A quantitative analysis of the reuse of mobile assisted language learning resources: the case of mobile2learn repository

Abstract

Language Learning has been a primary field of application for mobile learning. This approach is widely known as Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL). On the other hand, during the last decade a number of Open Educational Resources (OERs) initiatives have been emerged worldwide. These initiatives have also influenced the field of Technology-enhanced Language Learning (TELL) and some Learning Object Repositories (LORs) have been recently developed towards supporting sharing and re-use of digital language learning resources. However, these LORs do not put emphasis on the re-use of MALL resources, despite the fact that, open access and reuse is even more important in MALL than other fields of application since the development of new MALL resources and practices is a costly process due to the diverse technical particularities of the different types of mobile devices. In previous work, a LOR that aims to support open access and re-use to MALL resources and courses has been proposed, namely the Mobile2Learn Repository. In this paper, we conduct a quantitative analysis of the reuse of MALL resources stored in Mobile2Learn Repository and we discuss the factors that can influence and possible enhance MALL resources reuse in Mobile2Learn Repository. © 2013 IEEE.