MOBILE LEARNING READINESS AMONG MALAYSIAN PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Numerous learning opportunities have been opened up by the progress of mobile technology to fulfil the need for students’ learning of Mathematics. The rapid development of mobile technologies has made it possible for mobile learning to play an essential role in learning. Due to the ability of mobile learning to make the process of learning possible anytime and anywhere, it is viewed as a significant aid to learning. With technological advancement in mathematics education paving the way for improvement in mathematical performance, the sustainability of mobile learning lies in its ability to address current educational needs as well as its capability in adapting to possible changes. Probability is a branch of mathematics that can benefit greatly from the freshness accorded with the advancement of mobile learning. However, before developing a mobile learning environment for the learning of probability, students’ readiness needs to be taken into consideration. Even though mobile learning has numerous advantages, it is largely not researched at pre-university level, namely in the Malaysian Matriculation system. This study investigated the readiness of matriculation students on using mobile learning for learning. 35 students from a matriculation college located in the northern region of Malaysia participated in an online questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to determine students’ mobile learning readiness pertaining to equipment, technological skill and psychological readiness’ respectively. Data were analysed quantitatively by means of descriptive statistics. The findings showed a good level of readiness by the students, signifying that they were ready to get on board with mobile learning. Therefore, the preliminary study done has given vital evidence to exploit the usage of mobile learning in the development of a mobile learning environment which will be of essence to the process of teaching and learning probability.