STUDENT AND FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF THE FEATURES OF MOBILE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION By NILOU DERAKHSHAN Bachelor of Information Technology in Information Systems Engineering Multimedia University Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia 2009 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE May, 2012 STUDENT AND FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF THE FEATURES OF MOBILE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION Thesis Approved: Dr. Pasha Antonenko Thesis Adviser Dr. Susan Stansberry Dr. Jesse Perez Mendez Dr. Sheryl A. Tucker Dean of the Graduate College ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 Statement of Purpose ...............................................................................................3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................3 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................3 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................................5 Interactive Online Learning Environments ..............................................................5 Learning Management Systems ...............................................................................9 A Historical Perspective on Learning Management Systems ................................11 PLATOTM - 1960 ..............................................................................................11 The Learning ManagerTM - 1980 ......................................................................11 Andrew Project - 1982 .....................................................................................12 EKKOTM - 1987 ................................................................................................12 ATHENA - 1990-evolved ................................................................................13 HyperCoursewareTM - 1990 ..............................................................................13 WebCTTM - 1996 ..............................................................................................13 BlackboardTM -1997 .........................................................................................13 Moodle - 1999 ..................................................................................................14 Desire2LearnTM - 1999 .....................................................................................14 SakaiTM - 2004 ..................................................................................................15 Learning Management Systems in Higher Education ...........................................16 Online Learning, Internet, and Mobile Devices .....................................................17 Mobile Learning .....................................................................................................20 Effective use of Mobile Learning ....................................................................21 Collaboration ....................................................................................................23 Best Practices in Instructional Design for Mobile Devices .............................24 Mobile learning design aspects ..............................................................................25 Functionality ....................................................................................................26 Reliability .........................................................................................................26 Usability ...........................................................................................................27 Efficiency .........................................................................................................28 Maintainability .................................................................................................28 Portability .........................................................................................................29 Quality in Use ..................................................................................................30 Mobile Learning Management Systems ................................................................30 BlackboardTM ....................................................................................................31 Desire2LearnTM ................................................................................................33 Summary ................................................................................................................34 iii Chapter Page III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................35 Research Questions ................................................................................................35 Participants .............................................................................................................35 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................37 Section ....................................................................................................................37 Procedure ...............................................................................................................38 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................39 IV. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................40 Research Question One ..........................................................................................40 Participants’ Use of Handheld Devices ...........................................................40 Experience with Online Courses Using D2LTM ...............................................42 Frequency of D2L use ......................................................................................43 Participants’ gender .........................................................................................44 Ethnic or racial background .............................................................................45 Classification ....................................................................................................45 Professors’ rank ...............................................................................................46 Academic area ..................................................................................................47 Cumulative GPA ..............................................................................................48 Summary ..........................................................................................................48 Research Question Two .........................................................................................49 Level of comfort teaching with Desire2Learn .................................................49 Accessing online courses on handheld devices ...............................................50 Locations of accessing online courses via handheld devices ...........................53 Communication via text messaging .................................................................54 Preferred contact methods for faculty ..............................................................55 Faculty interest in designing online courses using a handheld device .............56 Summary ..........................................................................................................56 Research Question Three .......................................................................................57 Levels of Popularity of LMS Features on Handheld Devices .........................57 Grades and Feedback .................................................................................59 Course Calendar .........................................................................................60 Announcements/News ...............................................................................61 Assignment description ..............................................................................61 Email ..........................................................................................................62 Classlist ......................................................................................................63 University Calendar ...................................................................................63 Content .......................................................................................................64 Assignment submission .............................................................................65 Discussions ................................................................................................65 Quizzes .......................................................................................................67 Campus Map (Buildings) ...........................................................................68 iv Chapter Page Campus Map (Parking) ..............................................................................69 Real-time chat ............................................................................................70