Mobile Affordances and Learning Theories in Supporting and Enhancing Learning

Affordance And Learning Theory

Mobile technology has provided educators and learners with new ways to structure and support their own learning. The distinction between elearning and mobile learning can specifically rest with the various affordances of mobile technology. As Lai, Yang, Chen and Chan (2007, p.5) describe in their study, “mobile technologies ‘afford’ real-time information whenever and wherever learners need it”. In particular, the specific features which mobile technology brings to the context of education relates to how mobile technology is used or supports learning or teaching. Parsons, Thomas and Wishart (2016) identify five specific mobile affordances which differentiate elearning from mobile learning, namely portability, evidence and data gathering, communication, interaction with the interface, and outdoor environment. These specific affordances each underpin and indicate the various ways that mobile technology could be used to enhance and better support learners. In particular, mobile technology enables learners to move around and interact with their environment (portability and outdoor environment), capture their learning (evidence and data gathering), and share and develop their understanding and learning with others (communication) by utilising the rich toolkit of the mobile device (interaction with the interface). Due to these affordances, mobile learning is underpinned by various learning theories which are reinforced by the ability of mobile technology to better support the interaction, capturing, sharing and examination of learning.