MOBILE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A SURVEY AMONG THE STUDENTS OF THE BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES.

The emergence of mobile technology provides people alternatives not only in interpersonal communication and Internet access, but also in learning and teaching. The fast growth of new generation of mobile devices as well as the frequent use of wireless technology has capitalized the great potential of mobile learning in becoming an effective tool for education. Mobile learning technologies offer teachers and students a more flexible approach to learning. Mobile devices have greater functionality, giving teachers the opportunity to provide contextualized and personalized learning resources, unrestricted by spatial and temporal constraints and allowing learners to use readilyavailable, handheld computing devices and communication technology to access information from anywhere and at anytime. In this context, the purpose of this paper is twofold. The first goal is to analyze various theoretical approaches of the m-learning and, secondly, this paper aims to present the findings of a research among undergraduate and graduated students from The Bucharest University of Economic Studies. The objectives of the survey were to explore the ways students are already using mobile technologies to support their learning and to identify students' readiness and also willingness towards the use of mobile devices in learning situations. Our research shows that students are ready to adopt mobile learning due to their higher ownership of mobile devices and greater familiarity with the use of technology in learning contexts. Considering the research findings, our paper will also present different ways to incorporate mobile technologies into educational processes to foster collaboration and social interaction and for enhancing their potential for both formal and informal learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]