Instant Messaging in the Learning Environment

The article that caught my attention was "Instant Messaging for Creating Interactive and Collaborative m-Learning Environments."  It was published June 2007, in the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Volume 8, Number 2. 

This article discusses the possibility of using instant messaging to encourage learning.  Some students are more comfortable discussing their ideas and opinions in the relaxed situation of instant messaging. They also mention how instant messaging is becoming quite popular in professional and academic professions as a mode of communication.

The researchers looked specifically at one specific system of messaging that could be based off open standards and be liberated from the charges associated with SMS.  The name of this system is GSM/ GPRS/ UMTS.  They designed a software program that would run on the given system and network.  Users would be able to send messages and access course content.  They could chat about a given topic with one or several users. They established a set of criteria by which to judge the performance.  These criteria were:

  • User Identity
  • User Profile
  • User Database
  • Presence awareness (Online or offline)
  • Instant Messages
  • Asynchronous Chat
  • Message size
  • Ease of Use
  • Multi-User Chat
  • Security
Several user accounts were set up and allowed access to the network with a variety of devices for a given time.  Screen shots of the devices were taken to show what the various stages looked like.  The results were positive, users were satisfied with the system.   A few of the devices used had some hardware issues, but for the most part worked satisfactorily. 
 
This type of system could affect how mobile devices are used in education.  In many schools, cell phones are against school rules, but they could be used for learning.  This study showed how a specifically design environment using mobile devices can be used to motivate learners and improve education. 
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Disclaimer

Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.