Functionalities of Mobile Learning Apps and Potential for Data Integration in the Context of Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The mobile device market has been steadily growing throughout the last two decades. Nowadays, most people own smartphones that support various applications. Many of these applications fall under the category of mobile learning. These apps have many exciting features which could potentially enhance the learning experience in higher education. If academic institutions decide to use such applications, they also need instructions on how to integrate these apps in a common learning portal, such as a learning management system. This research identifies six features of modern mobile learning applications - augmented reality, gamification, artificial intelligence, push notifications, personalization, and collaborative learning. Then, it describes them and their applicability in both educational and non-educational contexts, with the focus on higher education. Finally, two technologies, namely learning tools interoperability (LTI) and application programming interfaces (APIs), are presented for data and application integration.