Table 5 Teachers Perceptions Regarding Effectiveness of Smartphones in Higher Education
Category | Activity | No. of Respondents | Percentage of Respondents | Example of Quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Off Campus Learning | Files Sharing | 12 | 53% | Respondent # 17: “I always encourage my arts and fashion design students to capture any interesting and unique patterns and designs they observe during any exhibition or while on the go… .it generally helps us in coming with creative ideas,.” |
Audio/video sharing | 9 | 40% | Respondent # 1: “I have downloaded e-books of the subjects that I teach. I encourage students to have an e-copy of the recommended books on their Smartphone which they consult whenever needed.” | |
Capturing audio and video for assignments and presentations | 9 | 40% | ||
Learning on the go | 13 | 60% | ||
Access to e-books | 9 | 40% | ||
Communication after duty hours | email/SMS/MMS | 22 | 100% | Respondent # 13: “… any student can communicate his queries anytime via SMS, email or WhatsApp and I try to respond them as soon as possible.” |
Teaching support for complex topics / concepts | YouTube videos | 15 | 67% | Respondent # 15: “I support the idea, that seeing is believing, therefore I am always searching for interesting videos on YouTube which I recommend to my students in order to clarify the complicated topics. Sometimes I give assignments related to these videos as well.” |
Recommending readings, webpages, blogs to clarify the concepts | 12 | 53% | ||
Useful for Group learning / discussion | Created Google and Yahoo groups | 9 | 40% | Respondent # 2: “I have experienced that students can gain valuable knowledge by following the blogs and other social groups established by experts and enthusiasts in certain areas. I recommend some pf these blogs and websites/groups to keep my students updated on the events happening around the world.” |
Twitter following | 6 | 27% | ||
Following Blogs | 6 | 27% |