A critical review of Suryaningrum et al, 2014, ‘The effectiveness comparison between mobile based learning technology with face-to-face as a teaching method of Accounting Information System’, Global Conference and Finance Proceedings, Volume 9, Number 1.

Authors conducted a study on the mobile-based teaching method to test if it will improve the student’s performance not only in technical skills but also in personal skills in learning Accounting Information System. The study was an exploratory research to develop a mobile learning application of Accounting Information Systems and test on the AIS mobile learning application made using the quasi-experimental research design. A pre-test exam was conducted where 50 accounting students who have completed Accounting Information Systems (AIS) courses were provided 20 randomly selected multiple-choice questions from 30 available questions with topic of data warehouse. The research result showed that before the student use mobile technology, their performance was not as expected. This pre-test result will then be compared with their exam score after taking advantage of the mobile learning application program which is still not published to date.
The study reveals that the education system until now is mostly done by traditional face-to-face between students and educators with a shift in learning paradigm from conventional to sophisticated learning using technology. The development of ICT had clearly improved the education method in classrooms. On the other hand, Mobile devices or mobiles have become the fastest growing technology in human history. It has been predicted that the number of mobile devices will outnumber the population of humans by 2013. As of January 2014, the Australian Digital Statistics 2014 state that 65% of the total population in Australia has a smartphone (Google planet, 2014). There are numerous valuable opportunities provided by mobile devices nowadays including personal control and ownership of the learning process. Clearly, the next revolution to e-learning is m-learning (mobile-learning).

In addition to literature review, there should be current facts or additional benefits provided in the article to support the study such as 1) Inexpensive opportunity as the cost of mobiles are significantly less than laptops and desktops; 2) Decrease in training; 3) Accessibility of video clips, lessons and audio libraries from anywhere, including public places and moving trains and buses which is appropriate for a fast-pace lifestyle. 4) Improved communication where students and educators would be able to share information and answer questions through a sort of combined study; 5) Portability of mobile devices is a big advantage as PDAs are very compact and lightweight. It also enables the students to take notes or enter data instantaneously (Woodard 2011).

While the study has merit, the methods need to be re-evaluated. The power of the study needs to be increased by obtaining a larger sample size. Although the authors did not include the margin of error, confidence level and the expected variance in the article, it is safe to say that the sample size is too small in comparison with the population in general.

It also important to note the quality of learning and approach done by the instructor doing face-to-face tutorial as this serves as the basis for comparison in the study. The quality of education provided by the educator in the pre-test exam could have a significant impact if done by different educators with different styles and approach. We do not hold enough proof to attest that the reason why the accounting students in the sample got a low score in the pre-test exam is because of poor quality education provided by the educator. We should then not make the mistake of comparing the two methods with a poorly supported baseline, as it will be biased.

It would also be helpful to determine the amount of time that the students had taken in using the mobile-learning application in learning Accounting Information System to provide support in correlating it with the post-exam scores. This would be the main determinant of the effectiveness of the application. There’s a possibility that whilst the students scored a higher score in the post-test exam, they had not utilized the mobile learning application. Thus, the scores are irrelevant.

Additionally, there are various mobile platforms in the market providing different features and support for students. Primarily, it gives students and educators access to their course, content and organisations on a variety of devices. But not all platforms provide the same features. Therefore, the effectiveness of the mobile platform provided would have an impact in the study. Without these, it is almost impossible to evaluate the potential meaningfulness of the study.

Lastly, It also important to consider the identified disadvantages of M-Learning such as 1) the definite inconvenience of size where students are limited to learn over the small screen of a mobile phone and PDA; 2) The storage capacities of PDAs are limited; 3) The short battery life would be a hindrance when studying; 4) Wireless Bandwidth is limited and 5) The absence of common platform which makes it difficult to develop content for use for all (Woodard 2011).

In summary, while many of the possibilities in this article appear to be of value, the result may not capture the whole picture. There are few things still needs to be considered before jumping into conclusion such as if the sampling is enough to provide conclusion for the population; the amount of hours spent in using the mobile-learning application should be considered; the learning provided by instructors face-to-face as basis for comparison; the capacity of the mobiles available; and most importantly, the effectiveness of the mobile educational software provided since there are different mobile platforms in the market providing different features and support for students.

We can therefore conclude that we are only at the beginning of an exploration in identifying the new benefits gained from integrating mobile technologies in learning. These could be then realized in a workable basis by subsequent test and facts.

References:

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