ABSTRACT
The dramatic impact of smartphone technology on society suggests the potential for a proportionate effect on education. This chapter presents an attempt to introduce smartphones into a blended learning second language context and highlights several findings related to the effect on learner metacognition. The study collected qualitative and quantitative data on learner interactions within a yearlong sequence of collaborative language learning activities. The activities were accessible through both mobile and non-mobile devices to provide the method the participants found most suitable. This research adds to the knowledge on employing mobile devices at the tertiary level by highlighting the affordances and limitations of the technology from the perspective of learner self-reflection and content-reflection. The findings indicated that the smartphones afforded more opportunity to reflect on the course content, provided access to more supporting information, and served as a reminder of the activities. This enhanced communication was repeatedly characterized positively when contrasted with non-mobile options and influenced how the participants collaborated. The chapter includes a summary of the findings, quantitative and qualitative, supporting data analysis, results, study limitations, and possibilities for furthering the study topic.
