Smart apps: An analysis of educational applications available on smartphones and the implications for mobile learning Jessica Briskin Tutaleni I. Asino Michael Montalto-Rook Yaozu Dong The Pennsylvania State University Abstract One of the more recent trends in education is the use of smartphones for mobile learning. This paper provides an overview of mobile learning, smartphones, and the benefits and challenges that accompany the use of smartphones for mobile learning. The study involves an analysis of educational applications on the Blackberry, iphone, and Android systems. Findings suggest that although the highest rated applications on smartphones are games and entertainment applications, educational applications can be location aware, collaborative and interesting applications. Introduction What can be considered a mobile device? What is mobile learning? These are important questions to ask and pursue to solidify mobile learning as a discipline. Mobile phones, specifically smartphones, are devices that are used in defending the argument for the potential of mobile learning. Mobile learning or mlearning can be defined as the intersection of mobile computing and elearning (i.e., electronic learning): accessible resources wherever you are, strong search capabilities, rich interaction, powerful support for effective learning, and performance-based assessment (Quinn, 2000, p. 1). mlearning can occur through mobile computational devices, such as: Palms, Windows CE machines, and mobile phones (Quinn, 2000). In particular, applications (i.e., apps) developed for smartphones are used as a method to deliver mlearning content. What is a smartphone? Types of smartphones include the iphone, Blackberry, HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, Driod, and T- Mobile G2. Market research shows that BlackBerry smartphones lead the market share with 41.6%; Apple s iphone follows at 25.3%, but the iphone market is growing (Lipsman, 2010). The Android has recently doubled its market share, and according to ChangeWave s survey, out of 4,068 consumers, 21% of those planning to buy a smart phone in the next 90 days say they would prefer to have the Android operating system on their new phone (Carton, 2010). Smartphones have all of the capabilities of a normal cell phone, but also advanced features that can be found on a personal digital assistant or a computer, such as: e-mail, Internet, and web browsing (Cassavoy, 2010). Other significant features that further distinguish smartphones from regular cellphones are the ability to interact with laptops and computers, as well the installation of additional applications that are developed by the manufacturer, mobile phone company operator, or third party software developers (Singh, Bhargava, and Kain, 2008). Smartphone applications allow designers and developers to create tools for on demand learning. Benefits of mlearning and smartphones There are many observed benefits and affordances of mlearning, including providing on demand learning and improving communication and collaboration on projects (Schuler, 2009a). Smartphone applications allow designers and developers to create tools that can be used anywhere. Additional benefits include: 1. Compactable Most smartphones fit in an adult sized hand. The use of applications has the potential to transform traditional classrooms by enhancing current techniques and allowing access to learning from your pocket. 2. Portable Due to the size and low weight, smartphones are highly transportable. 32
3. Access to Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) Smartphones enable the user to experience desktop computer-like applications without the constraints of static locality. 4. Various capabilities Most smartphones include a built in camera, video, and audio capturing tool, as well as GPS (i.e., global positioning system). Studies on the affective factors surrounding the use of smartphones in education have yielded findings indicating that there are many factors (e.g., making learning personal) that add to a learner's motivation (Jones et al., 2006; Issroff, Scanlon & Jones, 2007). Research shows that understanding the motivational aspects of using smartphones can assist in increasing motivation and retention within classrooms (Issroff, Scanlon & Jones, 2007). Smartphone applications offer benefits that can impact current educational practices, but there are also challenges that accompany them. Challenges Current theoretical frameworks are not always sufficient for studying the issues or helping explain the impact of mobile technologies in different settings and for different populations (Schuler 2009a). Although researchers, such as Sharples, Taylor, and Vavoula, have proposed standards that can be used for formulating a mobile learning theory, there is no widely accepted theory for assessing learning through mobile devices (2005). As the use of mobile phones in education continues to grow, there are challenges that must be identified and addressed, to enable full integration of these devices into curriculum design. Some of these challenges include: The difficulty in determining which applications are valid for educational purposes, because there is no industry standard and several applications are marketed as such to increase sales (Schuler, 2009a). The variability of smartphone brands and models in the market which results in complications for teachers who need to make their learning materials work for the various phones students