Thesis Group

MOBILE DEVICE USE IN
STUDENT LEARNING
PROCESS
Supporting Student Learning Process with

Use of Mobile Devices
LAHTI UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED

SCIENCES
Degree programme in Business
Information Technology
Bachelor’s Thesis
Autumn 2017
Jason Ali
Lahti University of Applied Sciences
Degree Programme in Business Information Technology
ALI, JASON: Mobile Device Use in Student

Learning Process
Supporting Student Learning Process
with Use of Mobile Devices
Bachelor’s Thesis in Business Information Technology
39 pages, 5 pages of appendices
Autumn 2017
ABSTRACT
Many students use mobile devices both in their free time and during
school. Mobile devices have to potential to be used for learning purposes
as well as for personal use.
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the ways in which students utilise
mobile devices and the services Lahti University of Applied Sciences
provide and identify potential ways in which mobile devices can be used to
support the learning process of students.
The data used in this thesis was collected using surveys which were
created with questions tailored to identify how Lahti UAS students use
their mobile devices, what their feedback is about the services they use,
with an emphasis on Reppu and their ideas for how to utilize mobile
devices in the future.
The results show that some students are already using mobile devices to
support their learning to an extent and also identified some potential ways
to use mobile devices to further support the learning process of students.
Keywords: mobile devices, learning process, Lahti UAS, peer

collaboration, Reppu, LAMK application
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 RESEARCH APPROACH 2
2.1 Research question and objective 2
2.2 Research method and process 3
2.3 Thesis structure 5
3 LEARNING STYLES AND MOBILE LEARNING 8

3.1 Learning styles and mobile devices 8
3.2 Social media and mobile learning 9
4 RESEARCH DATA 11
4.1 Background questions 11
4.2 Main survey questions 13
5 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 27

5.1 Mobile device in learning 27
5.2 Using Reppu on mobile devices 30
5.3 Reliability and validity 33
6 CONCLUSION 34
6.1 Answering the research questions 34
6.2 Suggestions for further research 37
LIST OF REFERENCES 38
APPENDIX 40
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 - Research process diagram ........................................................ 5

Figure 2 - Thesis structure diagram ............................................................ 6
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 - Qualitative and quantitative comparison (DensCombe 1998, 174

– 176) ......................................................................................................... 3
Table 2 - Answers to survey - Question 1................................................. 11
Table 3 - Answers to survey - Question 2................................................. 11
Table 4 - Answers to survey – Question 3 ................................................ 12
Table 10 - Answers to survey – Question 9 .............................................. 17
Table 11 - Answers to survey – Question 10 ............................................ 17
Table 18 - Survey question comparison - Questions 8 & 9....................... 30
KEY TERMS AND DEFENITIONS
Mobile devices - Smart mobile phones and small tablet computers
Learning process - Any activities related to school or learning
Lahti UAS - Lahti University of Applied Science
LAMK - Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu (Lahti UAS Finnish name)
Reppu - Service provided by Lahti UAS, where students can enroll to

course areas and submit assignments.
Moodle - Learning platform system that Reppu is based on
Lukkarit - Lesson schedule system provided by Lahti UAS
Peer collaboration - Students working together to study or achieve goals

or projects
1 INTRODUCTION
There are billions of people using mobile devices around the world. By the
year 2018 it has been estimated that there will be over seven billion mobile
devices in use with constant access to the internet. Accessing the internet
is a significant feature of mobile devices today, with mobile phones no
longer being just a phone but a portable multimedia device. Social media,
internet services, multimedia and other applications are in constant
demand by users which has therefore led the rapid improvement of mobile
phones and tablets. For example, in 2013 the average download rate was
nearly 1.4 Mbps which had almost tripled the average speed from 2012,
which was only 520 Kbps. (Krawczyk et al. 2017, 293.)
The rapid increase in computing power, memory capacity, screen size and
resolution also increases the potential of the devices. Mobile application
developers may be able to take advantage of these improvements when
creating new mobile applications, allowing more advanced useful
applications to be utilized by mobile device users in their personal and
working lives. (Krawczyk et al. 2017, 293 – 294.)
There is now potential for utilizing mobile devices for teaching and learning
especially as mobile devices are very popular with young people and the
current generation of students and research showing more students are
owning them (Brown et al. 2015, 32). Smart phones can be used for many
things including instant messaging, social media, playing games, sending
emails and general communication. As such they can now be considered
essential to both personal and working lives. (Gaskin et al. 2015, 181.)
The focus of this thesis is on the use of smart mobile technology by

students and how it can be applied to learning. The study will examine
how students utilize smart phones and tablets during their studies and how
they use the tools and services provided by their university. This thesis is
commissioned by the Lahti UAS eLearning Unit.
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2 RESEARCH APPROACH
2.1 Research question and objective
It is possible to enhance the experience of students by integrating mobile

devices into teaching methods by allowing students to study more
effectively (Mills 2015, 8). Accordingly, the chosen research question is the
following:
 How can smart mobile devices be utilized to support

the learning process of students at Lahti University of
Applied Sciences?
The aim of this research is to find out how students are currently using
their smart devices during their learning, including classroom use and
learning activities. In addition, the aim is to find out how they utilize the
learning tools provided by Lahti University of Applied Sciences, with an
emphasis on Reppu. How students feel about using these tools on mobile
devices in terms of usability, reliability, relevance and personal preference
will also be analysed. The research will be used to theorize ways in which
the learning tools can be changed to improve the learning process of
students and whether integrating smart devices into teaching methods
would be beneficial or not.
The research question can be broken down into the following sub
questions:
 How are mobile devices currently used in the learning

process of students?
 What can be done to further support the use of mobile
devices in the learning process?
The first of these will examine how mobile devices are currently used by
students during their learning, and the second question will examine the
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possibilities and changes that would need to take place to improve the
learning processes using mobile devices.
2.2 Research method and process
The method used will be mostly qualitative. Qualitative research focuses

