Mobile collaborative learning: The role of individual learning in groups through text and video content delivery in tablets

Supporting mobile collaboration in education and within organizations is a challenging task. This study seeks to shed light on mobile collaborative learning (MCL) by examining the relationships between the learning process (i.e., peer-influenced learning and individual cognitive absorption) and learning impact (i.e., satisfaction, perceived understanding and performance), especially the role of individual learning in groups. The effectiveness of MCL is examined through two types of content delivery, namely video and text. A research framework was proposed that is grounded in learning and cognitive absorption (CA) theories. A set of field experiments was designed and conducted with 1131 secondary students (347 groups) to understand the MCL process and learning impact with mobile tablets in both individual and group settings. Significant differences were found between content delivery types in both individual and group learning modes in regard to how the learning process influences learning impact. Moreover, performance and satisfaction with texts is higher with mobile groups, while videos are more influential for individual learning. Lastly, the study implications and future research directions are discussed.