Firstly, it seems obvious that Apps that better capture the
educational affordances provided by mobile technology are as those
that significantly impact on learning (Zhang, Wang et al., 2015).
Affordances of mobile technology are defined as the attributes of this
technology which provide potential for learning, and this potential
provided by the affordances influences the learner progress towards
the task goal (Churchill & Wang, 2014). Some relevant affordances of
mobile technology reflected in these Apps: (1) portability, as handhelds
can be taken to different locations; (2) interactivity, as handhelds
can be used to interact with technology; (3) context sensitivity,
as handhelds can be used to gather real or simulated data; (4) connectivity,
as handhelds enable connection to data collection devices,
other handhelds, and to a network; (5) individuality, as handhelds
can provide scaffolding to the learners (Churchill & Wang, 2014); and
(6) social media, which allow the creation and exchange of usergenerated
content (Zhang, Gao et al., 2015).
Secondly, findings also make clear that teachers use a large
number of Apps, some of them used frequently in the classroom,
that not produce a general learning impact. In fact, a broad set of
these Apps are content learning tools. It seems clear that when
teachers decide to use Apps in mobile technology, they have in mind
other types of learning impacts, such as learning specific content.
Finally, the comprehensive conclusion is that, from an educational
perspective, mobile technology cannot be seen as a single
and homogeneous technology, but rather as a set of technological
devices that supports a large amount of Apps. For this reason, it is
important not only to pay attention to mobile technology in general,
but also to consider the design and content of Apps in order to
clarify what instructional benefits the combination of mobile
technology and Apps actually give (Falloon, 2013).
In the interests of greater depth and detail, researchers should
perhaps elaborate on these three possible research directionsApps' use in particular curriculum areas, in specific educational
concepts, and in factors that influence the use of Apps in
classrooms