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Mobile Learning: Advantages And Disadvantages

Summary: Mobile learning is getting prevalent in today’s world. It

is the result of the ever-changing era of the digital world. But,
everything has two sides. There are some pros and cons of
mobile learning.

What Is Mobile Learning?

Mobile learning is very prevalent in the current scenario. Mobile

learning is also known as mLearning and is a new way to get
access to a variety of content available online through the use of
a mobile. Mobile learning is the easiest way for students to get
help.

Many schools and colleges are supporting the concept of

eLearning and mobile learning. They distribute mobile phones
and laptops to students and encourage them to use them for
educational purposes. Although mobile learning may be fun for
the children if it’s used in the right way, it can be very beneficial
for the students and adults.

There are many educational apps available online, and they are
also gaining huge popularity among the school and college
students. It is even useful for teachers/professors/instructors,
they can learn a topic or provide notes, examples, and also refer
these apps to the students when or if needed.
The best part of mobile learning is that many sources are present
online. So, if you don’t get it from one place, you can search for it
from some other site. Even while using the app; if you do not
understand you can easily send your feedback and discuss your
query or suggestion with the app developer or app developing
company.

Now that you have understood what mobile learning is, let’s
discuss the pros and cons of mobile learning!

Advantages Of Mobile Learning

Mobile learning is very popular and in the past few years, its use
has increased extensively. Mentioned below are 5 advantages of
mobile learning and why it should be used:

Access anywhere and anytime

Since mobile learning is all about studying through mobile using

the internet, it can be accessed from anywhere in the world and
anytime.
Covers a huge distance

The main benefit of mobile learning is that it covers a huge

distance, so even if you are in Canberra, Australia or in
California, United States of America, you can access the same
content or tests at the same or different times. Distance is not an
issue in mobile learning.

Variety of content

A lot of content is present online. Due to its huge variety, it

becomes very easy for people to access it; and also, a huge
amount of people from different corners of the world can access
it for different topics or related to different subjects.

Encourages students

There are many educational apps that use online quizzes to keep
track of your progress (daily, weekly or monthly, depending on
firm to firm). The study is presented in such a way that it attracts
the students; hence, there are game quizzes that encourage
students to perform better from their previous score.

Tests your knowledge

As discussed in the above point, online quizzes are made and

solving these quizzes, puzzles or riddles helps you expand your
knowledge. Apart from just study material, there are different
types of other quizzes, puzzles, multiple-choice questions, etc.
that are available on the internet; playing these games you can
test your knowledge and even increase your IQ level.

Disadvantages Of Mobile Learning

As good and alluring as the advantages sound, there are also

disadvantages of mobile learning. Every coin has two sides, so,
here are 5 disadvantages of mobile learning, listed below:

Software issues

Software is an application that runs on a device according to the

instructions embedded in the software at the time of coding.
Even though it seems like the life of software is smooth, there are
other external factors that hinder its smooth life span. These
external factors are changing trends in the field of IT. Software
compatibility issues, not upgrading to a new version, regular
system crashes, etc. are some of the issues that hinder the
working of the software, thereby interrupting your smooth mobile
learning experience.

Hardware issues

Unlike the software, hardware uses physical devices. The

physical devices used can wear out after a period of time. They
can wear out due to overuse, dust, using the device roughly, etc.
These are some factors that interrupt the smooth working of the
mobile or other devices.

Distraction

Using mobile learning, also, creates a lot of distraction. Many

students open the mobile to learn something and end up using
social media websites, chatting, sharing pictures or playing
video games. These types of distractions waste one’s time,
which could have been used to perform a meaningful task.

Misuse

Many students also misuse the device for different purposes.

Some misuse it just for fun, and some have secret, evil intentions
which are definitely not good and need to be prevented.

