Résumés
Abstract
This paper critically reviews literature on the role of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications, such as WhatsApp, in supporting learning and teaching practice. Using formal qualitative synthesis as its methodology, and dialectical theory as an analytical framework, our main objective was to identify tensions, affordances, constraints, and resolution strategies in educational uses of MIM. In contrast to prior work, the analysis offers a nuanced and complex picture of the use of MIM in learning and teaching settings. Instead of facilitating the creation of educational outcomes in a straightforward manner, the realities of MIM use are socially constructed and the subject of conflictual negotiations. The educational use of MIM requires users to navigate the interdependent dialectical tensions of immediacy versus delays (temporal dimension), intimacy versus detachment (relationship dimension) and task versus ludic orientation (intellectual dimension). The findings also reveal a number of behavioural and technical resolution strategies that users deploy to manage these tensions.
Keywords:
- instant messaging,
- mobile instant messaging,
- educational technology,
- mobile learning,
- social media,
- dialectical theory
Parties annexes
Bibliography
- Aburezeq, I. M., & Ishtaiwa, F. F. (2013). The impact of WhatsApp on interaction in an Arabic language teaching course. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 6(3), 165-180. Retrieved from http://universitypublications.net/ijas/0603/pdf/F3N281.pdf
- Alabbasi, D. (2016, April). WhatsApp, agency and education: The case of female Saudi teachers. Paper presented at the DEANZ Biennial Conference: Charting Flexible Pathways in Open and Distance Education, Hamilton, NZ. Retrieved from http://flanz.org.nz/conference-proceedings
- Baxter, L. A. (2003). Dialectical theory. International encyclopedia of marriage and family. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406900109.html
- Baxter, L. A., & Montgomery, B. M. (1996). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics. New York: Guilford Press. Retrieved from http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-98195-000
- Bearman, M., & Dawson, P. (2013). Qualitative synthesis and systematic review in health professions education. Medical Education, 47(3), 252-260. doi: 10.1111/medu.12092
- Bere, A. (2012, November). A comparative study of student experiences of ubiquitous learning via mobile devices and learner management systems at a South African university. Paper presented at the proceedings of the 14th Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications, Durban, South Africa. Retrieved from http://erepo.usiu.ac.ke/handle/11732/305
- Bere, A., & Rambe, P. (2016). An empirical analysis of the determinants of mobile instant messaging appropriation in university learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 28(2), 72-198. doi: 0.1007/s12528-016-9112-2
- Botha, A., & Butgereit, L. (2012). Dr Math: A mobile scaffolding environment. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 4(2), 15-29. doi: 10.4018/jmbl.2012040102
- Bouhnik, D., & Deshen, M. (2014). WhatsApp goes to school: Mobile instant messaging between teachers and students. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 13, 217-231. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jite.org/documents/Vol13/JITEv13ResearchP217-231Bouhnik0601.pdf
- Butgereit, L. (2007). Math on Mxit: The medium is the message. Paper presented at the 13th Annual National Congress of the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA), White River, South Africa. Retrieved from http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/1785
- Castrillo, M. D., Martín-Monje, E., & Bárcena, E. (2014). New forms of negotiating meaning on the move: The use of mobile-based chatting for foreign language distance learning. IADIS International Journal, 12(2), 51-67. Retrieved from http://www.iadisportal.org/ijwi/papers/2014121204.pdf
- Engeström, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5(1), 1-24. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2009.12.002
- Frohberg, D., Göth, C., & Schwabe, G. (2009). Mobile learning projects: A critical analysis of the state of the art. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(4), 307-331. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00315.x
- Gachago, D., Strydom, S., Hanekom, P., Simons, S., & Walters, S. (2015). Crossing boundaries: Lecturers' perspectives on the use of WhatsApp to support teaching and learning in higher education. Progressio: South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice, 37(1), 172-187. Retrieved from https://journals.co.za/content/progress/37/1/EJC180393
- Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays (Vol. 5019). New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from https://monoskop.org/images/5/54/Geertz_Clifford_The_Interpretation_of_Cultures_Selected_Essays.pdf
- Gibbs, J. L., Rozaidi, N. A., & Eisenberg, J. (2013). Overcoming the "ideology of openness": Probing the affordances of social media for organizational knowledge sharing. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(1), 102-120. doi: 10.1111/jcc4.12034
- Gibson, J. J. (1986). The ecological approach to visual perception. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Henry, J., Winters, N., Lakati, A., Oliver, M., Geniets, A., Mbae, S. M., & Wanjiru, H. (2015). Enhancing the supervision of community health workers with WhatsApp mobile messaging: Qualitative findings from 2 low-resource settings in Kenya. Global Health: Science and Practice, 4(2), 311-325. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-15-00386
- Jackson, T. (2016, June 8). Tutors become part of the app culture. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36461191
- Karapanos, E., Teixeira, P., & Gouveia, R. (2016). Need fulfillment and experiences on social media: A case on Facebook and WhatsApp. Computers in Human Behavior, 55(B), 888-897. doi: 0.1016/j.chb.2015.10.015
- Kim, H., Lee, M., & Kim, M. (2014). Effects of mobile instant messaging on collaborative learning processes and outcomes: The case of South Korea. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(2), 31-42. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.17.2.31
- Lam, J. (2015). Collaborative learning using social media tools in a blended learning course. In S.K.S. Cheung et al. (Eds.), Hybrid learning: Innovation in educational practices (pp. 187-198). Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-20621-9_15
- Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
- Livingstone, S. (2004). What is media literacy? Intermedia, 32(3), 18-20. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/1027/
- Majchrzak, A., & Markus, M. L. (2012). Technology affordances and constraints in management information systems (MIS). In E. Kessler (Ed.), Sage Publications, Forthcoming. Retrieved from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2192196
- Montgomery, B. M. (1993). Relationship maintenance versus relationship change: A dialectical dilemma. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10(2), 205-223.
