Mobile Learning Readiness Among UKM Lecturers

Mobile technology is providing a new frontier for the application of educational technology within the academia. However, as with any relatively new technology, much has to be understood about the concept of mobile learning before it can be employed effectively. One of the most logical early steps is to understand the perception of the stakeholders, including lecturers and students. This is the angle of approach taken by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and this paper presents the results of a survey on UKM lecturers about their perception on mobile learning and training. The findings will help in formulating a well-planned and user-centric approach for the application of mobile technology for the purpose of learning and training within the institution. The results of the survey show that 65% of the respondents are owners of smart or mobile phones. The respondents also indicated a favourable perception of m-learning although 79% of them have never used it. This favourable perception of m-learning correlates to favourable experience with e-learning, which suggests that familiarity with teaching via technology may also play a factor in their responses. The majority (85.7%) also believe that mobile learning would be useful for their students, and cited flexibility as the main reason (90.1%).