This study aimed at exploring the potential of smartphone use in education with a particular focus on secondary schools. The literature review provided massive methods and applications of the smartphone in teaching and learning plus the challenges that surround it. The review made it possible to identify that there is a group of teachers who perceive the use of the devices as pedagogical tools, and another group of teachers that are against or have a reservation towards its inclusion in education. Students deemed the smartphones as highly necessary compared to teachers. From a literature perspective, it can be that some teachers are immigrants; therefore, they have difficulties in adopting or adapting to the trend. The study suggested that it is essential to try out some projects, such as teaching students with smartphones, especially in developing countries like those in sub-Saharan Africa to yield comparison against traditional teaching and learning.
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Describe Today, the Smartphone has become one of the most potent and vital devices in the educational field. With its capability to connect to the Internet and provide people with access to millions of websites, and access to a variety of both commercial and noncommercial, online and offline apps from Android and iOS platforms that account to over 5.5 million (Ceci, 2021), makes it an ideal substitute for a physical library or physical classroom. Ozdamli (2012) claims that with the developments of mobile technologies such as smartphones, education is under transformation towards more learner-centric theories, i.e., constructivist, situated, collaborative, informal, and lifelong learning. Herrington & Herrington (2007) further argue that justifiable conditions exist that mobile technologies provide a medium for authentic learning (p.1). Smartphone apps such as telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube give the students ability to connect with different experts from different fields of learning while in their hospital beds, from the comfort of their own homes, and convenient zones, on the go, and from diverse time zones and geographical positions with ease. Peters (2005), argues that mobile technologies provide a “just enough,” “just in time,” and “just for me” model of flexible learning (p.3). This implies that students are free to choose what they want/need to learn without being forced to participate in class, which deems necessary for them.
In different disciplines, such as Science and language education, smartphones have a significant role in improving and increasing the speed at which the learners may learn a new language. The applications such as Google Translate help students to learn a new language instantly and effectively, hence, its ability to provide not only the translation but also the synonyms and correct audio pronunciation of the words in different languages. Apps such as Hello Pal, Babbel, and Duolingo have created a massive community of language students who wish to learn languages other than their mother tongues. Students can interact and learn exchange-ably with speakers from different language backgrounds. Math games, Khan Academy, and Grasshopper provide students with updated content, competitions, and tests that help them acquire new knowledge or cover the knowledge gap missed during classes at school. The Smartphone may help students to learn things ahead of their formal curriculum and stages, therefore allowing all categories of learners, i.e., fast, average, and slow, to learn at their own pace and finish the curriculum content with ease.
As smartphone ownership and use increase, thanks to affordability, connectivity, and internet expansion globally, it is no longer surprising to see both teachers and students owning a mobile or Smartphone even in developing countries such as Mozambique. Such proliferation of mobile devices among the people is valuable in the implementation and delivery of education in this time when institutions, educators, and scholars are shifting to forms of social learning such as mobile, online, and e-learning. In consideration of the poor or lack of sufficient educational infrastructure in developing countries, mobiles/smartphones can be alternatives or pedagogical tools. Therefore, embracing mobile technologies is paramount to improving the quality and quantity of teaching and learning.