Abstract—The use of Mobile Wireless Technologies (MWT)
such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops are widespread.
Despite their advantages such as portability and speed, their use
in the field of education is under-researched in Malaysia. This
study was conducted with the main aim of exploring the use of
(or rather the lack of) MWT during lectures in higher learning
institutions. Non-participatory observations were conducted in
four lecture sessions. Results clearly showed that no MWT tools
were used during the lectures, and there are almost no
interactions between students and lecturers despite the huge
number of more than 50 students in the class. A hypothetical
framework was then developed based on these findings and
supported by related theories. Future work will aim to test and
validate this framework by administering interviews and
surveys with students and academicians in the country.
Index Terms—Higher learning institutions, interaction,
mobile wireless technology, observation,
students–academicians.
The authors are with the Faculty of Computer Science and Information
Systems, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (e-mail:
vimala.balakrishnan@um.edu.my, gan.chin.lay@mmu.edu.my).
Cite:Vimala Balakrishnan and Gan Chin Lay, "Mobile Wireless Technology and Its Use in Lecture Room Environment: An Observation in Malaysian Institutes of Higher Learning," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 634-637, 2013.