Design and implementation of mobile learning at Open University Malaysia (OUM)

With learners going mobile, supporting their learning through mobile phones appears to be timely and appropriate, especially for learners in an open and distance learning environment. Mobile learning in the form of short messaging service was piloted with one of the University’s first semester compulsory courses in May 2009. The course, “Learning Skills for Open and Distance Learners” was selected on the basis of its importance in preparing learners for the learning environment at the University. At the end of the course the students are expected to be able to have been able to manage their learning better and to benefit from the blend of pedagogies. The text messages were designed in such a way as to prompt learners to apply principles related to, among others, the study skills, time management, stress management and use the university’s learning management system, digital library collection and participate in the online forums. The approach taken was to ensure that learners were prompted to think, read, practice or discuss issues during the class tutorials or forums. The five types of text messages were those related to forum, content, tips, motivation and course management. The paper describes the design and implementation of the mobile learning initiative at OUM. Feedback from 712 students using a questionnaire is also included in the paper. (Authors' abstract)