Attitudes towards the use of mobile learning: A case study from the gulf region

In the last few years, the way we learn has been shifted dramatically from traditional classrooms depending on printed papers into E-learning depending on digital pages. Mobile learning (M-learning) is a recent technology that has been developed rapidly to deliver E-learning using personal mobile devices without posing any restrictions on time and location. In this work, we investigate students and faculty members' attitudes towards the use of M-learning in higher educational institutions within two countries in the Gulf Region (Oman & UAE). Two questionnaire surveys have been conducted: one for students and another for faculty members. In these surveys, 383 students and 54 instructors have taken part within the study. An independent sample t-test was performed to examine whether there exist a significant difference among the students' attitudes and the faculty members' attitudes towards the use of Mlearning with regard to gender and country. Results indicated that students in the UAE were more positive towards the use of M-learning than those in Oman. Moreover, results revealed that 99% of the students own mobile devices, in particular smartphones and tablets, while only 1% has not. Results of this study could help policy makers for better decision making in building the M-learning infrastructure in the higher educational institutions in general and specifically within the Arab Gulf region.