more on words compared to qualitative research where the focus is on
numbers in terms of what is being analysed. Qualitative research is also
usually applied to smaller studies than quantitative studies. Statistics are
usually more reliable in larger numbers and while this can be beneficial in
both methods, qualitative research can benefit from being focused on a
study with limited numbers of situations and people. (DensCombe 1998,
174 – 175.) As the research question is explorative and the answer may
be subjective, examining opinions and experiences of students will likely
be more useful than observing objective facts and numbers. Using one
approach does not necessarily mean excluding the other (DensCombe
1998, 173). In this study quantitative methods will also be considered, for
example, counting the amount of time students spend using their mobile
devices for personal use compared to using them for studying. The table
below shows a comparison of qualitative and quantitative methods (Table
1).
Table 1 - Qualitative and quantitative comparison (DensCombe 1998, 174 – 176)
Qualitative Quantitative
Textual Numerical
Descriptive Analytical
Small-scale studies Large-scale studies
Holistic perspective Specific focus
Researcher Researcher
involvement detachment
4
Emergent research Predetermined

research
To gather data for this research, the main method used will be surveys.
These will be created with questions tailored to gather the information
required to answer the research questions. The surveys will be aimed
towards students, and the intention is to survey a sample of students from
each faculty. It is important to gain feedback from students from every
faculty as their opinions and experiences may be different; for example, IT
students may be more technology orientated and utilize mobile devices
more in their learning than students in other faculties. In addition to the
surveys, data will also be collected by interviewing a sample of willing
students to get more detailed information about personal experiences and
opinions about how mobile technology is used in their learning and
feedback on the learning tools provided by Lahti UAS. Data will also be
gathered by interviewing willing teachers. This will allow insight into how
they utilize mobile devices in their teaching methods and their experiences
witnessing student mobile device use during classes.
The answers from the survey will be put into tables in Excel, and charts
will be created to visualize the data. It will then be possible to find
correlations and comparisons, for example between faculties. This also
allows to identify popular answers, for example if many people have the
same problem with a certain function on Reppu. The data will be analysed
and then summarized in a way that refers back to the initial research
questions.
The research process is shown in the figure below (Figure 1).

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Figure 1 - Research process diagram
2.3 Thesis structure
The thesis consists of six main sections. These sections are the following:
Introduction, Research Approach, Learning Styles and Mobile Learning,
Research Data, Data Analysis and Discussion and the Conclusion. Below
is a diagram showing the structure of this thesis (Figure 2).
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Figure 2 - Thesis structure diagram
The Introduction section introduces the thesis topic and outlines a basic
background of mobile devices and their use. The next section, Research
Approach, states the research question and sub-questions that motivate
this study. It also contains information on the method of research used in
this study and the structure of this thesis. The section Learning Styles and
Mobile Learning motivates the study further by providing a background
using previous studies about utilising mobile devices for learning.
The section Research Data contains the data collected in this research. It
contains the survey questions and the answers collected displayed in
tables. The next section Data Analysis and Discussion is where the
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research data is analysed, finding trends and key points of interest to the
study. This section also contains information on the reliability and validity
of the research.
Finally, the Conclusion section summarises the key points discovered in

data analysis and relates them to the research questions to find the
answers to the study. This section also contains insight into the potential of
further research.
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3 LEARNING STYLES AND MOBILE LEARNING
It is essential to know about different learning styles and to understand

what the idea of mobile learning is. Therefore, in this section of the thesis
existing research will be examined to discuss and review some of the key
concepts and ideas related to this thesis.
3.1 Learning styles and mobile devices
Every person has their own learning style, which affects their motivation
when learning new information depending on how they are being taught or
studying. eLearning (electronic learning) takes students learning style into
account by being designed with optional activities that students can
choose. These activities help to engage and motivate students which
encourages success. Applying this to mLearning (mobile learning) also
allows the learning to be more flexible and convenient for the student.
(Dawson et al. 2011, 7.) If mobile devices are considered in learning
processes, teachers can use them to help engage students in learning and
possibly improve their motivation towards the subject.
Mobile devices allow people to engage in activities and transactions in

locations and situations where it never used to be possible or it was much
more difficult, such as during a bus ride or even while walking. The device
offers the usage of a computer but with greater portability. As the mobile
device offers convenience, it also generates a dependency for the user.
Because these devices have internet access, they allow the user to have
access to many things including emails, instant messages and social
media. (Ker et al. 2011 194.) By being able to view social media updates
and messages instantly, smart phone users are more inclined to check
their device frequently (Chang et al. 2013, 375). With most students
owning a mobile device, it is very tempting to use them in lessons for
things other than studying for example social media or instant messaging if
someone else is messaging them during a lesson. This can make them
distracted and less motivated to pay attention when the teacher is
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speaking. If some usage is integrated into classroom activities, students

may be less likely to be distracted as they are already engaged with their
school work.
3.2 Social media and mobile learning
Students are often users of social media and comfortable using

technology to communicate with their peers, with WhatsApp being one of
the preferred instant messaging applications used. Research has shown
however that more often students will try to solve problems themselves by
searching online when they have a difficulty with their course or studies.
Students were also less likely to talk to teachers, students in other courses
or go to the support centre on their institution when they needed support.
(Bullen et al. 2016.) Lahti University of Applied Sciences has message
boards available for discussion on the course pages of Reppu, which are
not always full utilised. Perhaps encouraging students to use group chats
in social media, such as Facebook or instant messaging services such as
WhatsApp, to discuss coursework would be beneficial to students as they
can easily use them on their mobile devices and are likely already familiar
with them. They may also be able to have more informal discussion as the
communication channel would be unofficial and not moderated by a
teacher or supervisor.
In some cases introducing teaching techniques using mobile devices has

