freshman (n = 17), followed by sophomores (n = 16), juniors (n =7), and seniors (n = 8). The journalism course enrolled 27 seniors. All participants provided informed consent.
Measures
The pretest and posttests contained 28 items. Questions employed a 1 to 5 Likert-type scale to measure the student’s perceived level of distraction from devices in classes, how instructors should handle devices, and the preferred policy for devices. Attitudinal measures included four items adapted from The Attitudes Toward Writing With the Computer Scale that measured user attitudes when writing on a desktop (Shaver, 1990). For this study, students were asked to rank how much “fun” or difficulty they associated with writing on their phone, whether a phone could help with revisions and whether apps would improve writing (Shaver, 1990). One open-ended question solicited the participant’s own experiences with mobile devices. Finally, questions confirmed the students’ demographics, including campus location and estimated time writing on a desktop versus mobile devices.
Procedure
We administered a presurvey of the questions the first week of the semester and 3 weeks before the first writing assignment. Following the pretest, we presented a student training session for conducting research and composing writing assignments on a mobile phone using Google Docs. Two mobile assignments were assigned 3 weeks prior to the first experimental assignment to avoid the potential novelty of mobile writing assignments. Students completed two identical mobile writing assignments. The first occurred in a face-to-face class and the second outside of class. The posttest immediately followed the second assignment.
Specifically, the in-class assignment was a short form composition (150 words) eliciting opinions about whether technology in general (phones, tablets, and laptops) helps or hinders education. The longer out-of-class assignment (400 words), required research about a campus service or program (i.e., library, police, cafeteria, etc.) and how it could be improved. The second composition had to be factually accurate, could include interviews, and again completed on their phone.
Results
All students reported owning a mobile phone. Since this exploratory study analyzed several independent factors beyond just the two courses; analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to reduce the chances of a Type 1 error and a reduction of statistical power. ANOVA testing eventually led to notable variances due to age as detailed later in this section. Prior to the assignments (Table 1), students in the English composition course spent significantly less time writing on their laptops (M = 35.6, SD = 10.8) as compared to journalism seniors (M = 46.2, SD = 16.1) but significantly more time writing on their phones (M = 56.3, SD = 20.5). The English comp students also indicated more comfort writing on their phones if a laptop was unavailable (M = 3.3, SD = 3.8) than the journalism seniors (M = 2.8, SD = 2.8). Accordingly, the journalism seniors expressed significantly more anxiety writing on their phone (M = 4.1, SD = .70) than English composition students (M = 3.4, SD =1.08) while reporting less “fun” writing on their phone for journalism (M = 1.77, SD = .89) than the English students (M =2.31, SD = 1.77). This indicates journalism students rate writing on phones significantly more difficult (M = 4.0, SD = .78) than the English students (M = 3.35, SD = 1.04) and the significant difference of phones being of little help with revisions (M = 4.1, SD = .08) compared to English students (M = 3.5, SD = 1.19). Finally, when asked whether mobile apps would be helpful to improve their compositions, the mean rating from English students was significantly higher (M = 3.7, SD = .84) than those in the journalism class (M = 3.3, SD = .73).
Pre-Test Responses by Courses/Institutions.
Note. SD = standard deviation.
p < .05. **p < .005.
Data following the assignments (Table 2) revealed no significant differences from the pretest for time spent writing on laptops versus phones. However, by classroom, the English composition students showed more comfort writing on phones if allowed (M = 2.3, SD = 1.17) compared to the journalism seniors (M = 1.67, SD = .82). The English students also reported significantly less anxiety when writing on their phones (M = 3.5, SD = 1.03) compared to the journalism seniors (M = 4.1, SD = .59). However, journalism seniors agreed more with the statement that phones were of little to no help for revisions (M = 4.17, SD = .48) compared to the level of agreement from the English students (M = 3.51, SD = 1.25; Table 3).
Post-Test Responses by Courses/Institutions.
Note. SD = standard deviation.
p < .05. **p < .005.
Comparisons by Class Rank.
Note. SD = standard deviation.
p < .05. **p < .005.
Posttest responses to the open-ended question explain why English students felt more comfortable writing on their phones with less anxiety: Using a mobile phone feels faster and more convenient for shorter writing assignments.
and I am so used to using my phone to send messages and emails that when I did my paper on my phone, my brain was subconsciously less formal.
Conversely, some journalism seniors expressed: . . . I am still more comfortable writing on my laptop. Maybe with more practice, I will become even more comfortable with the phone.
and The laptop gives me a keyboard which allows me to type fast, have multiple windows opened.
Within-Subjects (Pre and Post)
Pre and post repeated measures for the English students indicated no significant changes in behaviors, perceptions, or attitudes. Only one item stating, “All students should complete some writing assignments on their phone,” provided a notable increase from a mean of 2.4 to 3.8 (p = .052).
