{"id":962,"date":"2025-04-10T12:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T18:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru297\/?p=962"},"modified":"2025-04-14T11:19:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T17:19:18","slug":"participating-in-online-courses-through-mobile-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru297\/participating-in-online-courses-through-mobile-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Participating in Online Courses Through Mobile Learning: A Critical, Experiential Inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Options for educational pursuits continue to broaden, as the modern learner is able to explore pathways which allow for flexibility in engagement modalities, schedules, and level of commitment. A learner can log into a course from a caf\u00e9 using their laptop, and dedicate 30 minutes of their lunch break toward earning a credential. Platforms like Coursera<\/a> enable this type of portable, adaptable learning delivery in the form of massive open online courses, or MOOCs. The proliferation of internet-connected mobile phones has transformed the way people interact with MOOCs, with connectivity to reach 71% of the global population this year (Alsharida et al., 2021).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of a critical inquiry examining completing a course via Coursera, I will focus on the mobile-learning (m-learning) experience. I have taken a few Coursera courses\u2014usually in the comfort of my home office, from a laptop or desktop computer. I am fortunate to have those resources available to me, as well as good, reliable internet access. Not everyone does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A first-year international student came into my class with only an outdated smartphone and the hope that it was all they would need to complete their two-year program. I knew the limits of m-learning would be reached quickly in the program, as students dealt with code editors, web programming, browser testing, and resource-intensive design tools\u2014a suite of learning pursuits that requires a robust, full-featured computer. Lack of access to a modern digital device, and a reliable source for powering it, are barriers to learning in today\u2019s world. This is part of what makes up the \u201cdigital divide\u201d (Cullen, 2001, para. 1). I want to experience some aspect of this myself, through a critical inquiry of a Coursera course about The Digital Divide<\/a> using a six-year-old iPhone Xs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I assume Coursera uses responsive web design approaches, I expect the learning experience on a small device to be somewhat diminished, as there is simply limited screen real estate available. Other factors can impact m-learning, some of which I will not experience in my analysis. The possession of a mobile device does not guarantee access to mobile learning; the digital divide can still exist. It is important to remember some of these factors that can impede mobile learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n