What is Approach to Learning

Smartphones have many qualities that have made them potentially useful for learning (e.g., connectivity, interactivity, and personalization) but few studies have considered their role in understanding learning behavior and student engagement. This study investigated differences in the way students approach online learning, comparing those who use smartphones to access their online classroom with students who use more traditional tools, such as desktop and laptop computers. Specifically, the study was designed to investigate the use of smartphones and their effect on learning behavior and student engagement at a regionally accredited university in the United States. The chapter analyzes the quantitative data arising from the study and discusses why the results identified statistically significant differences in the ways students approached their own learning. Moreover, it also explores the engagement patterns which revealed that the type of tasks online students performed with a smartphone varied significantly from the tasks that students performed when using a desktop or tablet.