Mobile Learning Support in Delivering Distance Education: Perception of Students of University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Abstract:
This paper
explored the perception of University of Cape Coast distance education students
on the use of mobile technologies to facilitate interactions among students and
tutors as a learning-support system. The paper aimed at establishing whether distance
education students would accept to be taught using a blend of mobile technologies
and biweekly direct face-to-face tutorials on weekends. A questionnaire was used
to collect data from a sample of 300 students pursuing various Diploma, Bachelor’s
and Master’s degrees by distance at University of Cape Coast using systematic sampling
technique. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. It was found that
scheduled face-to-face tutorial sessions of distance education in University of
Cape Coast were not supportive enough to address students’ learning needs. Also,
all the respondents possessed mobile devices and perceived blending of mobile learning
in distance education as an avenue to enhance collaborative learning with faculty
and colleagues. It was recommended that curriculum and instructional designers of
distance education courses must consider incorporating mobile learning pedagogies
in the distance courses and learning experiences to address students’ learning needs
using mobile technologies.
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