Mobile technology and mathematics: effects on students’ attitudes, engagement, and achievement

There is an increasing uptake on the use of mobile technologies for learning, but its use with mathematics has not yet been reviewed. It is the purpose of this paper to synthesize research findings on the use of mobile technologies in mathematics. A systematic review of studies utilizing mobile technologies for mathematics was carried out. The review yielded 60 papers which were mapped according to use. Effects on student perceptions and attitudes, student achievement, and student engagement were investigated. Student attitudes to mobile use were mostly positive, but its effect on students’ attitudes towards mathematics yielded mixed results. Student engagement with other students generally increased and so does their engagement in the learning activities. As for student achievement, a meta-analysis of achievement in elementary schools yielded a random effect size of 0.48. Other achievement studies were analyzed using vote counting. Middle school studies were mostly positive, but high school studies had mixed outcomes. Implications for practice, policy, and future research were outlined.