had problems. Although introduction of these devices may open up
possibilities, for example being able to get a better understanding of
course content from multimedia available, some students, particularly
older students, find it difficult to adapt to new study habits when they are
used to learning in more traditional ways. There is also a similar problem
where teachers are unable to use mobile devices to their full potential in
learning if they are not completely familiar with capabilities or if they utilize
these devices without actually changing their teaching methods to
accommodate them. (Marez et al. 2015, 14.) To fully benefit from teaching
techniques that utilize mobile devices, it may be more beneficial to
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introduce them to students at a younger age and ensure teachers are fully
trained in using the devices which they may be unfamiliar with. This has
already been taken into account in the new curriculum in basic education
in Finland. In the future, this generation of students who are well
acquainted to the use of mobile devices in learning may have higher
expectations about utilising this technology.
To encourage students to use mobile applications that can aid their

learning, the applications must be designed to provide an enjoyable
experience for the student. Applications should be user-friendly,
understandable, learnable and aesthetically pleasing to the user. The
application should not just be a copy of the desktop alternative but be
designed to be effective on a smaller screen with touch screen capability
without compromising the usability available on the desktop version where
possible. (Ali et al. 2014, 14.) These principles could also be applied to
mobile versions of websites to ensure users get the best experience on
whichever device they use.
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4 RESEARCH DATA
The survey was conducted during the time period of 28th October 2017 to
the 10th of November 2017. The survey was posted to several teachers
from each faculty to distribute among their students. It was also posted on
the Lahti UAS Yammer page where all students would be able to see the
link in an email notification if they are subscribed. The students were
selected this way to try to get as many answers as possible from a variety
of faculties.
The survey questions can be found in the appendices. The answers are
presented in this chapter in tables. There were 21 responses to the survey
(Table 4).
4.1 Background questions
Table 1 - Answers to survey - Question 1
1. Please enter gender
Answer Number of answers Percentage of answers
Male 8 38.1%
Female 12 57.1%
Other 1 4.8%
2. Please enter your age range
18 – 21 3 14.3%
12
22 – 25 11 52.4%
26 – 29 4 19%
30 – 40 1 4.8%
40 – 50 1 4.8%
50+ 1 4.8%
The answers given the first two questions provide a background to the
student responding (Table 2 & Table 3). This information be used to find
correlations or differences in the perceptions of students of certain
genders and age ranges.
Table 4 - Answers to survey – Question 3
3. Which faculty are you a part of?
Faculty of Business and 12 51.7%

Hospitality Management
Faculty of Technology 7 33.3%
Institute of Design 1 4.8%
Faculty of Social and 1 4.8%

Health Care
The answers given to the third question show which faculty the student is
a part of (Table 4). These answers can be used to see the different
perspectives from students who may be taught in different ways.
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4. Which year of your studies are you in?
First Year 2 9.5%
Second Year 8 38.3%
Third Year 6 28.6%
Fourth Year or more 5 23.8%
The fourth question asks the student which year of studies they are in
(Table 5). Students may have different experiences depending on how
long they have studied for. For example, first year students may not have
used certain services as much as third or fourth year students.
4.2 Main survey questions
5. How do you use your mobile device for everyday studying purposes?
(Please choose all that apply)
During lessons 10 47.6%
Between lessons 10 47.6%
Outside of LAMK 10 47.6%
For independent studying 9 42.9%

14
For group work 8 38.1%
For peer discussion 9 42.9%
I don’t use my mobile 3 14.3%

device for studying
purposes
Other: In between lessons 1 4.8%
Other: checking deadlines 1 4.8%

+ calendar
Other: I take pics/videos if 1 4.8%

needed
The fifth question asks the student about how they use their mobile device
for studying purposes every day (Table 6). The answers show to current
state of mobile device usage related to study and may show where there is
room for change or improvement.
6. How would you describe your mobile device usage during lessons?
I don’t use my mobile 1 4.8%

device in lessons
Only for school/learning 2 9.5%

purposes
Mostly for school/learning 5 23.8%

15
purposes
Only for non- 0 0%

school/learning purposes
Mostly for non- 7 33.3%

school/learning purposes
An even mixture of 6 28.6%

learning and personal use
The sixth question asks the student about how they use their mobile
device during lessons (Table 7). The answers show the amount in which
mobile devices are used for learning compared to personal use during
lessons. This could be used to show where lessons could be improved, for
example if students are distracted by mobiles, whether utilising them in
lessons will solve this problem or not.
7. How often on average would you say you use your mobile device on
any given day?
0 – 1 hours 1 4.8%
1 – 2 hours 1 4.8%
2 – 3 hours 10 47.6%
3 – 4 hours 1 4.8%
4 – 5 hours 3 14.3%
16
5 – 6 hours 0 0%
6 – 7 hours 1 4.8%
7+ hours 4 19%
The seventh question asks the student how often they use their mobile
device daily (Table 8). The amount of time spent using mobile devices
may reflect whether learning aided by the devices would be effective for
them or not.
8. How often do you use Reppu?
Answer Number of Answers Percentage of answers
Every day 6 28.6%
Every week 10 47.6%
A few times a month 3 14.3%
Occasionally 2 9.5%
The eighth question asks how often the student uses Reppu (Table 9).
Many courses have their information and assignments available in Reppu
depending on the teaching style. Using Reppu is therefore vital to some
courses and unnecessary in others. This question makes it possible to see
if students are making use of Reppu and perhaps whether students could
get more use from it.
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9. How would you describe your Reppu usage on mobile devices

compared to on computer?
Always on mobile device 0 0%
More often on mobile 1 4.8%

device
Evenly used on mobile 4 19%

device and computer
More often on computer 12 57.1%
Always on computer 4 19%
The ninth question asks the student to describe how often they use Reppu
on mobile compared to on a computer (Table 10). The answers from this
question can be used to determine whether students are making use of
Reppu on their mobile device and compare to other questions they
answered to try to determine why.
10. Which mobile browser/application do you use on your mobile device

to use Reppu?
Don't know / default 2 9.5%

browser
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Chrome 11 52.4%
Firefox 3 14.3%
Safari 3 14.3%
Moodle app 0 0%
Other: Dolphin 1 4.8%
Other: Edge 1 4.8%
The tenth question asks the student which browser or application they
utilize on their mobile device to use Reppu (Table 11). It is important to
identify which browser or application that is used as any issues that occur
may be isolated to certain applications. Students who have bad
experiences with Reppu on mobile may find that they could have a better
experience using a different browser or application.
11. Which features do you use on Reppu on your mobile device? (Please
choose all that apply)
Looking at course 18 85.7%

information/materials
Handing in assignments 3 14.3%
Discussion boards 4 19%
Links for students 7 33.3%

