Learning with smartphones a Hong Kong experience INFuture

Learning with smartphones: a Hong Kong experience INFuture 2015 Zvjezdana Dukic The University of Hong Kong dana. dukic@gmail. com

Smartphone penetration 2014 Hong Kong MTR Singapore South Korea Sweden Hong Kong Spain China Denmark UK Norway Taiwan Australia Netherlands Ireland Israel Switzerland New Zealand Finland USA Canada Source: Google's Consumer Barometer 85% 80% 75% 74% 72% 70% 69% 68% 67% 66% 65% 62% 60% 58% 57% 57% 2

Smartphone use What? Where? Source: data from Morgan Stanley, Google Think and Opera 3

Research questions This study intends to answer the following research questions: • To what extent LIS students use smartphones for academic leaning? • What typical learning related activities do LIS students perform with smartphones? • What are possible barriers to LIS students’ smartphones use for learning? 4

Research method • Research method: online survey • Research technique: questionnaire – 17 questions: 15 closed-ended and 2 open-ended – 3 parts: demographic data, smartphone use for daily needs, smartphone use for learning purposes • Sample: 93 LIS bachelor and master students – University of Hong Kong 5

Sample demographic characteristics Age Gender Male 20 - 30 35% Female 65% 54% 31 - 40 41 - 50 43% 3% Study level Bachelor degree. . . Master degree. . . 42% 58% 6

Smartphone use for daily needs Communicate with email, SMS, chat, etc. 95% 89% Use search engines Use social media (e. g. Facebook, Twitter) 83% Games, music, movies, TV series, etc 82% Use productivity tools (calendar, notes etc. ) 75% Casual reading 75% Find locations (streets, restaurants etc. ) 59% Accessing reference sources (e. g. encyclopedi. . . Hobbies, sports, fitness, travel Academic reading: articles, e-books, websites. . . 52% 46% 40% Popular activities: talking, sending email, texting, chatting, connecting with social media, using search engines and productivity tools, casual reading 7

Smartphone use for learning Study findings on LIS students’ smartphone use for learning are organized under four major categories: • communication and sharing • browsing, reading, viewing and listening • searching and accessing information and • using productivity tools and recording 8

Communication and sharing Daily/weekly Talking to classmates to discuss course. . . 58% Using email, SMS, MMS or chat apps for stud. . . Posting to class forums on the learning. . . Posting or commenting study related items t. . . 62% 26% 33% • Study participants frequently use smartphones to discuss study related issues by talking or texting • Extensive smartphone use for study related communication indicates that smartphones facilitate collaborative learning 9

Browsing, reading, viewing & listening Daily/weekly use Browsing through websites, blogs, wikis, micr. . . 68% Browsing or reading posts on social networki. . . 85% Reading articles from academicl journals &. . . 22% Reading e-books 23% Viewing a video clip (from You. Tube, TED talks. . . Accessing and browsing learning managemen. . . Listening to podcasts 55% 24% 22% • Study participants use smartphones to browse websites, read posts on social networking sites and watch video clips • Less frequently they read academic literature 10

Searching and accessing information Daily/weekly use Searching with search engines (e. g. Google, Yahoo) Accessing reference sources (e. g. encyclopedia, dictionary) Accessing and searching e-databases Accessing and searching library catalog 79% 44% 20% 28% • More often they search with search engines than by using e-databases or library catalogs 11

Using productivity tools and recording Daily/weekly use Planning or checking a personal schedule (e. g. Google calendar, organizers) 55% Making notes with note taking tools (e. g. Evernote) Creating documents (e. g. text, presentation, spreadsheets) 45% 21% Taking photos to record learning materials (e. g. book pages, slides) Audio recording presentations, seminars, interview, etc. 45% 28% • Frequently use scheduling and note taking tools • Photo taking is also popular 12

Barriers to smartphone use for learning Medium/high barrier Screen size is too small 87% Reading is difficult Typing is difficult 82% 72% Web page is not formatted for. . . Load time is slow 86% 72% • Small screen is the major barrier • Web pages not formatted for smartphones and slow load time are also high barriers 13

Conclusions • LIS students from Hong Kong use smartphones for learning and study purposes • They use smartphones for browsing, reading or watching study related materials from the Internet but less frequently for reading academic journals and e-books • Further, they use smartphones for searching with search engines, but less frequently for searching library catalogs and e-databases • LIS students frequently use productivity tools (e. g. calendars, note taking tools, to-do lists) and photo taking smartphone capabilities 14

Conclusions • Study findings also show that LIS students commonly use smartphones to discuss study relates issues with classmates, therefore, smartphones can be considered as facilitators of collaborative learning • Major barriers are smartphone small screen, absence of smartphone friendly webpages and too slow loading time • Findings of the study can be useful for educators and librarians • Further studies on smartphone use for learning are recommended 15