The Five Central Psychological Challenges Facing Effective Mobile Learning

Web 2.0 technology not only offers the opportunity of massively parallel interconnected networks that support the provision of information and communication anytime and anywhere but also offers immense opportunities for collaboration and sharing of user-generated content. This information-rich environment may support both formal and informal learning. The increasing use of mobile technology affords additional opportunities to utilise this learning potential from any location and even when on the move. In this paper, we identify five important psychological challenges learners may encounter when using mobile devices for mobile learning. We argue that mobile learning theorists, practitioners and developers alike must be aware of the five challenges and aim to address them to maximise the potential of mobile learning.