Student user experience of a mobile learning application at an ODeL institution in the Gauteng Province

Abstract

The advancements in technology and the adoption of online inventions have offered numerous opportunities for Open Distance eLearning (ODeL) institutions to conduct learning through mobile devices. ODeL institutions provide students with timeless learning through mobile learning applications (MLAs) without having to consider geographic boundaries. The provision of MLAs is meant to improve the overall learning experience of students. Therefore, it is important to find out if the user experience of students as primary users of the MLAs has been improved. This study investigated the factors that influence the user experience of students when interacting with a mobile learning application at a higher education institution. The study proposed a framework of factors that influence the user experience of students when using an MLA. The framework can serve as a guideline to provide insight concerning the perceptions, challenges and experiences encountered when using the MLA. The framework can also serve as a guideline when developing MLAs. The factors influencing the user experience of students when interacting with a mobile learning application were identified by conducting a literature review that resulted in the construction of a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework contributed to the formulation of the open-ended interview questions of this study. The qualitative data of the study was collected from University of South Africa students in the Gauteng province. Thematic analysis and the Atlas.ti software were used to analyse the qualitative data. The results of the analysed data indicated that the factors of user experience that were identified do influence the user experience of students when using the MLA. The proposed framework was presented as a contribution of this study.