To What Extent Do You Agree That Using Mobile Smart Phone Is Beneficial to Tertiary Students’ Studies?

To what extent do you agree that using mobile smart phone is beneficial to tertiary students’ studies?
In recent years, the functions of mobile phones have been developed. Today mobile phones not only allow voice communication and test messaging (SMS), but also possess certain ‘smart’ functions such as recording voice and video, surfing the web, playing music and taking photograph. These devices have made the world a smaller place and people can stay connected around the world. However, regarding the application of smart mobile phones on tertiary education, people are of different opinions, some professionals believe that tertiary undergraduates could benefit from using mobile smart phone in their learning while others argue that these phones would distract tertiary students from learning rather than helping them. This essay examines both the arguments for and against that using mobile smart phone is beneficial to tertiary students’ studies and draws a conclusion.
A number of researchers advocate that mobile smart phone could support independent learning. Suleiman and Aamri (2011) and Kekwaletswe and Ngambi (2006, cited in Echeverría, 2011, p.352) believe that students could make use of their mobile smart phones to have a more self-directed mode of learning instead of just sitting in the classroom and passively receiving the information given by the lecturer. Students could utilize their lightweight, portable mobile smart phones to search relevant materials for their courses anytime and anywhere. For example, students could access the e-libraries to obtain information from e-journals and e-books or download apps which are useful for their learning from app platforms. According to Williams and Pence’s literature review (2011, cited in Yu, 2011, p.834), students could gain chemical information such as scientific research articles and data tables about elements and compounds by using The American Chemical Society smart phone app. However, the effectiveness of mobile smart phone in self- learning is questioned by some educators. They argue that the physically limitations of smart phones may not help undergraduates to achieve self- learning effectively. Yu (2011) and Suki, Suki, Eshaq and Choo (2011) point out that certain limitations of these phones such as less computational power, small screens and small multifunction key pads would hinder learners from using their mobile smart phones for learning. In addition, a survey conducted by Suki, Suki, Eshaq and Choo (2011) shows that certain students probably would not use their smartphones as a learning tool due to their small size and they even claim that the smart phones may not helpful in their knowledge improvement.
The effect of the limitations of mobile smart phone on learning may not be supported by certain experts and they believe that smart phone could enhance collaborative learning. Suleiman and Aamri (2011) show evidence that the collaborative learning experience could be encouraged through using smart phones. For example, when students need to discuss projects or assignments, they could use the platforms embedded in the smart phones such as SMS and Whatsapp to share their ideas, documents as well as learning experience with their group mates without the limitation of geographical barrier (Echeverría et al., 2011; Yvan , Vantroys & Leprêtre, 2008).
Nevertheless, the problem of mobile smart phone causing distraction from learning is another concern for the opponents. Yu (2011, p.837) reveals that ‘smart phones have been seen more as a distraction in the classroom rather than a learning tool’. The lecture would be disturbed if undergraduates receive a message or a call when they are attending the class. The learners probably could not listen the information that the lecturer have been told in the class when they are answering the call or sending the message to their friends and this perhaps would affect their learning progress (Suki, Suki, Eshaq & Choo ,2011; Goundar, 2011).
This essay has discussed the opinions on both for and against using mobile smart phone is beneficial to tertiary students’ studies. In a positive view, smart mobile phones could enhance independent learning and collaborative learning while on an opposite side, mobile smart phones could be regards as a distraction and its physically limitations may obstruct students using it as a learning tool.
After considering these arguments, I believe that using mobile smart phones is beneficial to tertiary student’s studies. This is because by using smart mobile phones, students could enrich the knowledge and enhance their collaborative learning experience. Although certain communication platforms and embedded games in the phones may distract users’ attention, most tertiary students are sophisticated enough to manage themselves effectively. They probably could balance their time for playing and learning. Small screens and key pads of the phones may be a limitation that hinders learners from using it for learning, but students probably use smart phones mainly for searching purpose and they generally would not employ smart phones to type numerous words. In addition, the magnification function of smart phones could ease the problem of small screen. Therefore, I personally believe that tertiary students could benefit from using smart phones in their studies.

Reference List:
Aamri, A. & Suleiman, K. (2011). The Use of Mobile Phones in Learning English Language by Sultan Qaboos University Students: Practices, Attitudes and Challenges. Canadian Journal on Scientific & Industrial Research, 2 (3), 143-152.
Echeverría, A., Nussbaum, M., Calderón, J. F., Bravo, C., Infante, C. & Vásquez, A. (2011). Face-to-Face Collaborative Learning Supported by Mobile Phones. Interactive Learning Environments, 19 (4), 351-363.
Goundar, S. (2011). What is the Potential Impact of Using Mobile Devices in Education?. Shanghai, SIG GlobDev Fourth Annual Workshop, Retrieved December 3, 2011, from http://www.globdev.org/files/Shanghai%20Proceedings /14%20REVISED%20Goundar%20Using%20Mobile%20Devices%20in%20Education%20-%20Final.pdf
Suki, N. M., Suki, N. M., Eshaq, A. R. & Choo, K. A. (2010). Using Mobile Device for Learning: Students'Perspective. In I. Ismail (Ed.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on eLearning (pp.291-299). Malaysia: Academic Publishing Limited.
Yu, F. (2012). Mobile/Smart Phone Use in Higher Education. Arkansas ,The 2012 Southwest Decision Sciences Institute, Retrieved 2012, from http://www.swdsi.org/swdsi2012/proceedings_2012/papers/Papers/PA144.pdf
Yvan, P., Vantroys, T. & Leprêtre, E. (2008). Enabling Mobile Collaborative Learning through Multichannel Interactions. The 4th International Conference on Interactive Mobile and Computer Aided Learning, IMCL2008, Retrieved April 16-18, 2008, from http://www.imcl-conference.org