Appraisal of Social Learning Potentials in Some Trending Mobile Computing Applications

Abstract: New Mobile technologies have created a new social dimension where individuals can develop increased levels of their social awareness by keeping in touch with old friends, making new friends, dispense new data or product, and getting information in many more aspects of everyday lives, making one to become more knowledgeable which is very beneficial especially for students. Social networks, in particular enable users to share and discuss common interests and provide infrastructures for integrating various user experiences: synchronous and asynchronous communication, game-playing, sharing links and files. The trend of using social networks and social media to deliver and exchange knowledge could bring a new era of social learning in which learners make use all four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Unlike a traditional e-leaning paradigm with pre-defined curriculum and standard textbooks, social knowledge could be aggregated on demand, just in time, and in context of engaging challenges from social networks, making learning more exciting, social and, game-like experience. Social learning environment engages the learners in discussion, collaboration, exploration, production, discovery and creation. Schools should harness this to develop group collaboration skills and even project based learning activities that span subjects and grade levels. This paper focuses on technologies and avenues of using mobile phones in supporting open social learning among undergraduate students in Nigeria.