Professor University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Abstract: This research concentrated on the impact of mobile learning, particularly programming language learning applications, on learners' online learning experiences. The research question for this study was: To what extent can mobile applications for learning programming languages affect students' online learning preparedness who have never programmed before? This study utilized an online questionnaire to collect data at the end of the 2021 fall semester and the beginning of the 2022 spring semester. The dataset was acquired from 51 survey respondents using a quantitative method, and 12 qualified participants were chosen at random from the dataset. Four hypotheses were tested using a two-tailed t-test on independent samples, with the results indicating a significant difference in computer/internet self-efficacy, motivation for learning, and self-directed learning between the experimental and control groups. Thus, college students with prior mobile learning experience for programming languages were more likely to be ready for online learning than students without that learning experience. The findings revealed the relationship between mobile learning applications for programming languages and college students’ online learning readiness, which filled in gaps for e-learning research and provided practical recommendations on online course design to higher education institutions. In future research, the framework employed in this study could be expanded to include other characteristics or used in other learning situations.