19
Quizzes 1 4.8%
Other: I use laptop for this 1 4.8%
The eleventh question asks which Reppu features are used by students
on their mobile devices (Table 12). The answers to this question will
identify the features that students use or do not use on their mobile
devices. This will show how students are using Reppu on their mobile
devices and may identify areas that could be changed or improved if
possible.
12. Please read the following statements about using Reppu on mobile
devices and choose the extent you agree or disagree with them.
Answer Number of Answers Percentage of Answers
Reppu is fully functional on mobile devices
Strongly agree 2 9.5%
Slightly agree 9 42.9%
Unsure/don’t know 4 19%
Slightly disagree 4 19%
Strongly disagree 2 9.5%
I am able to find and enrol to course areas without difficulty on my mobile

device

20
Unsure/don’t know 2 9.5%
Slightly disagree 5 23.8%
I can utilize discussion boards without difficulty on my mobile device
Slightly disagree 4 19%
I am able to search for and find information in Reppu on my mobile device
Strongly agree 4 19%
I can easily find and change the Reppu language options on my mobile
device

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Strongly disagree 0 0%
Reppu is visually appealing on my mobile device
Unsure/don’t know 4 19%
The twelfth question asks students to respond to six statements that are
about using Reppu on mobile devices (Table 13). The answers to this
question can be used to examine how well students are able to use Reppu
and how well it works for them. The answers can be compared to the
answers from other questions such as their faculty to try to identify any
correlation between them.
13. Please describe any aspects or features of Reppu that are

unappealing or difficult to use on your mobile device or any
improvements/changes you would like to see. (You may also answer
this question in Finnish if you prefer)
Its a scaled down version of desktop pretty much
There should be a feature to hide content I don't need regularly
Choosing a course from my enrolled courses is slightly difficult/annoying when

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using Reppu on my phone.
I prefer laptop. Iphone screen is too small for reppu. It makes you crazy.
None expect file uploading. It works on PC so easily.
The page seems zoomed so when you for example open the "my courses"
submenu you can only see halv of the textes.
Liian paljon tavaraa allekkain, parempi olisi enemmän avautuvia valikkoja jotta ei
joudu rullailla koko ajan
I haven't used Reppu enough on my mobile device to have an opinion on this

matter.
It works as good as I need.
The thirteenth question asks the student for any aspect or feature of
Reppu that they find unappealing or difficult to use (Table 14). These
answers can be used to identify any specific issues students have with
using Reppu on their mobile device. Although Lahti UAS are limited with
what changes they can make to Reppu as it is based on Moodle, common
issues may be helpful when considering applications they have more
control over.
14. What other tools do you use on your mobile device for learning
purposes? (Please choose all that apply)
Kyvyt.fi ePortfolio service 0 0%

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OneDrive 7 33.3%
OneNote 0 0%
Outlook 12 57.1%
Word 6 28.6%
Excel 5 23.8%
Powerpoint 5 23.8
Teams 0 0%
Sway 0 0%
Respa 3 14.3%
Lukkarit (schedules) 18 85.7%
Yammer 10 47.6%
Google Drive 6 28.6%
Facebook 10 47.6%
Youtube 8 38.1%
Skype 1 4.8%
Skype for business 1 4.8%
Dropbox 1 4.8%
WhatsApp 16 76.2%
Other: Duolingo 1 4.8%
Other: LAMK App 1 4.8%

24
Other: Telegram (better 1 4.8%

version of Whatsapp)
Other: Google 1 4.8%
The fourteenth question asks students which other tools they utilize on
their mobile devices in the learning process (Table 15). The answers to
this question can be used to identify which third party applications are
popular among students and what kind of tools they are. For example, it
may be useful to identify which communication tools students are using to
collaborate with other students.
15. How have teachers utilized your mobile devices during lessons?
Documenting learning by 0 0%
writing
Taking pictures 6 28.6%
Making videos 5 23.8%
Doing assignments 5 23.8%
Searching for information 9 42.9%
Group work 5 23.8%
Peer collaboration 3 14.3%
Independent work 2 9.5%

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To work with partners 0 0%

such as company
representatives (other
than representatives of
LAMK)
Workplace learning 0 0%
The devices of students 4 19%

have not been utilized by
teachers
Other: They haven’t 1 4.8%
Kahoot 1 4.8%
The fifteenth asks the students how teachers have made use of the
student’s mobile devices during lessons if at all (Table 16). The answers
from this question may determine if teachers are already considering
mobile devices in their teaching methods or discover areas where mobile
devices could be considered more often.
Please write any suggestions or ideas that you have about how mobile
devices can be utilized more effectively for studying (You may also answer
In my opinnion people should have laptops or tablets. In my class people mostly

use their phones for facebook or instagram. Phones are also used during
presentations and it is clear that people don't use them for learning. Tablet/laptop
screens are too big to hide so it is not so easy to use them to something
unnecessary.
26
WinhaWille is bad for mobile users, but all other works fine for me.
Itse käytän mieluummin joka tapauksessa konetta mutta yhteyden ylläpitoon

