Title: Mobile learning technologies for 21st-century educators: opportunities and challenges in the UAE

Authors: Latifa Al Dhaheri; Zoheir Ezziane

Addresses: Al Ain Colleges, Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 17258 Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ' Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, Yale Center for Engineering Innovation and Design, Yale University, 10 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Al Ain Colleges, Higher Colleges of Technology, P.O. Box 17258 Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abstract: Within the past two decades, the surge of technological advances has permeated society in many different forms. The advent of social media and the explosion of the World Wide Web into a user-friendly platform have been the foundation as well as the precursor to advances in mobile learning and communication technologies. Mobile learning technologies have evolved out of these advances, resulting in becoming an important topic for discussion in all levels of education. Schools, universities and institutions are moving towards mobile learning in classrooms as a way to take advantage of a new wave of electronic devices that offer portability for users. Tablets, iPads, e-notebooks and smartphones are increasingly becoming the tools of choice for today's educators and learners. The purpose of this study is to explore the current trends, opportunities and skills needed, as well as the impacts that mobile learning has on educators and learners in higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Keywords: mobile learning; m-learning; electronic learning; e-learning; online learning; traditional learning; higher education; universities; undergraduate students; UAE; United Arab Emirates; technology enhanced learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2015.074206

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2015 Vol.9 No.3, pp.218 - 239

Received: 02 Mar 2015
Accepted: 03 Jun 2015
Published online: 18 Jan 2016 *

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