- Paavola, S., Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2004). Models of innovative knowledge communities and three metaphors of learning. Review of Educational Research, 74(4), 557-576. doi: 10.3102/00346543074004557
- Pimmer, C., Mateescu, M., & Gröhbiel, U. (2016). Mobile and ubiquitous learning in higher education settings. A systematic review of empirical studies. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 490-501. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.057
- Pimmer, C., Mhango, S., Mzumara, A., & Mbvundula, F. (2017). Mobile instant messaging for rural community health workers: A case from Malawi. Global Health Action, 10(1). doi: 10.1080/16549716.2017.1368236
- Pope, C., Ziebland, S., & Mays, N. (2000). Qualitative research in health care: analysing qualitative data. British Medical Journal, 320(7227), 114-116. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7227.114
- Quan-Haase, A. (2008). Instant messaging on campus: Use and integration in university students' everyday communication. The Information Society, 24(2), 105-115. doi: 10.1080/01972240701883955
- Rambe, P., & Bere, A. (2013a). Using mobile instant messaging to leverage learner participation and transform pedagogy at a South African University of Technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(4), 544-561. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12057
- Rambe, P., & Bere, A. (2013b, June). Using social embeddedness to explore ubiquitous learning in mobile environments at a South African University of Technology. Paper presented at the International Conference on e-Learning, Cape Town. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/17c5535bb6818eeebd335ca862cd4172/1
- Rambe, P., & Chipunza, C. (2013, September). Using mobile devices to leverage student access to collaboratively-generated resources: A case of WhatsApp instant messaging at a South African University. Paper presented at the International Conference on Advanced Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICAICTE 2013), Hainan. Retrieved from https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icaicte-13
- Rambe, P., & Nel, L. (2015). Technological utopia, dystopia and ambivalence: Teaching with social media at a South African university. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(3), 629-648. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12159
- Ramukumba, M. (2015). Using mobile devices in supervision of graduate research in distance education: A personal journey. In H. T. Brown & J. H. van der Merwe (Eds.), The Mobile Learning Voyage - From Small Ripples to Massive Open Waters: 14th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning, mLearn 2015, Venice, Italy, October 17-24, 2015, Proceedings (pp. 1-14). Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-25684-9_1
- Redecker, C. (2017). European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators: DigCompEdu. In Y. Punie, (Ed.). EUR 28775 EN. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. doi: 10.2760/159770.
- Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (2007). Assessing social presence in asynchronous text-based computer conferencing. The Journal of Distance Education/Revue de l'Éducation à Distance, 14(2), 50-71. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2149/732
- Salmon, G. (2003). E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online. London: Routledge.
- Selwyn, N. (2010). Looking beyond learning: Notes towards the critical study of educational technology. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(1), 65-73. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2009.00338.x
- Selwyn, N. (2012). Making sense of young people, education and digital technology: The role of sociological theory. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 81-96. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2011.577949
- Smit, I. (2015, October). WhatsApp with learning preferences? Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings-article/2015/fie/07344366/12OmNzFdt3Q
- So, S. (2016). Mobile instant messaging support for teaching and learning in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 31, 32-42. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.06.001
- Statista. (2017). Most famous social network sites worldwide as of August 2017, ranked by number of active users (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
- Surry, D. W., & Baker, F. W. (2016). The co-dependent relationship of technology and communities. British Journal of Educational Technology, (47) 1, 13-28. doi: 10.1111/bjet.12349
- Tang, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2017). Is mobile instant messaging (MIM) useful in education? Examining its technological, pedagogical, and social affordances. Educational Research Review, 21, 85-104. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2017.05.001
- Timmis, S. (2012). Constant companions: Instant messaging conversations as sustainable supportive study structures amongst undergraduate peers. Computers & Education, 59(1), 3-18. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.09.026
- TLT Group. (2015). Low threshold applications [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://tltgroup.wordpress.com/low-threshold-applications/
- van Rooyen, A. A. (2010). Integrating MXit into a distance education Accounting module. Progressio, 32(2), 52-64. Retrieved from https://journals.co.za/content/progress/32/2/EJC122762
- Willemse, J. (2015). Undergraduate nurses reflections on Whatsapp use in improving primary health care education. Curationis, 38(2), 1-7. doi: 10.4102/CURATIONIS.v38i2.1512
- Willemse, J., & Bozalek, V. (2015). Exploration of the affordances of mobile devices in integrating theory and clinical practice in an undergraduate nursing programme. Curationis, 38(2), 1-10. doi: 10.4102/CURATIONIS.v38i2.1510