The relationship between gender and mobile technology use in collaborative learning settings: An empirical investigation

Mobile technology offers educators new potential for course and learning material construction. Empirical best practices research is scarce, particularly in secondary and higher education settings. This article provides a field experiment using a 2 (individual vs. group) x 2 (text vs. video) design in a secondary school context with students engaged in learning activities related to either text or video content on mobile devices. We structured material to benefit either individual or collaborative learning practices and examined gender as a critical factor to understand ways to improve teaching approaches. The study used an ANOVA with repeated measures to understand impacts of various attributes on outcomes such as material experience duration, perceived peer influenced learning, satisfaction, perceived understanding, and performance. This study provides empirical evidence in a mobile learning environment that suggests female students engaged in group learning modes, supported with video material, had different engagement patterns than male students. Females spent more time in the application consistent with earlier research suggesting females are more likely to use strategies such as active listening, asking questions, and soliciting input. In addition, female students engaged in group learning mode, supported with video material, had higher peer-influenced learning scores than male students. Holistically, this evidence supports the view that females use learning strategies that benefit from group learning and features provided by mobile technologies. The results help direct future research regarding design and implementation of learning in secondary school settings and may help remove gender disparities.