Learning with smartphones: a Hong Kong experience INFuture2015 Zvjezdana Dukic The University of Hong Kong

Smartphone penetration 2014 Source: Google's Consumer BarometerConsumer Barometer Hong Kong MTR 2

Smartphone use What? Where? Source: data from Morgan Stanley, Google Think and Opera 3

Research questions This study intends to answer the following research questions: To what extent LIS students use smartphones for academic leaning? What typical learning related activities do LIS students perform with smartphones? What are possible barriers to LIS students’ smartphones use for learning? 4

Research method Research method: online survey Research technique: questionnaire – 17 questions: 15 closed-ended and 2 open-ended – 3 parts: demographic data, smartphone use for daily needs, smartphone use for learning purposes Sample: 93 LIS bachelor and master students – University of Hong Kong 5

Sample demographic characteristics 6

Smartphone use for daily needs 7 Popular activities: talking, sending , texting, chatting, connecting with social media, using search engines and productivity tools, casual reading

Smartphone use for learning Study findings on LIS students’ smartphone use for learning are organized under four major categories: communication and sharing browsing, reading, viewing and listening searching and accessing information and using productivity tools and recording 8

Communication and sharing Study participants frequently use smartphones to discuss study related issues by talking or texting Extensive smartphone use for study related communication indicates that smartphones facilitate collaborative learning 9

Browsing, reading, viewing & listening Study participants use smartphones to browse websites, read posts on social networking sites and watch video clips Less frequently they read academic literature 10

Searching and accessing information More often they search with search engines than by using e-databases or library catalogs 11

Using productivity tools and recording Frequently use scheduling and note taking tools Photo taking is also popular 12

Barriers to smartphone use for learning Small screen is the major barrier Web pages not formatted for smartphones and slow load time are also high barriers 13

Conclusions LIS students from Hong Kong use smartphones for learning and study purposes They use smartphones for browsing, reading or watching study related materials from the Internet but less frequently for reading academic journals and e-books Further, they use smartphones for searching with search engines, but less frequently for searching library catalogs and e-databases LIS students frequently use productivity tools (e.g. calendars, note taking tools, to-do lists) and photo taking smartphone capabilities 14

Conclusions Study findings also show that LIS students commonly use smartphones to discuss study relates issues with classmates, therefore, smartphones can be considered as facilitators of collaborative learning Major barriers are smartphone small screen, absence of smartphone friendly webpages and too slow loading time Findings of the study can be useful for educators and librarians Further studies on smartphone use for learning are recommended 15