Title: Short Messaging Service use among college students in USA and its potential as an educational tool: an exploratory study

Authors: A. Ant Ozok, June Wei

Addresses: Department of Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. ' Department of Management/Management Information Systems, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA

Abstract: This study aimed at determining the popularity level of the Short Messaging Service (SMS) in USA among college students and its potential as a content delivery platform in distance education. Results of a 20-question survey administered to 200 college students indicated that there was a common lack of trust among cell phone owners towards SMS. Students generally found SMS as an expensive alternative to voice communication using a cell phone. Given the results, SMS may potentially be used in small scales to deliver educational content, but user acceptance and pricing issues need to be addressed first.

Keywords: cell phones; mobile phones; college education; college students; content delivery tools; distance education; service adoption; Short Messaging Service; SMS; survey study; user preferences; usability; USA; United States; mobile learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2007.016176

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2007 Vol.1 No.4, pp.355 - 374

Published online: 07 Dec 2007 *

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