kännykkää. Olisi tärkeää, että esimerkiksi kaikki muutokset lukkareihin jne
päivitetään myös LAMK sovellukseen
An app to gamify studies could be used. There actually are apps for this purpose,
but I'm not sure whether or not they are used in our school.
reppu is a clusterfuck
I prefer my desktop. I only use my mobile devices occassionally.
The final question asks students for their suggestions or ideas about how
to use mobile devices more effectively for studying (Table 17). The
information gained from the students perspective could prove useful in
identify potential ways to utilize mobile devices more effectively in the
studying process.
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5 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
In this section, the data analysis will be split into mobile device use of
students in learning and a part specifically about Reppu. There will also be
a part about the reliability and validity of the data.
5.1 Mobile device in learning
The answers from the survey have provided some insight into how mobile
devices are being utilized by students at Lahti UAS. Of the twenty-one
students that responded, only one said that they did not use their mobile
device during lessons (Table 7). Almost half of the students said they used
their mobile devices during school every day (Table 6). This suggests that
most students are using their mobile devices at school in lessons, if not
every lesson. When students were asked how they used their mobile
devices during lessons, none of them answered that they only use their
mobile device for non-school related activities and five people used theirs
mostly for school or learning related activities which suggests most
students are at least using their mobile devices to aid their learning in
some way. However, only two people said that they used their device for
only school related activities with six people saying they used their device
an even amount for learning and personal activities. Also a third of
students said they used their device in lessons mostly for personal and
non-learning related activities which implies that although students are
using their devices for learning reasons they are also being somewhat
distracted by them during lessons (Table 6.)
Three students stated that they do not use their mobile devices for
studying (Table 6). However, all three also answered question six by
saying that they used their device in lessons mostly for non-school
purposes rather than only non-school purposes, which means that they
likely actually do use their mobile devices to some small extent during
lessons to aid their learning even if they did not consciously admit it in
question five (Table 7). It is also possible that they did not want to admit
28
that they only used their mobile devices for non-school related tasks. They
might not want to look like bad students despite the fact that the survey
answers were anonymous.
Nine students said that they use their mobile device for peer discussion
with the majority of these also using WhatsApp. This suggests that
students may be using WhatsApp for discussion with their peers. Sixteen
students said they used WhatsApp for learning purposes which means
WhatsApp may be a useful way for students to stay in contact outside of
lessons and discuss what they have learned. This could be a good way to
use mobile devices to aid learning if teachers encourage students to
discuss with each other using WhatsApp or similar applications. This
application can also be used to share files, which could be useful for group
work.
When asked about what other tools they use, students responded that
they use Facebook and WhatsApp on their mobile devices for learning
purposes which suggests they communicate with their peers during their
learning process (Table 15). Being able to communicate easily with other
students can be useful to their education as some students may not feel
comfortable talking to teachers about their problems. Having these
applications on their mobile devices would also likely get a faster response
from other students rather than sending emails. However, Outlook was
also a popular choice with twelve students saying they also use it on their
mobile devices (Table 15). Email is usually the main point of contact
between a student and teacher outside of lessons so it is important for
students to be able to access their email account regularly or receive
notifications when they receive them. Despite notifications being useful,
they can be annoying if the student receives a lot of emails and receives a
notification for each one.
The most popular tool students said that they also used on their mobile
was Lukkarit with eighteen students selecting it (Table 15.) Being able to
check schedules often is important to students in case classes are
29
cancelled or the rooms they take place are changed. Therefore, being able
to check schedules easily on their mobile devices is very useful to
students. Schedules are now easily viewable in the LAMK application;
however, only one student who responded said that they used the LAMK
application. At the time of this research, the LAMK application has only
recently been released. Hence not every student will have used it or
maybe even be aware of it yet.
Students were asked how teachers are currently considering the students
mobile devices in lessons and how they utilised them. The most common
usage mentioned was searching for information, with nine people selecting
that choice. (Table 16). Having a mobile device at hand to search for
information from search engines is very convenient for students during
lessons if they want to clarify something without having to ask the teacher,
which some students may avoid doing due to embarrassment. Having
students use their mobile devices to search for their own information
allows them to be active participants rather than the teacher just
presenting information at the front of the classroom. Some students also
said that they took pictures or made videos with their mobile devices for
classes which is a different approach to learning and adds some variety to
classroom activities which may be more interesting to some students.
Group work and peer collaboration were also mentioned by a few students
which suggests some teachers are already making use of the instant
communication available on mobile devices to students. However, five
students said that their teachers have not utilised mobile devices in their
lessons which means there could be potential to change and encourage
relevant use of mobile devices in the classroom. Kahoot was also
mentioned by one student, which is another useful tool that enables the
class to partake in interactive quizzes that can be a more fun alternative to
traditional written quizzes that also shows an immediate difference in
answers visually.
Students were asked for their suggestions on ways which mobile devices
could be used more effectively for studying. Some students felt laptops
30
and computers were preferable to mobile phones during lessons with one
suggesting having a bigger screen makes students less likely to stray onto
non-school related activities if they think the teacher can see what they are
doing. This suggests that although using mobile devices can be utilized in
class that some students will still prefer the functionality available in a
laptop or computer. Another student suggested making an application to
gamify studies meaning that studying could be more engaging and fun to
students who might get bored or overwhelmed with studying. One student
mentioned schedules being updated so that Lukkarit matches the LAMK
application. (Table 17.) If students start utilizing the LAMK application and
the schedules are reliable and up to date, it would be a very reliable
resource for students to have on the move.
5.2 Using Reppu on mobile devices
Table 18 - Survey question comparison - Questions 8 & 9
How often students use Reppu comparison
All Reppu
usage
Reppu on Every day Every week A few times a Occasionally

