Abstract:

Mobile learning is fairly new in Asia-Pacific countries, such as Malaysia.  One of the root causes that slow down mobile learning is related to its challenges. In order to understand the challenges to the implementation of mobile learning or mLearning an in-depth inquiry related to the subject matter involving interviews is required. This qualitative study interviewed 15 focus groups with 148 university students to understand the challenges of mobile learning. The study of local culture is the main focus of this research in the context of Malaysian universities. The study resulted in the following themes: lack of local cultural content; the high cost of smart phones and services; lack of awareness of ethics for mLearning; unawareness of learning potential; hardware problems; and wireless problems. Thus a holistic understanding from the students’ perspectives elucidates those challenges concerning mLearning for Malaysian universities context.