An assessment of predictors of learner's attention and their influence to learner's engagement and learning outcomes in a mobile learning classroom

Mobile devices are commonly found with learners in class, lecturers find it difficult to keep learners focused on the assigned learning activity as learners pretend to be attentive while multitasking. Some educators perceive the mobile devices as learning obstructers and think they should be abolished, however, research has revealed that if the devices are managed well, they can arouse the learner's curiosity to continue learning. The challenge is left to educators to figure out how to manage the learner's attention while using the mobile devices in class without compromising the quality of learning. With online learning tasks, observations and system login statistics as research instruments, this study investigated some of the factors that affected learners' attention and how they influence learner's engagement and learning outcomes in a mobile learning classroom. Using second year undergraduate learners as participants, each learner was allowed to connect and retrieve information from a content management system in order to access instructions and learning content. The learners interacted via chats, discussion forums and submit assignments online. Login data was captured and the lecturer observed learner behaviour. The results revealed that assignment feedback deadlines, instructions and content format, Learner Response time; and Learners' Self-Initiative, or drive played significant role in influencing learner's attention.