Abstract

This study, which is based on a comprehensive literature review, brings together several strands of research to examine the literacy implications of mobile learning. It begins with an overview that provides popular definitions and examples, a history of the development of mobile learning, and a brief examination of its major claims and challenges. This is followed by a review of emerging theories of mobile learning, with an emphasis on how it can be distinguished from elearning and on how it relates to other forms of learning. The literacy discussion begins with an introduction to the socio-cultural model of literacy, followed by an analysis of research that demonstrates the social, cultural and epistemological challenges of digitally based learning and, by extension, mobile learning. The review concludes with research on readiness for mobile learning, attempting to balance its potential for enriching and empowering some learners with the risk that it will alienate and disable others