Mobile month
Devices
Always on
Mobile Device
0 0 0 0
More often on
Mobile Device
0 1 0 0
Even Use
1 3 0 0
More often on
Computer
5 4 2 1
31
Always on
Computer
0 2 1 1
The table above shows a comparison of how often students use Reppu
compared to their usage of Reppu on mobile devices (Table 18). While no
students said they used Reppu exclusively on mobile devices and only
one student used Reppu on mobile more often than computer, most of the
students questioned at least used Reppu on mobile to some extent. Those
who used Reppu less frequently appeared less likely to use Reppu on a
mobile device. This suggests those using Reppu on mobile devices are
more often doing it when it is not convenient to use a computer and those
that are using Reppu more often will more likely need to use their mobile
devices at least some of the time.
Reppu is most often used on mobile devices by students to view course

information and materials, with eighteen students out of twenty-one stating
that they did (Table 12). Students also use links for students on their
mobile device, which can be a gateway to other sites such as the school
email and schedule sites. Only a few people use their mobile devices to
hand in assignments or use discussion boards. Most written assignments
are likely completed on computers which suggests it would be more
convenient to submit them to Reppu on their computer rather than sending
the file to their mobile device which is an extra step in the process
regardless of how difficult or easy it is to submit files on the mobile version
of Reppu.
When asked whether Reppu was fully functional on their mobile devices,
over half agreed to some extent with nine people slightly agreeing and
only two strongly agreeing (Table 13). Six people disagreed with two of
those strongly disagreeing. Most of those that agreed it was fully functional
also used the Chrome browser while of those who disagreed more used
Firefox and Safari. This suggests at the time of this research Chrome is
better suited to using Reppu than Firefox or Safari.
32
Seven people strongly agreed that they could find course areas and enrol
to them without difficulty on mobile devices while six slightly agreed. Six
people disagreed with only one of those strongly disagreeing. Over half
the students responded that they agreed they could also search for and
find information on Reppu which suggests for the most part Reppu is not
too difficult to navigate on a mobile device. (Table 13.)
Seven students agreed that they could utilize the discussion boards on
Reppu on a mobile device with two strongly agreeing, whereas five people
disagreed with one strongly disagreeing. Nine students answered however
that they were unsure/did not know with regard to discussion boards which
suggests that they are not utilized by these students. (Table 13.) Message
boards on Reppu can be a good use of peer discussion as everyone who
is enrolled to the course can view them.
Most people responded that they did not know or were unsure about
Reppu language options on mobile devices which suggests they have not
really had to use the options more than the initial time (Table 13). If Reppu
keeps the language consistent from user setting when they log in, then it
should not be a problem for students.
There were varied responses to whether students found Reppu visually

appealing, which possibly means visuals are down to personal preference.
However, when asked to describe in more detail any issues that they have
with Reppu on mobile device visuals seem to be an issue, with one
student saying that the page makes it difficult to view content at times and
another saying they prefer using a laptop as the mobile screen is too small
to use Reppu effectively. One respondent said that the mobile version of
Reppu is just a scaled down version of the desktop version suggesting
that Reppu is not optimized for mobile users. It is important to note
however that none of the students responding used the Moodle application
for their mobile devices. This application is more optimized for mobile use
than the browser alternative and had they used it their answers may have
been different. One respondent said they would like to hide content they
33
do not need to see often. Another student implied that Reppu is cluttered
with information. This suggests that there is sometimes too much
information to navigate through which can be especially difficult on mobile
devices.
5.3 Reliability and validity
The findings of this study may be affected by the limitations of the

research. The survey was posted to the All Company section of the Lahti
UAS Yammer site. The All Company section has 5136 members, including
staff. However, the survey had a poor response rate with only twenty one
students responding. Since the sample size is so small, it is possible that
the answers are isolated or do not reflect the opinions or experiences of
the rest of the students. Due to the poor response rate some planned
comparisons were unable to be completed, as the majority of answers
were from only two faculties, this study was unable to discover trends or
correlations between faculties. It is also possible that some students may
not have answered truthfully due to the nature of some of the questions,
for example not wanting to admit that they used their mobile device only
for non-learning related activities during lessons despite the survey
answers being taken anonymously. As the survey answers were
anonymously given, there is no way to confirm the accuracy of the
responses.
The two questions on the survey that required written answers were in
some cases ignored or simply answered with a dash. This meant that for
these questions there were less legitimate answers than there were
students who responded. With an already small sample size this limited
the information gained from the responses. The original intention of this
study was also to use interviews to get more detailed personal
experiences and opinions. Due to time restraints and lack of interest
however this was not possible and therefore limited the information
available from the research.
34
6 CONCLUSION
Despite the limitations on the study, there were a variety of answers given
to the survey. In this research, there were trends found that were able to
answer the research question and give some insight into the potential of
using mobile devices in the learning process of students.
How can smart mobile devices be utilized to support the learning process
of students at Lahti University of Applied Sciences?
This is the main research question. There are several key findings from
the research that can be used to answer the research questions. In this
section the findings will be split to answer the two sub questions to
summarise the answers to the main research question.
6.1 Answering the research questions
How are mobile devices currently used in the learning process of students
at Lahti University of Applied Sciences?
The answers to the first sub-question observes the current state of the
situation and reveal how mobile devices are currently utilized in the
learning process at Lahti University of Applied Sciences.
At Lahti UAS, mobile devices are currently being used to an extent to

support the learning process of students. Over half of students are using
their mobile devices during lessons with most of them using their mobile
devices for learning purposes to some extent however a third of those
admitted to using their device for mostly non-school activities. Some
students are using applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook to
communicate with other students to discuss their studies and collaborate
on projects. This allows them almost instant communication if they have
their mobile devices available. Students are utilizing their mobile devices
to check their schedules but are mostly appear not to be using the recently
released LAMK application which has schedules built into it. Many
35
students are also using their mobile devices to check their school email
account. Sometimes classes may be cancelled or rescheduled to another
time or class at short notice and this may not be reflected in the schedule
but students may be notified by email so it is useful for students to be able
to check their email regularly or receive notifications on their mobile
device. Students can also add their mobile number to their Reppu profile
which would enable teachers to use the SMS tool in Reppu to send a
message to students’ mobile phones to notify them.
Reppu is functional on mobile devices for the most part but less
convenient than using the desktop alternative. Students are mostly able to
enrol to course areas and look at course information without great
difficulty. The main issues with Reppu on mobile devices are that Reppu
has a lot of content that is difficult to navigate on a smaller screen as the
mobile version appears to be a scaled down version of the desktop version
as well as the content being difficult to navigate or view all at once in some
instances. Additionally submitting assignments to Reppu on mobile
devices is considered more difficult by students than on the desktop
version. More than half of students preferred to use Reppu on their laptop
or computer yet none of the students surveyed in this research used the
Moodle application, which is more optimized for mobile devices than the
browser versions, to utilize Reppu on their mobile devices.
Some teachers are utilizing mobile devices to an extent in their lessons.

