Mobile Device Usage Patterns and Their Impact on Instructional Design Agnieszka (Aga) Palalas Athabasca University Athabasca, Canada agaizabella@rogers.com Dorothy (Willy) Fahlman Athabasca University Athabasca, Canada willyf@athabascau.ca Abstract This paper provides an overview of mobile device use in daily activities and for learning. It focuses on a survey that investigated the types of mobile devices used by college students and patterns of use. A brief discussion follows on how the findings can enhance the design of mobile learning. Keywords Mobile devices, usage patterns, instructional design 1. Mobile Device Usage Overview Globally, societies are becoming saturated with mobile, personal, portable, and wireless devices (Traxler, 2010). In every sector of education, and across both developing and developed nations, the use of mobile devices (MD) is gradually diversifying and increasing (Traxler, 2007). This paper describes a survey of college students’ MD use to inform m-learning pedagogical practice and learner-centered instructional design (ID). Ahonen (2010) suggests the mobile industry has now 4.6 billion active subscriptions (68% of the world’s population). Due to their portability and convenience, their multimedia capabilities and personalization, mobile technologies can take learning out-of-classrooms and into real-life contexts. “Mobile devices have become commonplace tools, yet little is known about how individuals use them in their teaching, learning, work, and leisure” (Kukulska-Hulme & Pettit, 2009, p. 135). In the context of learning, networked mobile technology offers portability regardless of the location for both formal and informal learning, and is valued for personal communication (Oksman, 2006). Peters (2007) argues that the education and training sector needs to be informed about MD usage related to the potential of m- learning and future trends for pedagogical practice. A number of studies have examined MD use in education. Oksman (2006) posits that “the actual use contexts and user experiences of mobile devices among different generations in their daily life can provide important insights on how to improve design and services associated with the technologies” (p.1). Kennedy et al. (2006) assert that research is needed to determine the specific circumstances under which students would like their ‘living technologies’ to be adapted as ‘learning technologies’. Corbeil et al. (2008) argue that to assess students’ readiness for m- learning, research should be examining the MD that are currently being used in addition to the activities learners are engaged in while using these devices. Pettit and Kukulska- Hulme (2007) claim that uncovering existing patterns of mobile use may be beneficial to determine the role of MD in engaging learners in learning conversations but should not preclude educators from seeking out other opportunities for learners to adopt a new device or different type of MD use. 2. College Students’ Use of Mobile Devices To improve the ID of m-learning incorporating a learner- centred approach, it is vital to know the types of MD being used by students and patterns of use. This information can provide insights into the technological affordances and limitations as well as users’ interaction preferences with others, with the device, and the content. Therefore, the needs analysis phase of an m-learning design project encompassed a student MD use survey. A main goal of the project is to design mobile-assisted language learning activities which take language learning and practice into the real world. This study compared general college students with the L1 1 and L2 student strata. Findings were comparable for the two groups except the time students devote to activities. A random sample of 527 students was asked about their MD type and use. While 521 (98.9%) respondents had their own MD, six students (1.1%) did not possess a MD. 34.9% owned multiple MD including one or more smartphones, mp3 players, and game consoles. Amongst all respondents who own at least one MD, 2.5% did not have a mobile phone, but had an iPod or an iPod Touch or both. The majority use a Smartphone. Figure 1 illustrates the phone brands used. The Smartphone’s rich capabilities including camera, mp3 players and voice recorder are constructive multimedia tools for mediating learning and communication, particularly in a language-learning context. Figure 1: Mobile phone brands – students’ responses 1 L1: speakers of English as their first language; L2: speakers of English as their second language