Mobile learning: Major challenges for engineering education

There is a high demand for engineers to design, produce and develop mobile learning (mLearning) technology. However, there are only a limit number of courses which fully present the correct pathway to develop and construct mLearning courseware. This paper is a report based on documentary research and a needs assessment survey of mLearning, the whole concept being, in many ways, a work in progress, pending general adoption. The survey aims to explore how university students consider mLearning and how mLearning would be suited to their needs. The outcome of the survey reveals many crucial elements that should be applied to create a new curriculum in the engineering area. The participants of the survey were 296 university students in Thailand. The majority of respondents were Thai (91.2%). Almost all (97.4%) of the participants who would pay for mLearning courses believed that mLearning would enhance their present learning capabilities. MLearning will assuredly be accepted in the future, since 96.6 per cent of university students stated they wanted to use mLearning if they can access the material with no charge. The proposed mLearning sciences and technology program can be structured into three main areas: wireless technology, mobile education and application management.