Students have been using their mobile devices to search for information,
do group work, take pictures and make videos during their studies. Kahoot
has been mentioned by students, which is an interactive competitive quiz
teachers can use to engage with students. However, almost a quarter of
students said that teachers have not considered their mobile devices in
lessons.
What can be done to further support the use of mobile devices in the
learning process?
36
The answers to the second sub-question display the potential for

improving the learning process for students.
Many students are already using their mobile devices during lessons.
Therefore, they should be encouraged to use them for learning purposes
more than personal use. It is impossible for teachers to control what their
students do yet it could be beneficial to integrate mobile devices into
lesson plans. Using quiz applications like Kahoot or having information
available to students on their mobile devices in the form of pdfs for
example may stop students being distracted by their mobile device as its
use will support their learning in the lesson. Other activities such as taking
photos or making videos are also useful as it allows the students to learn
in different ways that they may find more interesting.
Peer discussion should be encouraged in students. Applications such as

WhatsApp and Facebook can be used by students to collaborate on
projects and may also help students to make new friends. The use of
discussion boards on Reppu could be encouraged by teachers as all
students would benefit from peer discussion on there as all enrolled
students can view the message boards of a course. However, some
students may be discouraged by teachers being able to view their
questions and prefer private messaging with other students available in
the mentioned third party applications. Course or project team group chats
could be set up so that students can discuss their courses in more informal
and relaxed way.
Students should be made of and encouraged to use the Moodle

application the view Reppu as it may solve a lot of the issues students
have using Reppu in browsers on their mobile devices. There should also
be some level of consistency in the way information and assignments are
37
laid out on course pages on Reppu. This would make it easier for students
to navigate and find the information they need.
It could also be possible to create an application that helps gamify studies

as suggested by one of the students surveyed. This could be used as a
project for students to collaborate on and if successful could make learning
become a more fun experiences and less monotonous.
Students should also be encouraged to utilize the recently released LAMK

application. It would be useful if the LAMK application could be connected
to Lukkarit so that any changes to the schedule there are shown in the
application or notifies users. If teachers need to change the schedule for
whatever reason it would be more convenient if they had a method to
change the schedule which notified all the enrolled students on their
mobile devices. This would save the teacher from writing an email and
students from needing to persistently check their school email account.
6.2 Suggestions for further research
If further research were to take place, it would be more useful to get a

larger sample size for the survey so as to compare the different faculties
and year groups. It would also be useful to get some interviews to gain the
personal opinions and experiences of students and teachers at the school.
It could also be helpful to extent to research to other universities of applied
sciences throughout Finland and compare the results to answer the
research question on a broader scale.
38
LIST OF REFERENCES
Ali, A. & Alrasheedi, M. & Capretz, L. & Ouda, A. 2015. A study of the
interface usability issues of mobile learning applications for smart phones
from the users perspective. International Journal on Integrating
Technology and Education Vol.3, No.4 [accessed 17 September 2017]
Available at:
https://masto.finna.fi/PrimoRecord/pci.arxiv1501.01875
Brown, D. & Ferguson, F. & Grant, M. & Jones, L. & Sweeney, J. &
Tamim, S. 2015. Teaching and Learning with Mobile Computing Devices:
Case Study in K-12 Classrooms USA. TechTrends vol.54 [Accessed 15
October 2017] Available at:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11528-015-0869-
Bullen, M. & Gallardo-Echenique, E. & Marques-Molias, L. 2016 Student

communication and study habits of first-year university students in the
digital era. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology [accessed 18
September 2017] Available at:
http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/27454/20206
Chang, C. & Lee, Y. & Lin, Y. & Cheng, Z. 2013 The dark side of smart
phone usage: Psychological traits, compulsive behaviour and
technostress. Computers in Human Behavior vol.31 [accessed 17
September 2017] Available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321300397X
Dawson, H. & Edel-Malizia, S. & Mockus, L. & Shaffer, D. & Sung An, J. &
Swaggerty, A. 2011. The Impact of Mobile Access on Motivation: Distance
Education Student Perceptions. Sloan C International Conference for
Online Learning [Accessed 17 September 2017]. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281554486_The_Impact_of_Mob
ile_Access_on_Motivation_Distance_Education_Student_Perceptions
Denscombe, M. 1998. The good research guide for small-scale social

research projects. Buckingham: Open University Press
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Gaskin, J. & Wang, H. & Wang, J. & Wang, L. 2015 The role of stress and
motivation in problematic smartphone use among college students.
Computers in Human Behavior vol.53 [Accessed 17 September 2017]
Available at:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215300169
Ker, G. & Lim, S. & Low, C. & Patanmacia, T. & Ting, D. 2011.
Dependency on smart phone and the impact on purchase behaviour.
Emerald Group Publishing Limited [accessed 17 September 2017]
Available at:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17473611111163250
Krawczyk, H. & Nykiel, M. 2017. Mobile devices and computing cloud

resources allocation for interactive applications. Archives of Control
Sciences vol.27 [accessed 19 November 2017] Available at:
https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/acsc.2017.27.issue-2/acsc-
2017-0019/acsc-2017-0019.pdf
Marez, L. & Montrieux, H. & Schellens, T. & Vanderlinde, R. 2015.

