Advances in Mobile Learning Educational Research

This article examines the potential and risks of integrating AI tools, such as ChatGPT, into ESL/EFL classrooms from a decolonial perspective to enhance vocabulary instruction. Centering on eighteen English words from an English textbook designed for school education, the study examines how ESL/EFL vocabulary can be taught using ChatGPT to encourage students to engage with and critically reflect on its outputs. Employing the method of strategic prompting and qualitative content analysis of ChatGPT responses, the article explores how students' first languages (L1) can be meaningfully connected to English (L2) using ChatGPT as a pedagogical tool, particularly within a multilingual and multiethnic educational context. The study demonstrates that a decolonial approach to AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can enhance ESL/EFL pedagogy by promoting linguistic inclusivity and fostering critical AI literacy among students. Hence, the article contributes to the emerging conversations on decolonial ESL/EFL pedagogy and critical AI literacy by positioning AI tools, such as ChatGPT, not as a neutral source of information, but as a tool to enhance language learning in diverse linguistic contexts with a higher degree of human intervention.

This study explores the impact of a blended learning approach on fifth-grade students’ conceptual and procedural knowledge of fractions. A quasi-experimental design was implemented with 130 fifth grade students from public primary schools in socio-economically homogeneous areas of Heraklion, Crete (control group: n = 64; experimental group: n = 66). The intervention combined mobile-accessible H5P interactive tasks designed on e-Me learning platform, featuring dynamic environments in Geogebra, with hands-on activities using manipulatives and student-constructed models. Emphasis was placed on collaborative learning and verbal articulation of reasoning. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed significant within-group improvements in both groups. However, the experimental group showed greater gains. Mann–Whitney U tests confirmed that improvements in conceptual and procedural knowledge were significantly higher in the experimental group (p = 0.003 and p = 0.008, respectively), with moderate effect sizes. These findings suggest that the blended learning approach substantially supports fraction learning by bridging conceptual and procedural aspects of knowledge. The use of browser-based, open-source software proved effective in creating personalised, engaging learning experiences. This study contributes to the growing discussion on technology-enhanced fraction learning by presenting a flexible, learner-centered approach that empowers teachers to design contextually responsive fraction learning experiences.

In this digital era, mobile technology has transformed the education system and made mobile learning media increasingly important, especially in physics education as a complex discipline. Mobile-based learning media, such as physics simulation applications accessed via mobile phones, interactive learning videos via tablets, and mobile learning platforms, have been shown to help students understand abstract and complex physics concepts. However, there is still a gap in the literature regarding how students' preferences for mobile-based learning media affect their physics learning competence and motivation in the context of physics education. This study aims to investigate the relationship between students' preferences for mobile-based learning media, physics competence, and learning motivation in physics learning. This study used a quantitative design with a survey method to collect data from 54 high school students in West Sumatra Province regarding their preferences for various types of mobile-based learning media in physics learning. Data were analyzed using multiple regression to determine the relationship between the variables studied. The results showed that students' preferences for mobile-based learning media had a significant positive impact on physics learning competence and motivation. The findings of the study also showed that students' preferences for PhET simulations accessible via smartphones, mobile-based educational social media applications, and physics learning videos had a significant influence on various aspects of students' physics competence and learning motivation. However, the impact varies depending on the type of learning media preferred and the pattern of students' mobile device usage in physics learning. This study provides valuable insights for physics education practitioners to improve students' learning experiences by considering students' preferences for mobile-based learning media. The implications of this study suggest that understanding and accommodating students' preferences for mobile-based learning media can significantly improve physics competence and learning motivation, thereby improving students' overall learning outcomes.

This study aimed to improve cadets’ learning activity and outcomes in basic mathematical concepts within the Applied Mathematics course through the implementation of the Electronic Mind Mapping (E-Mapping) method. The research was conducted in the Ship Machinery Study Program and involved 26 cadets who had previously taken the course. A classroom action research approach was employed, consisting of three cycles. Each cycle included a pre-test to assess initial abilities, delivery of instructional material, and task implementation using the E-Mapping method. A post-test was then conducted to evaluate cadets’ understanding and learning outcomes. In this study, E-Mapping was facilitated through mobile devices—primarily smartphones—using the SimpleMind and Canva applications. These tools enabled cadets to create, edit, and visualize mind maps in a flexible and interactive manner. The mobile-supported nature of these platforms allowed cadets to access their mind maps anytime and anywhere, enhancing the flexibility, accessibility, and autonomy of their learning. This approach empowered cadets to engage with mathematical concepts beyond the constraints of classroom time, thereby deepening their understanding. The findings revealed that the use of E-Mapping significantly enhanced cadet learning outcomes, as evidenced by increased levels of learning activity and higher average post-test scores. Positive learning activity improved progressively across the cycles: 30.77% in Cycle I, 66.66% in Cycle II, and 82.05% in Cycle III. Similarly, the average post-test score increased from 64.35 in Cycle I to 73.46 in Cycle II, and 82.12 in Cycle III. The study concluded that the E-Mapping method significantly improved both cadet learning activity and outcomes in the Applied Mathematics course. This improvement indicated that E-Mapping made a meaningful contribution to strengthening cadets’ understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts—such as algebra, trigonometry, and number theory—which are essential for applying mathematics in the field of ship machinery engineering. By enabling the visualization of interconnections among concepts, E-Mapping helped cadets systematically organize and integrate knowledge, thereby facilitating the comprehension of abstract and complex material.

Writing can be a challenging task for many people. Developing ideas, organizing them into an outline, spelling words, creating sentences with descriptive adverbs and adjectives, and making edits for a finessed final copy require an ability to manage these tasks concurrently to help make the ideas and phrases flow into a coherent text. For educators as well as governmental departments of education who create and manage yearly testing, there are many options for how writing can be assessed; assessment choices play a part in defining students who struggle with writing. This conceptual article discusses the challenges that students who struggle with writing face, technology tools that can help and how assessment of students' skills can be designed and applied to progress monitor (assess) writing content and quality over time. The conclusions of this article emphasize the benefits of employing research/evidence-based practices for writing with technology tools. The implications are that students who struggle with writing can benefit from step-by-step (strategy) instruction, progress monitoring their written content and quality skills as intervention programming sessions progress, and employing technology tools to help with idea generation, spelling, grammar/syntax, and revising ideas.