Mobile Open-Access Revolutionizing Learning Among University Students in Kenya

Abstract

Today's knowledge-based economy requires that nations equip their citizens with appropriate skills, and a demand for university education has continued to soar. In much of Sub-Saharan Africa, however, the rapid increase in university enrollments has not been matched with an expansion of the relevant infrastructure, resulting in among other things, overcrowded classrooms and inadequate libraries. On the other hand, there has been a robust growth in the sector of technology globally. This chapter examines the rapid expansion of university education in Kenya and its implications on quality, as well as possible contributions of the Smartphone to learning. Challenges aside, the author concludes that the Smartphone could be exploited to supplement learning as it enables the student to access academic and research materials from credible sources that are either on free-access or subscribed-for through their home university libraries. Samples from forty-nine responses from university students are included in the chapter.