Teaching and learning with Mobile Technology: A Qualitative Explorative
Study about the Introduction of Tablet Devices in Secondary Education.
PLoS ONE [Accessed 18 September 2017] Available at:
http://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC4671718&blo
btype=pdf
Mills, H. 2015. Use of mobile devices for e-learning in geomatics. The

International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and
Spatial Information Sciences [Accessed 15 October 2017] Available at:
https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XL-6-
W1/5/2015/isprsarchives-XL-6-W1-5-2015.pdf
APPENDIX
APPENDIX 1 Survey Questions
1. Please enter gender
 Male
 Female
 Other
2. Please enter your age range
 18 – 21
 22 – 25
 26 – 29
 30 – 40
 40 – 50
 50+
3. Which faculty are you a part of?
 Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management

 Faculty of Technology
 Institute of Design
 Faculty of Social and Health Care
4. Which year of your studies are you in?
 First Year
 Second Year
 Third Year
 Fourth Year or more
5. How do you use your mobile device for everyday studying purposes?
 During lessons
 Between lessons
 Outside of LAMK
 For independent studying
 For group work
 For peer discussion
 I don’t use my mobile device for studying purposes
 Other
6. How would you describe your mobile device usage during lessons?
 I don’t use my mobile device in lessons

 Only for school/learning purposes
 Mostly for school/learning purposes
 Only for non-school/learning purposes
 Mostly for non-school/learning purposes
 An even mixture of learning and personal use
7. How often on average would you say you use your mobile device on
any given day?
 0 – 1 hours
 1 – 2 hours
 2 – 3 hours
 3 – 4 hours
 4 – 5 hours
 5 – 6 hours
 6 – 7 hours
 7+ hours
8. How often do you use Reppu?
 Every day
 Every week
 A few times a month
 Occasionally
9. How would you describe your Reppu usage on mobile devices
compared to on computer?
 Always on mobile device

 More often on mobile device
 Evenly used on mobile device and computer
 More often on computer
 Always on computer
10. Which mobile browser/application do you use on your mobile device to

use Reppu?
 Don't know / default browser

 Chrome
 Firefox
 Safari
 Moodle app
 Other
11. Which features do you use on Reppu on your mobile device? (Please
choose all that apply)
 Looking at course information/materials

 Handing in assignments
 Discussion boards
 Links for students
 Quizzes
 Other
12. Please read the following statements about using Reppu on mobile
devices and choose the extent you agree or disagree with them.
 Reppu is fully functional on mobile devices

 I am able to find and enrol to course areas without difficulty on my
mobile device
 I can utilize discussion boards without difficulty on my mobile device
 I am able to search for and find information in Reppu on my mobile
device
 I can easily find and change the Reppu language options on my
mobile device
 Reppu is visually appealing on my mobile device
o Strongly agree
o Slightly agree
o Unsure/don’t know
o Slightly disagree
o Strongly disagree
13. Please describe any aspects or features of Reppu that are

unappealing or difficult to use on your mobile device or any
improvements/changes you would like to see. (You may also answer this
question in Finnish if you prefer)
14. What other tools do you use on your mobile device for learning
purposes? (Please choose all that apply)
 Kyvyt.fi ePortfolio service

 OneDrive
 OneNote
 Outlook
 Word
 Excel
 Powerpoint
 Teams
 Sway
 Respa
 Lukkarit (schedules)
 Yammer
 Google Drive
 Facebook
 Youtube
 Skype
 Skype for business
 Dropbox
 WhatsApp
 Other
15. How have teachers utilized your mobile devices during lessons?
 Documenting learning by writing

 Taking pictures
 Making videos
 Doing assignments
 Searching for information
 Group work
 Peer collaboration
 Independent work
 To work with partners such as company representatives (other than
represenatives of LAMK)
 Workplace learning
 The devices of students have not been utilized by teachers
 Other
16. Please write any suggestions or ideas that you have about how mobile
devices can be utilized more effectively for studying (You may also answer

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MOBILE DEVICE USE IN

Supporting Student Learning Process with

LAHTI UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED

ALI, JASON: Mobile Device Use in Student

Bachelor’s Thesis in Business Information Technology

39 pages, 5 pages of appendices

Keywords: mobile devices, learning process, Lahti UAS, peer

3 LEARNING STYLES AND MOBILE LEARNING 8

5 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 27

Figure 1 - Research process diagram ........................................................ 5

Table 1 - Qualitative and quantitative comparison (DensCombe 1998, 174

Mobile devices - Smart mobile phones and small tablet computers

Learning process - Any activities related to school or learning

Lahti UAS - Lahti University of Applied Science

LAMK - Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu (Lahti UAS Finnish name)

Reppu - Service provided by Lahti UAS, where students can enroll to

Moodle - Learning platform system that Reppu is based on

Lukkarit - Lesson schedule system provided by Lahti UAS

Peer collaboration - Students working together to study or achieve goals

The focus of this thesis is on the use of smart mobile technology by

2.1 Research question and objective

It is possible to enhance the experience of students by integrating mobile

 How can smart mobile devices be utilized to support

 How are mobile devices currently used in the learning

2.2 Research method and process

The method used will be mostly qualitative. Qualitative research focuses

Table 1 - Qualitative and quantitative comparison (DensCombe 1998, 174 – 176)

Small-scale studies Large-scale studies

Holistic perspective Specific focus

Emergent research Predetermined

The research process is shown in the figure below (Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Research process diagram

2.3 Thesis structure

Figure 2 - Thesis structure diagram

Finally, the Conclusion section summarises the key points discovered in

3 LEARNING STYLES AND MOBILE LEARNING

It is essential to know about different learning styles and to understand

3.1 Learning styles and mobile devices

Mobile devices allow people to engage in activities and transactions in

speaking. If some usage is integrated into classroom activities, students

3.2 Social media and mobile learning

Students are often users of social media and comfortable using

In some cases introducing teaching techniques using mobile devices has

To encourage students to use mobile applications that can aid their

4.1 Background questions

Table 1 - Answers to survey - Question 1

Table 2 - Answers to survey - Question 1

1. Please enter gender

Answer Number of answers Percentage of answers

Table 3 - Answers to survey - Question 2

2. Please enter your age range

Answer Number of answers Percentage of answers

Table 4 - Answers to survey – Question 3

3. Which faculty are you a part of?

Answer Number of answers Percentage of answers

Faculty of Business and 12 51.7%

Faculty of Technology 7 33.3%

Institute of Design 1 4.8%