Similarly, no significant pre and post changes occurred for the journalism seniors revealed, but the mean score for being more comfortable composing text on their phone for assignments that exceed one paragraph increased from 1.9 to 2.3 (p = .054).
Further analyses, however, revealed an interesting unplanned age difference between the classrooms. Data from new freshman (n = 17) and sophomores (n = 16) in the English course were collapsed (n = 33) then compared with the data from the journalism class filled exclusively with seniors (n = 27).
Between subjects, ANOVA tests of data following the assignments confirmed freshmen and sophomores spent more time writing on their phone than on a laptop. We measured tatistically significant differences for six items. Specifically, compared to seniors, freshman, and sophomores felt more comfortable writing on phones (p = .03), believed phones can be helpful with revisions (p = .05), experienced less anxiety writing on their phone (p = .006), thought phone assignments were fun (p = .02) not difficult (p = .04), and that apps can be helpful for writing assignments (p = .01).
Discussion
This exploratory study aimed to empirically measure the extent mobile phones are an acceptable and useful tool for educators and college students for writing longer-form assignments. This study explored which factors, if any, significantly influenced students’ attitudes, behaviors, and productivity while using a mobile phone—not a laptop—to complete writing assignments.
The foundation for this exploration is the concept of “connected learning,” one of several strategies being used to revolutionize today’s classroom technological environment and the teaching labor force. The “connected learning” paradigm is valuable because laptops and tablets define the virtually perpetual connections to the digital world. Little comprehensive research exists to correlate mobile phone assignments with connected learning. The barriers of screen size and larger keyboards for longer-form writing are inherent to phones even though they equal the processing power of laptops and tablets to complete written assignments. These differences suggest connected learning’s effectiveness relies on specific parameters such as the size of a screen or keyboard. Elementary students now use more sophisticated phones earlier in life than today’s college seniors did. Whether this earlier adoption of mobile technology will lead to better learning or continued distractions remains to be seen.
Initially, it looked as if the comparisons between the English and journalism classrooms would lead to insignificant results. After a closer look at the students’ demographics, significant variances surfaced. We did not anticipate the short 3-year period would yield such variance in perception of mobile device use for writing. The results suggested newer undergraduates on campus felt more comfortable writing on their phones than seniors, at least in journalism. Seniors likely interacted differently with phones in high school, a possible product of technology, policing, and other considerations. An alternative explanation could be that journalism students, who write relatively more text, may associate such writing with laptops. More research will help to clarify the validity of this.
Students in both classes did not readily prefer phones over laptops for written assignments, citing screen size and smaller keys as concerns. Some students also expressed concern about not knowing the page count of their work even though future updates could mitigate such issues.
Limitations
The sample included only two classrooms and two mobile assignments. As an exploratory study, the pilot data provided interesting trends that merit more experimentation with more students in more classes. Since the evidence suggests freshman perceive mobile technology differently than seniors, future studies comparing identical course content with either freshman or seniors would be helpful.
We did not measure each student’s familiarity and experience with their phone. One could expect different levels of device use and comfort, which may have skewed the results. Even with the limited instruction for writing on their phone at the beginning of the semester, it is possible that such training would be ineffective when students are asked to complete a graded mobile assignment on a deadline.
The content tested was limited in size and scope. Future studies implementing more writing assignments should also expand the subject matter and would more closely resemble assignments completed on a desktop or laptop. Longer assignments may help to clarify the dimensions of student attitudes further. In addition, more studies probing students’ reasons for preferring laptops should be explored. Some concerns about writing on phones cited the apps used future updates of Microsoft Word and Google Docs might offer a remedy.
Finally, the journalism seniors sampled spent most of their academic career focusing on clarity and coherence in writing and editing text. One could argue instead of attributing the measured differences only to age, perhaps the amount of experience journalism seniors had with desktops and laptops contributed to their rejection of written mobile assignments. Also, the differences between desktop and mobile versions of word processing apps might contribute to attitudes toward writing on phones.
Conclusion
While the results of this study suggest that younger college students indicate more comfort with phones for assignments, it could still be some time before most students consider phones as “go-to” devices for homework. Ironically, those often accused of being “addicted” to phones still eschew the use of the device for writing assignments. Perhaps future research will detail the reasons for this and what it would take to place the mobile phone on par with the laptop in classrooms.
Continually evolving technology can change—and has changed—user behaviors and attitudes, but this study is the first to suggest some differences are measurable over only two to 3 years. Thus, college students 3 to 4 years from now may welcome—even prefer—assignments on their phones. In the interim, the current data indicate such assignments would be stressful for most.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