own (Schuler, 2009a). Teachers may run into compatibility and design issues across platforms. The potential revolution in the educational field, similar to online music downloading and music industry; this will raise issues of quality, privacy, copyright and assessment of formal and informal learning (Sharples 2007). Additional challenges that developers face are incompatibility issues with Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS). Many institutions rely on a LMS or a CMS for learning, but not all systems are optimized for smartphone access. Secondly, there is varying availability of bandwidth and signal; depending on the region, city, or the corner of the room (in some extreme situation) that a person is on, it is possible to not receive a signal. Lastly, there are many financial challenges. For example, smartphones are expensive! The average cost for the lowest end smartphone is $100 to $200. Additionally, smartphones require the user to purchase a data plan as well as the standard mobile phone plan. This could be cost prohibitive for many individuals. Study Research on educational applications has focused predominantly on the iphone and the Apple itunes store. In a content analysis of the educational applications available in Apple's itunes store, Schuler (2009b) found that "there is a significant market for children s educational apps, toddler/preschool apps are more prominent than those for older children, the top educational apps cover a variety of different subjects, with foreign language and literacy being the most popular categories, and children s apps are significantly cheaper than adult-targeted Apps" (p. 6-8). While Schuler s research provides evidence of the use of educational apps on the iphone, what about the other leading markets: specifically Blackberry and Android? Also, what percentages of smartphone apps (i.e., smart apps) in these markets are education-focused? The following study was conducted in October 2010 to answer these questions. Method The study involved three sets of analyses. First, in Study 1, the Blackberry, iphone, and Android app stores were studied to determine the number of educational applications in the top 100-200 based on two categories: top paid and top free. In Study 2, a deeper analysis of the Blackberry, iphone, and Android app stores was conducted to find the percentages and breakdown of non-educational applications in the top 100-200 range. The range from 100-200 was useful because the Blackberry, iphone, and Android app stores do not provide the same search results. To 33
fix this and standardize the findings, percentages are used. And finally, in Study 3, the educational apps discovered in the first two studies are analyzed using Patten et al. s Functionality Framework (2006). Study 1 Results Starting with Blackberry, the leader in market share, the results show that out of the top 100 paid and top 100 free apps, there are no education apps, although an education category does exist (Blackberry, 2010). For the iphone, the situation is different. Among the Top 200 paid apps in the iphone app store, there are five education apps: 43. My very first app ($0.99), 51. Star Walk - 5 stars astronomy guide ($2.99), 81. Ace Flashcard ($0.99), 152. Cookie Doodle (0.99), and 177. Wheels on the Bus ($0.99). (Apple, 2010) For the top 200 free apps in the iphone app store, there is only one education app: 64. American Museum of Natural History: Cosmic Discoveries (Apple, 2010). Unfortunately, there is no education category in the Android platform, so no results were found (Android, 2010). Study 2 In Study 2, breakdown and percentage data were collected for categories of top applications in each app store. The results for each app store are listed in Figures 1-3. Results show that games and entertainment apps are the highest rated applications across all three platforms. Figure 1. Top 100 Blackberry Paid and Free Applications. Each mark represents one application (Blackberry, 2010). 34
Figure 2. Top 70 Apple iphone Paid and Free Applications. Each mark represents one application (Android, 2010). Figure 3. Top 34 Android Paid Applications and Top 134 Android Free Applications. Each mark represents one application (Apple, 2010). Study 3 There are no educational applications in Blackberry and Android stores; however, there are applications that have categories similar to education. One of the most noticeable is productivity. Productivity applications help to increase the ability to perform one s job. Many of these applications are used in learning situations and environments. For this reason, they are included in the third study. In this study, the productivity and educational apps from Study 2 are evaluated using Patten et al. s Functionality Framework (2006). The Functionality Framework evaluates educational applications according to seven categories: administration, referential, interactive, microworld, data collection, location aware, and collaboration. Each category builds on the previous category. Descriptions of each category are described as follows: 1. Administration applications in this category do not scaffold or support knowledge construction and merely replicate tools already available on traditional platforms (Patten et al., 2006, p. 297). 2. Reference this includes applications that do not go beyond information delivery such as note taking or electronic book readers (p. 297). 35
