Thematic Working Group 2: Advancing mobile learning in formal and informal settings.

During the Fourth International Summit on ICT in Education (EDUsummIT, 2015) which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, members of the Thematic Working Group 2 (TWG2) discussed methods, strategies, and guidelines for some of the issues and challenges in the design, implementation, evaluation, and policy development of mobile learning. Some major key challenges were highlighted and discussed along with issues that policy makers, teachers, researchers, and students are facing in mobile learning. Based on the outcome from the framework that identified barriers and limitations along with dynamic criteria for mobile learning implementation, which was the outcome of TWG2 from the EDUsummIT 2013 (Khaddage et. al., 2015), the group briefly summed up major challenges and identified possible solutions that could be applied to solve these challenges. The implemented framework classified challenges into four categories: Pedagogical challenges, technological challenges, policy challenges and research challenges. Any new technology leads to new pedagogies, new policy and new research; these four factors combined can form a solid infrastructure that may help adopt effective ways of mobile learning application (refer Khaddage et. al., 2015 to read more about the model). All evolutionary change usually takes place in response to ecological interactions that operate on the overall ecosystem, and in this case the interaction is obvious between these four challenges and they can allow the understanding of the structure and function of each one of them. Understanding the relationships between these challenges are essential for a proper mobile learning integration and a successful mobile learning ecology (Zhao & Frank, 2003). Mobile learning as a concept and theory has evolved rapidly, it is no longer considered technocentric (devices and technologies), it is more about the learner’s mobility and how we as educators can engage them in learning activities without them being wirely restricted to a physical location. Hence comes the challenge of finding appropriate and effective methods to blend formal and informal learning as seamless learning can occur anytime, (formal in‐classroom, or informal outside classroom).