The Development of a Framework Which Supports the Evaluation of Mobile Educational Applications

Abstract

The growth in mobile device usage creates various opportunities for the development of online learning material which could be accessed through various devices. Mobile learning has several benefits some of which include the opportunity for learners to access open educational resources, the benefit of an unrestricting learning location as well as allowing students to progress at their own pace. Educators in South Africa experience challenges to evaluate, select and use applications that will support meaningful learning in their subject field. This paper explored how an Information Systems Success (ISS) model could be utilised by teachers to successfully evaluate, select and use mobile educational applications (MEA). It aims to illustrate how each of the dimensions of an ISS model could be engaged to critically evaluate MEAs and contribute meaningfully in decision-making processes. Qualitative data was collected from three mathematics subject specialists, six teachers who specialise in various subject fields, one technology and technical expert and six further education and training (FET) mathematics classrooms. The data gathered provides novel information on how educators evaluate and select applications and how each dimension of the ISS model could meaningfully contribute to these evaluations. The research concludes that each dimension of the ISS model could be utilized to contribute to the evaluation and selection of mobile educational applications. This provides credibility for the use of the ISS model as a MEA evaluation tool. // Paper ID 446