3. Interactive applications that are creative and enable user interaction but often are of drill and test type aimed at encouraging memorization (p. 297). 4. Microworld applications that enable users to construct knowledge through experimentation in constrained models of real world domains (p. 298). 5. Data collection applications enable users to collect and interact with scientific, reflective, or multimedia content 6. Location aware applications in this category use the data collection category features with the addition of a global positioning system (GPS) 7. Collaboration applications that enable knowledge sharing (p. 299). Although the categories are useful, Patten et al. (2006) suggest that the most interesting applications are those that facilitate learners to look away from their screen in order to engage with their surroundings and peers (p. 299). For this reason, the evaluation process will involve categorizing the application according to the Functionality Framework and asking the interesting question: Does the application facilitate learners to look away from the screen in order to engage with surroundings and peers? The analysis below involves the two educational applications and the productivity applications across all three platforms. For each application, a brief description is provided with platform and free/paid information, followed by a categorization according to the Functionality Framework and interesting question. Education Applications: Star Walk astronomy and constellation guide (iphone Paid) Location aware; interesting? Yes! This application enables you to move your iphone in relation to the sky and find constellations, which in turns facilitates your engagement with the sky! My Very First App matching game designed based on Eric Carle s books (iphone Paid); Reference or Interactive; not interesting Productivity Applications: Lookout Mobile Security Protect your phone with Free lookout (Blackberry Free) Administration; not interesting PrivacyStar caller id, callblocking (Blackberry Free) Administration; not interesting Who Is It LED light alerts for contacts (Blackberry Free) Interactive; not interesting BeJoose phone memory optimizer (Blackberry Paid) Administration; not interesting Secret Diary store diary entries on your phone (Blackberry Paid) Reference; not interesting StickyNote put customized sticky notes on your home screen (Blackberry Paid) Reference; not interesting RepliGo Reader read.pdf documents on the go, add bookmarks, hyperlinks, and text search (Blackberry Paid) Reference; not interesting Best Alarm Clock & Weather and Temperature (iphone Paid) Administration; not interesting Emoji Plus Best Emoticon Keyboard (iphone Paid) Reference or Interactive; not interesting AK Notepad write notes and share via SMS or email (Android Free) Collaboration; not interesting Voice Recorder save data and send through gmail (Android Free) Data collection; not interesting Battery Widget shows the exact battery level and charging status (Android Free) Administration; not interesting OI Notepad shows a list of notes that you can create, edit, and send (Android Free) Reference; not interesting Astrid Task/Todo List features tagging, reminders, adding to calendar (Android Free) Interactive; not interesting Note Everything features text-, paint-, voice-, checklist- and photo-notes (Android Free) Data collection; interesting? Yes! This application can enable you to use your Droid as tool that facilitates your reflection and engagement with your surroundings to a deeper level! handycalc calculator with automatic suggestion and solving (Android Free) Administration; not interesting OI File manager browse files on your SD card (Android Free) Administration; not interesting 36
Tag-ToDo-List features easy task handling, drawing graphical notes, and recording audio (Android Free) Data collection; not interesting JETCET PDF read.pdf documents on the go (Android Free) Reference; not interesting RepliGo Reader read.pdf documents on the go, add bookmarks, hyperlinks, and text search (Android Paid) Reference; not interesting Future Research Future research must apply the findings in this paper to other mobile devices and platforms, in particular, Apple s ipad. Figure 4 provides breakdown and percentage data for the categories of top applications on the ipad. It is clear that the percentage of productivity applications on the ipad is much higher than were found in Study 2 (18% paid apps on ipad compared to 3% paid apps on the Android, Blackberry, and iphone). Does this imply that the ipad is a better platform for educational applications? Future research must be completed to test this conjecture. Figure 4. Top 80 Apple ipad Paid and Free Applications. Each mark represents one application (Apple, 2010). Conclusion Cathy Burnett (2009) suggests, it is those who have grown up with digital technology who may be most likely to understand the potential of digital affordances (p. 115). We need to embrace technology and use it for education, especially as these children who use technology grow older. It is evident that mlearning is becoming a prominent topic for educators, but there is a lack of research conducted on the use of education applications on smartphones. This paper established a starting point to think about educational applications and help designers create interesting applications applications that facilitate learners to look away from their screen in order to engage with their surroundings and peers (Patten et al., 2006, p. 299). 37
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