Lack of internet connection or electricity

This can be a problem in rural areas and in areas where the

usage of the internet and electricity is not yet prevalent. When
you have a device, but you do not have the electricity or the
internet required for you to run the device and avail the facility of
mobile learning, then what’s the fun? In order to enjoy your
experience of mobile learning, make sure you have met all the
requirements needed to have the best experience for mobile
learning.
Conversation(Speaking)

Work and studies (always in use)

 Do you work or are you a student?
 What work do you do? What subjects are you studying? Why did
you choose that job?
 Why did you choose to study that subject? Do you like your job?
 Is there anything you dislike about your job? What do you like about
your studies?
 What do you dislike about your studies?
 What was your dream job when you were young? Have you changed
your mind on your dream job?

2. Hometown (always in use)

 Please describe your hometown a little. What is your town well-
known for?
 Do you like your hometown?
 Is that a big city or a small place? How long have you been living
there?
 Do you think you will continue living there for a long time?
 Would you like to live in the countryside in the future?
 What is the difference between living in the countryside and the
city? What do you like to do in the countryside?
 What do people living in the countryside like to do? How has your
town changed over the last 20 years?

3. Drawing and art galleries

 Do you like painting or drawing?
 What kinds of things do you like to draw? Is it easy to learn how to
draw?
  What do you know about paintings? Have you learned drawing or
painting?
 Do you like visiting museums and art galleries? Do you often visit
museums?
 When was the last time you visited a museum?
 What did you learn from visiting museums and art galleries?
 Which do you prefer to visit, museums or art galleries?

4. Mirrors
 Do you usually take a mirror with you? (added on 8 February 2022)
 How often do you use a mirror?
 Do you like looking at yourself in a mirror?
 Do you use a mirror before buying clothing? What functions does a
mirror have?
 Do you think a mirror is a good decoration? Have you ever bought a
mirror?

5. Dreams
 Do you remember your dreams when you wake up?
 Do you think dreams will affect life?
 Do you think dreams have special meanings?
 Do you like hearing other people’s dreams?
 Do you share your dreams with others?
 Do you want to learn more about dreams?

6. Emails/ letters
 Do you write many letters or emails?
 Is sending emails popular in your country?
 Do you prefer to write letters by hand or to use a computer?
 What are the differences between letters and emails?
  What do you usually write about?
 When would you send emails to others?
 Who do you usually write to?
 Is it hard to think of what to write?
 What kind of letter or email do you think is the hardest to write?

1. Summary
2. Introduction
3. So different and yet so similar
4. What a typical email/letter task looks like
5. How to organise your email/letter
6. Don’t forget to plan your email/letter
7. The different parts of an email/letter
8. Useful language for emails/letters
9. How you email/letter is marked
10. Now it’s time to practice

11. Word count: 120-190

12. Main characteristics: typical layout, appropriate register, you need to adapt to
the specific task
13. Register: formal or informal depending on the task
14. Structure: Opening formula & paragraph, 2-3 topic paragraphs, closing
paragraph & formula
15. Language: typical phrases for opening and closing formula depending on the
register of the specific task
16. Examples

Informal email

Hi David,

How have you been? It’s really been ages since I last heard from you.
I’m really stoked that your friends want to come to my area to learn about its past and I
hope I can give you a couple of tips.

If your friends want to see interesting places and learn something about Barcelona, they
should absolutely swing by La Sagrada Familia or Casa Batlló where they can get tons
of info about one of Barcelona’s most famous people Antoni Gaudí and modernism.
In terms of getting around I would recommend grabbing one of the tourist tickets for
public transport because it doesn’t cost the world and you can simply jump on all the
buses, trains and even the metro, or your friends could rent a bike as everything’s close
by in the city.

Well, that’s all for now. I hope your friends are going to have a blast and drop me a line
if you need anything else, OK?

Have a good one and catch up soon.

Best wishes,
Phill

Formal letter

Dear Mrs Hopkins,

I am writing in regards to your advertisement which I found in the London Globe and I
would like to apply to join your party on your trip around the globe.

The opportunity sounds very attractive to me and I would love to join your group so as
to broaden my knowledge of different cultures, cuisines and peoples.

So far, I have travelled in Europe, especially in Spain and the UK, where I met many
interesting people with whom I developed friendships that I value enormously in my life.

As to what I can bring to the table, I believe that my social and cooking skills as well as
my language abilities – I speak English, Spanish and German fluently – could
tremendously benefit the group.
Thank you in advance for considering my application. I am available for an interview
Monday to Friday from 8 to 11 o’clock in the morning and I look forward to hearing from
you soon.

Yours sincerely,
Teacher Phil

An email/a letter is written in response to the situation outlined in the question. Letters
and emails in Writing paper will require a response which is consistently appropriate in
register and tone for the specified target reader. Candidates can expect to be asked to
write letters or emails to, for example, an English-speaking friend or colleague, a
potential employer, a college principal or a magazine editor.
There are usually two or three things you have to write about in every text you
write in the exam so make sure that you find and underline them when you analyse the
task.
You also have to choose the right register (formal, neutral, informal) language for
your email/letter and we decide which tone is the most appropriate by checking
who is going to read your text. For example, if you write to a good friend, your
language needs to be informal, but if you write a letter of application to the manager of a
company, you want to choose formal English.
 I’ve underlined the reason why David’s friends are coming to your area (“…
travel around and learn about …”), which gives us a general idea of what to write
about as well as two very specific things David is asking us to tell him (“places
they could visit” and “the best way to travel around”).
On top of that, when you write to a friend like David you have to write in an
informal style. Generally speaking, this means that you should use contractions
( e.g. I’m, don’t), colloquial expressions (e.g. tons of, ‘What’s happening?’) as well
as phrasal verbs and idioms (end up, ‘Guess what!’). Later in this article I will give
you a list with very useful expressions specifically for writing emails and letters
so keep reading until the end .

Planning:

Take a few minutes to note down the different paragraphs (see the example in the
previous section on organising your emails and letters) and add just a few words
to help you give your text a logical structure.
You will see how much easier it gets when you can focus on the content of your writing
task instead of the organisation and logical order of your ideas.
Hi David,

How have you been? It’s really been ages since I last heard from you.

I’m really stoked that your friends want to come to my area to learn about its past and I hope I can give
you a couple of tips.

In the opening we want to greet the person we are writing to and respond to their
message in order to show the examiner that we understand what we have to do.
The email task also requires informal language so I said “Hi” at the beginning and
chose an informal way of starting (“It’s really been ages …”). I also used some colloquial
expressions (stoked, a couple of tips) to make sure that everything sounds as if David
was our friend.
Formal opening:

Dear Mrs Hopkins,

I am writing in regards to your advertisement which I found in the London Globe and I would like to
apply to join your party on your trip around the globe.

You see that I still refer to the topic in this opening, but everything is a
little bit more impersonal and formal (“Dear …”, “I am writing in regards
to …”, “I would like to apply …”). However, I’m still responding to the ad
and talk about the topic just as I did in the email.

Closing paragraph and formula

Last but not least, we always finish an email or letter with a closing paragraph followed
by a typical formula just like at the beginning (more on the typical language in the next
section of this article).
It looks pretty similar, but, as always, there are differences between formal and informal
writing, so let’s have a look.

1. Emails

Well, that’s all for now. I hope your friends are going to have a blast and drop me a
line if you need anything else, OK?

Have a good one and catch up soon.

Best wishes,

Phill
The last part of my email contains a lot of informal expressions (highlighted) while
closing the message nicely. That’s a beautiful informal email covering all the main
points and meeting all the requirements.

Useful language for emails/letters

formal informal
Opening formula Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms XY, (if you know who you are writing to) Hi XY,
 Dear Sir/Madam, (if you don’t know who you are writing to) Hello XY,
Dear XY,
Opening paragraph I am writing to … How are you?
I am writing in reference to … How’s it going?
Thank you for you letter/email. How are things?
How have you been
Great to hear from y
It’s been ages!
Closing paragraph Thank you for considering my application. Well, I have to go n
I am available for an interview … That’s all for now.
I can be contacted on [number] … Drop me a line soon
I look forward to hearing from you soon / in the near future. Catch up soon.
Take care.
Closing formula Yours sincerely, (if you know who you are writing to) Best wishes,
Yours faithfully, (if you don’t know who you’re writing to) Love,
Kind regards, Lots of love,
Talk to you soon,
All the best,
Take care,
Warm regards,